Effect of free versus liposomal-complexed pentamidine isethionate on biological characteristics of Acanthamoeba castellanii in vitro

Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Abdul Syed, Salvador Tomas, Jose Prieto-Garcia, Naveed Ahmed Khan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protozoan pathogen that can cause blinding keratitis and a rare but fatal encephalitis involving the central nervous system with a very poor prognosis. This is due to limited availability of effective anti-acanthamoebic drugs. Here, we tested whether the use of liposomes can improve the potency of pentamidine isethionate, an anti-amoebic compound. The liposomes consisted of l-α-phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol or ergosterol in a molar ratio of 1 : 5. Pentamidine isethionate was incorporated to achieve a final drug to lipid ratio of 1 : 5. At a drug concentration of 10 μg ml−1, the liposomal drug was >12 times more effective than the free drug at preventing Acanthamoeba binding to human cells and significantly more effective in reducing parasite-mediated human cell cytopathogenicity, compared with the drug alone. Both the free and liposomal drug blocked Acanthamoeba encystation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)327-330
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Medical Microbiology
Volume58
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2009

Keywords

  • HBMECs
  • human brain microvascular endothelial cells

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