title: The Combination of Vitamin K3 and Vitamin C Has Synergic Activity against Forms of Trypanosoma cruzi through a Redox Imbalance Process.
abstract: Chagas' disease is an infection that is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, affecting millions of people worldwide. Because of severe side effects and variable efficacy, the current treatments for Chagas' disease are unsatisfactory, making the search for new chemotherapeutic agents essential. Previous studies have reported various biological activities of naphthoquinones, such as the trypanocidal and antitumor activity of vitamin K3. The combination of this vitamin with vitamin C exerted better effects against various cancer cells than when used alone. These effects have been attributed to an increase in reactive oxygen species generation. In the present study, we evaluated the activity of vitamin K3 and vitamin C, alone and in combination, against T. cruzi. The vitamin K3 + vitamin C combination exerted synergistic effects against three forms of T. cruzi, leading to morphological, ultrastructural, and functional changes by producing reactive species, decreasing reduced thiol groups, altering the cell cycle, causing lipid peroxidation, and forming autophagic vacuoles. Our hypothesis is that the vitamin K3 + vitamin C combination induces oxidative imbalance in T. cruzi, probably started by a redox cycling process that leads to parasite cell death.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Vânia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cristina Desoti
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lazarin-Bidóia
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fabianne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martins Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Solange
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cardoso Martins
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Jean Henrique
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: da Silva Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda-Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.|Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vataru Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, Bauru, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Valdecir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Farias Ximenes
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Sueli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000819:agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D004357:Drug Synergism; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000378:metabolism*; D024483:Vitamin K 3 / Q000819:agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D024483:Vitamin K 3; D001205:Ascorbic Acid