Repurposing an old drug for amebiasis
Nature Medicine
May 21, 2012
Auranofin, an approved drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, could serve as a potential new therapy for the treatment of Entamoeba histolytica infection, a common parasite worldwide. The finding appears online in Nature Medicine this week and highlights the utility of screening existing drugs for new purposes.
E. histolytica is an intestinal parasite that causes the potentially fatal infection amebiasis, killing around 70,000 people each year. In a screen for new antibiotics to treat this disease, Anjan Debnath and colleagues found that auranofin, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, inhibited E. histolytica growth in vitro and in two animal models of this infection. The authors suggest that auranofin inhibits E. histolytica thioredoxin reductase - an enzyme involved in defense against damage caused by oxygen metabolism - making the parasite more susceptible to oxidative stress.
Based on the potential clinical utility of these findings, the FDA has awarded auranofin status to treat amebiasis in humans.
doi: 10.1038/nm.2758
Research highlights
-
Jul 1
Criminology: Predicting police enforcement bias in major US citiesNature Human Behaviour
-
Jul 1
Evolution: Pandas gave bamboo the thumbs up at least six million years agoScientific Reports
-
Jul 1
Space health: The path of most resistance could help limit bone loss during spaceflightScientific Reports
-
Jun 30
Genomics: Gray wolf genome hints at dual ancestry of dogsNature
-
Jun 30
Evolution: Hawks learn on the fly to swoop up before perchingNature
-
Jun 30
Microbiology: Transmission of gastrointestinal viruses in salivaNature