Novel Pharmaceuticals Development and Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Parasitic Diseases, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2973

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Guest Editor
1. Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Centre for the Study in Animal Science (CECA), University of Porto, Praça do Coronel Pacheco 42, 4050-083 Porto, Portugal
2. Centre for Parasite Biology and Immunology, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055 Porto, Portugal
Interests: carcinogenesis; helminth-associated carcinogenesis; combine therapy; immunotherapy; protein recombinant; parasites; schistosoma; opisthorchis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Parasitic infections such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis, among others, remain a major public health problem causing substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide. Antiparasitic drugs are available, but they are not ideal and present major disadvantages. Furthermore, there is a real concern regarding the development of drug resistance (e.g., primaquine for malaria). Few novel antiparasitic drugs have emerged in recent decades, and the discovery and development of novel antiparasitic drugs are urgently needed. Strategies such as combinations of existing drugs, improvements to known drugs, de novo discovery, and/or the exploration of natural bioactive compounds, among others, should be explored to improve the treatment of parasitic infections and prevent the development of drug resistance.

This Special Issue aims to discuss strategies for the discovery and development of novel treatments for parasitic diseases, as well as advanced drug delivery technology. The design and synthesis of novel drugs or drug derivatives and their antiparasitic activities, structure–activity relationships (SARs), the use of bioinformatics tools (or others) for the discovery of potential drugs, and natural compounds as sources of antiparasitic drugs will be addressed here. Colleagues are invited to submit original research papers, communications, or review articles to this Special Issue.

Dr. Maria João Castro Gouveia
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • parasites
  • drug synthesis and discovery
  • natural bioactive compounds
  • drug combinations
  • parasitic diseases
  • neglected tropical diseases
  • novel therapeutic strategies
  • optimization
  • formulations
  • mechanism of action
  • screening assays
  • pharmacodynamics
  • pharmacokinetics
  • drug resistance
  • antiparasitic activity

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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19 pages, 7004 KiB  
Article
Green Synthesis of Chitosan/Silver Nanoparticles Using Citrus paradisi Extract and Its Potential Anti-Cryptosporidiosis Effect
by Muslimah N. Alsulami and Eman S. El-Wakil
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(7), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16070968 - 22 Jul 2024
Viewed by 692
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) is one of the most prevalent species infecting humans and animals. Currently, the only FDA-licensed drug to treat cryptosporidiosis is nitazoxanide (NTZ), with no efficacy in immunocompromised hosts. Citrus paradisi (C. paradisi) has demonstrated anti-protozoal [...] Read more.
Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) is one of the most prevalent species infecting humans and animals. Currently, the only FDA-licensed drug to treat cryptosporidiosis is nitazoxanide (NTZ), with no efficacy in immunocompromised hosts. Citrus paradisi (C. paradisi) has demonstrated anti-protozoal activities. This study aimed to investigate the anti-cryptosporidiosis effect of C. paradisi peel extract, either alone or in mediating the green synthesis of chitosan silver nanoparticles (Cs/Ag NPs), compared to NTZ. Mice were sorted into nine different groups. The effectiveness of the treatments was evaluated using parasitology, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and immunology. C. paradisi outperformed nitazoxanide regarding oocyst shedding (79% vs. 61%). The effectiveness of NTZ Cs/Ag NPs and Citrus Cs/Ag NPs was enhanced to 78% and 91%, respectively. The highest oocyst inhibition was obtained by combining NTZ and Citrus Cs/Ag NPs (96%). NF-κB, TNF-α, and Il-10 levels increased in response to infection and decreased in response to various treatments, with the highest reduction in the group treated with combined NTZ citrus Cs/Ag NPs. Combining C. paradisi with NTZ could have a synergistic effect, making it a potentially effective anti-cryptosporidiosis agent. Utilizing C. paradisi in the green synthesis of Cs/Ag NPs improves the therapeutic response and can be used to produce novel therapeutic antiparasitic drugs. Full article
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15 pages, 4443 KiB  
Article
A Surprising Repurposing of Central Nervous System Drugs against Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder, UM-UC-5
by Maria João Gouveia, Eduarda Ribeiro and Nuno Vale
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(2), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16020212 - 31 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1376
Abstract
The potential benefits of drug repurposing have gained attention as an alternative to developing de novo drugs. The potential of using central nervous system (CNS) drugs as anticancer drugs has been explored in several types of human cancers, such as breast and colon [...] Read more.
The potential benefits of drug repurposing have gained attention as an alternative to developing de novo drugs. The potential of using central nervous system (CNS) drugs as anticancer drugs has been explored in several types of human cancers, such as breast and colon cancer, among others. Here, we examine the effect of the CNS drugs sertraline, paroxetine, and chlorpromazine on human squamous carcinoma cells of the bladder (UM-UC-5). After exposing UM-UC-5 cells to increased concentrations of each drug for 48 h, we assessed their metabolic activity using an MTT assay. Based on those results, we calculated cell viability and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values. The results suggest that the CNS drugs were effective against UM-UC-5 in the order of potency of sertraline > chlorpromazine > paroxetine. Interestingly, sertraline was more potent than 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a widely used anticancer drug. This study demonstrated, for the first time, the promising anticancer activity of CNS drugs on human bladder cancer cells in vitro and supports the repurposing of CNS drugs to improve cancer treatment. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to understand their mechanism of action and in vivo activity. Full article
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