Disulfiram as a novel inactivator of Giardia lamblia triosephosphate isomerase with antigiardial potential

Publication date: December 2017 Source:International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, Volume 7, Issue 3 Author(s): Adriana Castillo-Villanueva, Yadira Rufino-González, Sara-Teresa Méndez, Angélica Torres-Arroyo, Martha Ponce-Macotela, Mario Noé Martínez-Gordillo, Horacio Reyes-Vivas, Jesús Oria-Hernández Giardiasis, the infestation of the intestinal tract by Giardia lamblia, is one of the most prevalent parasitosis worldwide. Even though effective therapies exist for it, the problems associated with its use indicate that new therapeutic options are needed. It has been shown that disulfiram eradicates trophozoites in vitro and is effective in vivo in a murine model of giardiasis; disulfiram inactivation of carbamate kinase by chemical modification of an active site cysteine has been proposed as the drug mechanism of action. The triosephosphate isomerase from G. lamblia (GlTIM) has been proposed as a plausible target for the development of novel antigiardial pharmacotherapies, and chemical modification of its cysteine 222 (C222) by thiol-reactive compounds is evidenced to inactivate the enzyme. Since disulfiram is a cysteine modifying agent and GlTIM can be inactivated by modification of C222, in this work we tested the effect of disulfiram over the recombinant and trophozoite-endogenous GlTIM. The results show that disulfiram inactivates GlTIM by modification of its C222. The inactivation is species-specific since disulfiram does not affect...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research