title: Antiplasmodial and antileishmanial activities of phylloseptin-1, an antimicrobial peptide from the skin secretion of Phyllomedusa azurea (Amphibia).
abstract: The development of drug resistance by infectious agents represents a major hindrance for controlling parasitic diseases and has stimulated the search for new compounds. We have previously shown that phylloseptin-1 (PS-1), a cationic peptide from the skin secretion of Phyllomedusa azurea, exhibited potent antimicrobial activity. Now we evaluate the effect of PS-1 on Leishmania amazonensis and Plasmodium falciparum. Concentrations as low as 0.5 microg/mL of PS-1 exhibited antileishmanial activity comparable to that of antimoniate of N-metilglucamine, while the antiplasmodial effect of PS-1 was evident at the concentration of 16 microg/mL, and reached an activity comparable to that of artesunate, at the concentration of 64 microg/mL. The high antiparasitic activity of PS-1, together with the unrelatedness of its chemical structure to any present antimicrobial drug, which prevents the development of cross-resistance, together with its non-toxicity to mammalian cells make this peptide a promising candidate for the treatment of malaria and leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunologia Celular, Area de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília, DF, Brazil. selmak@unb.br
authors.forename: Selma A S
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kückelhaus
authors.forename: José Roberto S A
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Maria Imaculada
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Muniz-Junqueira
authors.forename: Raimunda Nonata
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.forename: C Eduardo
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Tosta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D001001:Anura; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007894:Leishmania mexicana / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; C533251:phylloseptin-1, Phyllomedusa