Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
3415138 | Microbes and Infection | 2010 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
The effect of the dehydroepiandrosterone analog 16α-bromoepiandrosterone (EpiBr) was tested on the tapeworm Taenia crassiceps and the protist Entamoeba histolytica, both in vivo and in vitro. Administration of EpiBr prior to infection with cysticerci in mice reduced the parasite load by 50% compared with controls. EpiBr treatment induced 20% reduction on the development of amoebic liver abscesses in hamsters. In vitro treatment of T. crassiceps and E. histolytica cultures with EpiBr, reduced reproduction, motility and viability in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. These results leave open the possibility of assessing the potential of this hormonal analog as a possible anti-parasite drug, including cysticercosis and amoebiasis.
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Authors
Julio César Carrero, Claudia Cervantes-Rebolledo, José Antonio Vargas-Villavicencio, Romel Hernández-Bello, Charles Dowding, James Frincke, Chris Reading, Jorge Morales-Montor,