Assessing the effectiveness of AS-48 in experimental mice models of Chagas' disease

We report the in vivo trypanocidal activity of the bacteriocin AS-48 (lacking toxicity), which is produced by Enterococcus faecalis, against the flagellated protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas' disease. We determined the in vivo activity of AS-48 against the T. cruzi A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy 2020-06, Vol.75 (6), p.1537-1545
Main Authors: Martín-Escolano, Rubén, Cebrián, Rubén, Maqueda, Mercedes, Romero, Desirée, Rosales, Maria José, Sánchez-Moreno, Manuel, Marín, Clotilde
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report the in vivo trypanocidal activity of the bacteriocin AS-48 (lacking toxicity), which is produced by Enterococcus faecalis, against the flagellated protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas' disease. We determined the in vivo activity of AS-48 against the T. cruzi Arequipa strain in BALB/c mice (in both acute and chronic phases of Chagas' disease). We evaluated the parasitaemia, the reactivation of parasitaemia after immunosuppression and the nested parasites in the chronic phase by PCR in target tissues. AS-48 reduced the parasitaemia profile in acute infection and showed a noteworthy reduction in the parasitic load in chronic infection after immunosuppression according to the results obtained by PCR (double-checking to demonstrate cure). AS-48 is a promising alternative that provides a step forward in the development of a new therapy against Chagas' disease.
ISSN:0305-7453
1460-2091
DOI:10.1093/jac/dkaa030