MEFAS, a hybrid of artesunate-mefloquine active against asexual stages of Plasmodium vivax in field isolates, inhibits malaria transmission

Autor: Julia Penna-Coutinho, Maisa da Silva Araújo, Anna Caroline Campos Aguiar, Paula Miranda Sá, Carlos Tong Rios, Jansen Fernandes Medeiros, Dhélio Batista Pereira, Nubia Boechat, Antoniana Ursine Krettli
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, Vol 17, Iss , Pp 150-155 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2211-3207
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2021.09.003
Popis: Human malaria continues to be a public health problem and an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Malaria control is achieved through both individual protection against mosquito bites and drug treatment, which is hampered by the spread of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to most antimalarials, including artemisinin derivatives. One of the key pharmacological strategies for controlling malaria is to block transmission of the parasites to their mosquito vectors. Following this rational, MEFAS, a synthetic hybrid salt derived from artesunate (AS) and mefloquine has been previously reported for its activity against asexual P. falciparum parasites in vitro, in addition to a pronounced reduction in the viability of mature gametocytes. Herein, MEFAS was tested against asexual forms of Plasmodium vivax and for its ability to block malaria transmission in Anopheles darlingi mosquitoes in a membrane feeding assay using P. vivax field isolates. MEFAS demonstrated high potency, with a IC50 of 6.5 nM against asexual forms of P. vivax. At 50 μM, MEFAS completely blocked oocyst formation in mosquitoes, regardless of the oocyst number in the control group. At lower doses, MEFAS reduced oocyst prevalence by greater than 20%. At equivalent doses, AS irregularly reduced oocyst formation and caused only slight inhibition of mosquito infections. These results highlight the potential of MEFAS as a novel transmission-blocking molecule, as well as its high blood schizonticidal activity against P. vivax and P. falciparum field isolates, representing a starting point for further development of a new drug with dual antimalarial activity.
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