Cytotoxic activities of alkylphosphocholines against clinical isolates of 
Acanthamoeba spp.

Walochnik, J.; Duchene, M.; Seifert, K.; Obwaller, A.; Hottkowitz, T.; Wiedermann, G.; Eibl, H.; Aspock, H.

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Add to Basket

Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released

Journal Article

Cytotoxic activities of alkylphosphocholines against clinical isolates of Acanthamoeba spp.

MPS-Authors

/persons/resource/persons15029

Eibl, H.
Research Group of Phospholipids, MPI for biophysical chemistry, Max Planck Society;

External Resource

No external resources are shared

Fulltext (restricted access)

There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.

Fulltext (public)

There are no public fulltexts stored in PuRe

Supplementary Material (public)

There is no public supplementary material available

Citation

Walochnik, J., Duchene, M., Seifert, K., Obwaller, A., Hottkowitz, T., Wiedermann, G., et al. (2002). Cytotoxic activities of alkylphosphocholines against clinical isolates of Acanthamoeba spp. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 46(3), 695-701. Retrieved from http://aac.asm.org/cgi/reprint/46/3/695.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0012-F42E-2

Abstract

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba are causing serious chronic conditions such as destructive keratitis in contact lens wearers or granulomatous amoebic encephalitis in individuals with compromised immune systems. Both are characterized by the lack of availability of sufficiently effective and uncomplicated, manageable treatments. Hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) is licensed for use as a topical antineoplastic agent, but it is also active in vitro against several protozoan parasites, and it was applied very successfully for the treatment of human visceral leishmaniasis. The aim of our Study was to evaluate the efficacy of hexadecylphosphocholine and other alkylphosphocholines (APCs) against Acanthamoeba spp. The in vitro activities of eight different APCs against three Acanthamoeba strains of various pathogenicities were, determined. All substances showed at least amoebostatic effects, and some of them disrupted the amoebae, as shown by the release of cytoplasmic enzyme activity. Hexadecylphosphocholine exhibited the highest degree of cytotoxicity against trophozoites, resulting in complete cell death at a concentration as low as 40 muM, and also displayed significant cysticidal activity. Hexadecylphosphocholine may be: a promising new candidate for the topical treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis and, conceivably, even for the oral treatment of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis.