%0 Journal Article
%T Mitochondrial dysfunction in Trypanosoma cruzi: the role of Serratia marcescens prodigiosin in the alternative treatment of Chagas disease
%A Carlos Genes
%A Eduard Baquero
%A Fernando Echeverri
%A Juan D Maya
%A Omar Triana
%J Parasites & Vectors
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1756-3305-4-66
%X Parasites exposed to prodigiosin altered the mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation could not have a normal course, probably by inhibition of complex III. Prodigiosin did not produce cytotoxic effects in lymphocytes and Vero cells and has better effects than benznidazole. Our data suggest that the action of prodigiosin on the parasites is mediated by mitochondrial structural and functional disruptions that could lead the parasites to an apoptotic-like cell death process.Here, we propose a potentially useful trypanocidal agent derived from knowledge of an important aspect of the natural life cycle of the parasite: the vector-parasite interaction. Our results indicate that prodigiosin could be a good candidate for the treatment of Chagas disease.Chagas disease continues to represent a health threat for an estimated 28 million people, most of them living in Latin America. One of the most important problems in the outcome of Chagas disease is the limitation of existing drugs for treatment [1]. For more than 40 years, only two drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole, have been available to treat Chagas disease. Both have limited efficacy (about 80% efficacy in the acute phase and lower in the chronic phase), as well as frequent and significant side effects [2]. Other potentially beneficial drugs, such as allopurinol or itraconazole, do not have a high enough degree of clinical efficacy, as compared with nifurtimox or benznidazole; Posaconazole is a promising drug, but expensive [2]. Furthermore, hundreds of natural and synthetic compounds have been tested against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. However, very few are devoid of cytotoxic activity or have proved more efficacious than nifurtimox and benznidazole, especially against the intracellular amastigotes [3]. Therefore, disease control is mainly based on the elimination of insect vectors. Most species of the Triatominae (Hemiptera-Reduviidae) subfamily are pote
%U http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/66