Testing intra-hemocelic injection of antimicrobials against Encephalitozoon sp. (Microsporidia) in an insect host.
Encephalitozoon spp. are the primary microsporidial pathogens of humans and domesticated animals. In this experiment, we test the efficacy of four commercial antimicrobials against an Encephalitozoon sp. in an insect host by intra-hemocelic injection. All four antimicrobials, viz., thiabendazole, quinine, albendazole, and fumagillin, significantly reduced but did not eliminate microsporidia spore counts in the grasshopper host. Among these four drugs, thiabendazole was most effective in reducing the microsporidia spore level up to 90%, followed by quinine (70%), albendazole (62%), and fumagillin (59%). No control or quinine-treated animals died, whereas 45% of albendazole animals died. Despite the high mortality induced by albendazole, this drug significantly reduced spore counts, a result not seen in previous per os trials. Among the treatment groups, grasshoppers injected with thiabendazole lost a significant mass. Our study suggests that quinine and related alkaloids should be further examined for antimicrosporidial activity.
Johny
Shajahan
S
Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA.
Nimmo
Amanda S
AS
Fisher
Mark A
MA
Inks
Elizabeth S
ES
Kirkpatrick
Ryan M
RM
Miller
Philip A
PA
Johnson
Adam L
AL
Lites
Kanisha R
KR
Whitehouse
Calli C
CC
Whitman
Douglas W
DW
D015766:Albendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003510:Cyclohexanes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016819:Encephalitozoon / Q000187:drug effects*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011803:Quinine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013827:Thiabendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D003510:Cyclohexanes; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C026211:fumagillin; D011803:Quinine; D015766:Albendazole; D013827:Thiabendazole