title: Effects of 2',3'-dideoxyinosine on Toxoplasma gondii cysts in mice.
abstract: The activity against Toxoplasma gondii of 2',3' dideoxyinosine (ddI), an anti-human immunodeficiency virus drug, was examined in an in vitro and in vivo study. Cell cultures infected with a strain known to cause chronic infections were used to show the dose-dependent effect of this drug compared with spiramycin and sulfadiazine. When a dose of 4 microg/ml was used, no infected THP-1 cells or parasites were found after 60 h of incubation. An electron-microscopic study confirmed that after 12 h at 1 microg/ml, the few parasites observed were severely altered. The treatment of chronically infected mice 3 months postinfection showed that a 30-day treatment with 2 mg of ddI/ml induced a significant reduction in the number of T. gondii cysts in the cerebral tissue. These cysts were not viable, as confirmed by immunofluorescence and reinfection experiments. These experiments suggest a possible role for ddI in the treatment of toxoplasmosis, and this possibility deserves further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Medical Mycology, Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France. sarciron@cismsun.univ-lyon1.fr
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Sarciron
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saccharin
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Petavy
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peyron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002460:Cell Line; D003560:Cysts / Q000469:parasitology*; D016049:Didanosine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000187:drug effects*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D016049:Didanosine