Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: UMLS:C0022568 (
keratitis
)
5,133
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Free-living amoebae of the genus
Acanthamoeba
are the causal agents of a sight-threatening ulceration of the cornea called
Acanthamoeba
keratitis
, as well as the rare but usually fatal disease granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Although there are many therapeutic options for the treatment of
Acanthamoeba
infections, they are generally lengthy and/or have limited efficacy. For the best clinical outcome, treatments should target both the trophozoite and the cyst stages, as cysts are known to confer resistance to treatment. In this study, we document the activities of
caffeine
and maslinic acid against both the trophozoite and the cyst stages of three clinical strains of
Acanthamoeba
These drugs were chosen because they are reported to inhibit glycogen phosphorylase, which is required for encystation. Maslinic acid is also reported to be an inhibitor of extracellular proteases, which may be relevant since the protease activities of
Acanthamoeba
species are correlated with their pathogenicity. We also provide evidence for the first time that both drugs exert their anti-amoebal effects through programmed cell death.
...
PMID:Amoebicidal Activity of Caffeine and Maslinic Acid by the Induction of Programmed Cell Death in Acanthamoeba. 2832 Jul 23
