title: Leishmania major: in vitro and in vivo anti-leishmanial effect of cantharidin.
abstract: Cantharidin is a natural poisonous compound secreted by male blister beetles. The effect of different doses of cantharidin on Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) were investigated both in vitro (promastigote and amastigote viability) and in experimentally-infected BALB/c mice (skin lesions) using ointment or soluble cantharidin. In this study, cantharidin with concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 microg/ml inhibited the growth of L. major promastigotes after 24 h and the resultant inhibition levels were 39.22%, 41.95%, 49.88%, 54.78%, 58.01%, 68.30% and 80.04%, respectively. After 72 h, the mean number of amastigotes per macrophage in the culture using 2 microg/ml of cantharidin, (the 50% inhibitory concentration dose (IC(50))), was 1.2 while in the control group it was 2.7. In order to perform the inflammatory blister technique, 500 microg of cantharidin were solved in 25 microl of DMSO to show the formation of the blister which leads to treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Using the blister technique, the small lesions (<5mm) healed after one session. Two weeks of topical treatment with 0.1% cantharidin ointment was an effective method for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in infected BALB/c mice.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology and Entomology Dept., Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-331, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. ghafarif@modares.ac.ir
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghaffarifar
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D002193:Cantharidin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D007509:Irritants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009824:Ointments; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007509:Irritants; D009824:Ointments; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2; D002193:Cantharidin