Sesquiterpene lactones as potential therapeutic agents against Naegleria fowleri

Naegleria fowleri is the causative agent the primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a fatal disease in more than the 90% of the reported cases that affects the central nervous system. The amoeba infects the nasal cavity of mostly children and young adults who report previous aquatic exposure in warm water sources. The rapid progression of the disease and the lack of effective and safety therapeutic options make the search of new anti-amoebic compounds an urgent issue. In this study, twelve sesquiterpene lactones isolated from the zoanthid Palythoa aff. clavata were tested against the trophozoite stage of Naegleria fowleri. Anhydroartemorin (2) and 1(10)Z,4E,14-acetoxy-costunolide (3) showed the best anti-amoeboid activity values with IC50 23.02 ± 1.26 and 28.34 ± 6.27, respectively. In addition, the mechanisms of programmed cell death induction of these two molecules were evaluated with positive results for both compounds. Finally, a structure-activity relationship was analyzed to reveal the dependence of reactivity and lipophilicity on the biological activity. The log P values of the compounds were calculated to postulate them as good candidates to cross the blood-brain barrier, a limiting factor in the development of new anti-Naegleria treatments. Therefore, the mentioned sesquiterpene lactones could be considered as potential PAM therapeutic options in the future.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Arberas-Jiménez, Íñigo, Rizo-Liendo, Aitor, Nocchi, Nathália, Sifaoui, Inés, Chao-Pellicer, Javier, Souto, María L., Suárez-Gómez, Blanca, DIAZ MARRERO, ANA RAQUEL, Fernández, José J., Piñero, José E., Lorenzo-Morales, Jacob
Other Authors:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier BV 2022-02-05
Subjects:	Naegleria, Palythoa, sesquiterpene lactones, meningoencephalitis, programmed cell death,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/303074 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007757 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004587 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004837
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