Studies of the effect of some schistosomicidal drugs on the vitamin B6 dependent kynurenine hydrolase and kynurenine aminotransferase enzymes in mice

ABSTRACT

The effect of S. mansoni infected mice with some schistosomicidal drugs Antimonial e.g., Astiban and non antimonial e.g., Oltipraz and praziquantel on the subsequent metabolism of kynurenine by liver homogentes of mice was studied to explore the effect of both infection and treatment on the B[6] dependent kynurenine hydrolase and kynurenine aminotransferase in the liver homogenates. It could be concluded that infection with S. mansoni created a deficiency in pyridoxal phosphate of the infected mice liver, the B[6] deficiency may induce modified levels of some carcinogenic tryptophan metabolites. This may raise the possibility that these metabolites may be implicated in the high incidence of bladder tumours observed in bilharzial patients [Boyland 1963 and Bryan 1970]. On the other hand, the antibilharzial drugs whether it is antimonial or not cannot completely counteract the disorder in tryptophan metabolism [through the kynurenine pathway] encountered in S. mansoni infected mice