title: Tamoxifen treatment in hamsters induces protection during taeniosis by Taenia solium.
abstract: Human neurocysticercosis by Taenia solium is considered an emergent severe brain disorder in developing and developed countries. Discovery of new antiparasitic drugs has been recently aimed to restrain differentiation and establishment of the T. solium adult tapeworm, for being considered a central node in the disease propagation to both pigs and humans. Tamoxifen is an antiestrogenic drug with cysticidal action on Taenia crassiceps, a close relative of T. solium. Thus, we evaluated the effect of tamoxifen on the in vitro evagination and the in vivo establishment of T. solium. In vitro, tamoxifen inhibited evagination of T. solium cysticerci in a dose-time dependent manner. In vivo, administration of tamoxifen to hamsters decreased the intestinal establishment of the parasite by 70%, while recovered tapeworms showed an 80% reduction in length, appearing as scolices without strobilar development. Since tamoxifen did not show any significant effect on the proliferation of antigen-specific immune cells, intestinal inflammation, and expression of Th1/Th2 cytokines in spleen and duodenum, this drug could exert its antiparasite actions by having direct detrimental effects upon the adult tapeworm. These results demonstrate that tamoxifen exhibits a strong cysticidal and antitaeniasic effect on T. solium that should be further explored in humans and livestock.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Medicina Experimental, Hospital General de México, México, DF 06726, Mexico.
authors.forename: Galileo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Escobedo
authors.forename: M Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Palacios-Arreola
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olivos
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: López-Griego
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morales-Montor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D006224:Cricetinae; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004386:Duodenum / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D008647:Mesocricetus; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D013622:Taeniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D016207:Cytokines; D013629:Tamoxifen