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Usnic acid causes apoptotic-like death in Leishmania major, L. infantum and L. tropica
Leishmaniasis, a deadly parasitic infection, threatens many people worldwide. Since the high cost, toxicity, and resistance are drawbacks of current treatment options, it is necessary to find safer and more effective new antileishmanial drugs. The aim of this study was to determine the antileishmani...
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Published in: | 3 Biotech 2018-09, Vol.8 (9), p.384-7, Article 384 |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Leishmaniasis, a deadly parasitic infection, threatens many people worldwide. Since the high cost, toxicity, and resistance are drawbacks of current treatment options, it is necessary to find safer and more effective new antileishmanial drugs. The aim of this study was to determine the antileishmanial activity of usnic acid and its apoptotic mechanism on
Leishmania
spp. promastigotes. The antileishmanial activity was evaluated by MTT assay and apoptosis-related gene expression was investigated by qRT-PCR. Usnic acid was to be effective against
Leishmania major, L. infantum
, and
L. tropica
promastigotes at IC
50
= 10.76 µg/ml, 13.34 µg/ml, and 21.06 µg/ml, respectively. We also demonstrated a novel mechanism by which usnic acid inhibited proliferation and caused apoptosis; usnic acid upregulated
p53, Bax, Casp-3
, and
Casp-9
gene expression and downregulated the level of
Bcl-2
gene expression. Accordingly, the expression level of the P53 gene increased in
L. major, L. infantum
and
L. tropica
by 14.4-, 11.8-, and 9.5-fold, respectively, and in contrast, the
Bcl-2
gene expression decreased in all three leishmaniasis by 0.8-, 0.8-, and 0.7-fold, respectively. The present study, therefore, revealed that usnic acid played a critical role in the usnic acid-induced apoptotic process in
Leishmania
species. Usnic acid is easily accessible and an inexpensive agent, and can be considered as an alternative therapeutic agent for
Leishmania
infections subject to further tests in animal models. |
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ISSN: | 2190-572X 2190-5738 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s13205-018-1409-6 |