title: Inhibition of growth of Chlamydia trachomatis by the calcium antagonist verapamil.
abstract: Treatment of BGM (African Green Monkey kidney) cells with the calcium antagonist Verapamil resulted in a reduced yield of chlamydial infectious particles. The inhibitory effect was concentration-dependent, the maximal effect being achieved at 200 microM-Verapamil, which produced a 99.99% reduction of infectious particle yield. Electron microscopy showed that control Chlamydia trachomatis-infected BGM cells contained typical large inclusions in which most of the particles were elementary bodies, whereas Verapamil-treated infected cells contained small inclusions consisting predominantly of reticulate bodies. The findings indicate a possible therapeutic use of this calcium antagonist as an anti-chlamydial drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shainkin-Kestenbaum
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Winikoff
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kol
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chaimovitz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sarov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000032:analysis; D007668:Kidney; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014700:Verapamil; D002118:Calcium