Novel amidines and analogues as promising agents against intracellular parasites: a systematic review

Soeiro, M. N. C.; Werbovetz, K.; Boykin, D. W.; Wilson, W. D.; Wang, M. Z.; Hemphill, Andrew (2013). Novel amidines and analogues as promising agents against intracellular parasites: a systematic review. Parasitology, 140(8), pp. 929-951. Cambridge University Press 10.1017/S0031182013000292

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Parasitic protozoa comprise diverse aetiological agents responsible for important diseases in humans and animals including sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, malaria, toxoplasmosis and others. They are major causes of mortality and morbidity in tropical and subtropical countries, and are also responsible for important economic losses. However, up to now, for most of these parasitic diseases, effective vaccines are lacking and the approved chemotherapeutic compounds present high toxicity, increasing resistance, limited efficacy and require long periods of treatment. Many of these parasitic illnesses predominantly affect low-income populations of developing countries for which new pharmaceutical alternatives are urgently needed. Thus, very low research funding is available. Amidine-containing compounds such as pentamidine are DNA minor groove binders with a broad spectrum of activities against human and veterinary pathogens. Due to their promising microbicidal activity but their rather poor bioavailability and high toxicity, many analogues and derivatives, including pro-drugs, have been synthesized and screened in vitro and in vivo in order to improve their selectivity and pharmacological properties. This review summarizes the knowledge on amidines and analogues with respect to their synthesis, pharmacological profile, mechanistic and biological effects upon a range of intracellular protozoan parasites. The bulk of these data may contribute to the future design and structure optimization of new aromatic dicationic compounds as novel antiparasitic drug candidates.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Review Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Parasitology

UniBE Contributor:

Hemphill, Andrew

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0031-1820

Publisher:

Cambridge University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Marceline Brodmann

Date Deposited:

14 Jul 2020 14:58

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:13

Publisher DOI:

10.1017/S0031182013000292

PubMed ID:

23561006

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.115685

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/115685

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