LUIZ FELIPE DOMINGUES PASSERO
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
LIM/50 - Laboratório de Patologia das Moléstias Infecciosas, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
3 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 3 de 3
- Antimicrobial Activity of Oleanolic and Ursolic Acids: An Update(2015) JESUS, Jessica A.; LAGO, Joao Henrique G.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; YAMAMOTO, Eduardo S.; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.Triterpenoids are the most representative group of phytochemicals, as they comprise more than 20,000 recognized molecules. These compounds are biosynthesized in plants via squalene cyclization, a C-30 hydrocarbon that is considered to be the precursor of all steroids. Due to their low hydrophilicity, triterpenes were considered to be inactive for a long period of time; however, evidence regarding their wide range of pharmacological activities is emerging, and elegant studies have highlighted these activities. Several triterpenic skeletons have been described, including some that have presented with pentacyclic features, such as oleanolic and ursolic acids. These compounds have displayed incontestable biological activity, such as antibacterial, antiviral, and antiprotozoal effects, which were not included in a single review until now. Thus, the present review investigates the potential use of these triterpenes against human pathogens, including their mechanisms of action, via in vivo studies, and the future perspectives about the use of compounds for human or even animal health are also discussed.
- Topical buparvaquone nano-enabled hydrogels for cutaneous leishmaniasis(2020) LALATSA, Aikaterini; STATTS, Larry; JESUS, Jessica Adriana de; ADEWUSI, Olivia; DEA-AYUELA, Maria Auxiliadora; BOLAS-FERNANDEZ, Francisco; LAURENTI, Marcia Dalastra; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe Domingues; SERRANO, Dolores R.Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease presenting cutaneous, mucosal and visceral forms and affecting an estimated 12 million mostly low-income people. Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is recommended to expedite healing, reduce risk of scarring, prevent parasite dissemination to other mucocutaneous (common with New World species) or visceral forms and reduce the chance of relapse, but remains an unmet need. Available treatments are painful, prolonged (> 20 days) and require hospitalisation, which increases the cost of therapy. Here we present the development of optimised topical self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) loaded with buparvaquone (BPQ, a hydroxynapthoquinone from the open Malaria Box) for the treatment of CL from New World species. The administration of topical BPQ-SNEDDS gels for 7 days resulted in a reduction of parasite load of 99.989 +/- 0.019% similar to the decrease achieved with intralesionally administered Glucantime (R) (99.873 +/- 0.204%) in a L. amazonensis BALB/c model. In vivo efficacy was supported by ex vivo permeability and in vivo tape stripping studies. BPQ-SNEDDS and their hydrogels demonstrated linear flux across non-infected CD-1 mouse skin ex vivo of 182.4 +/- 63.0 mu g cm(-2) h(-1) and 57.6 +/- 10.8 mu g cm(-2 )h(-1) respectively localising BPQ within the skin in clinically effective concentrations (227.0 +/- 45.9 mu g and 103.8 +/- 33.8 mu g) respectively. These levels are therapeutic as BPQ-SNEDDS and their gels showed nanomolar in vitro efficacy against L. amazonensis and L. braziliensis amastigotes with excellent selectivity index toward parasites versus murine macrophages. In vivo tape stripping experiments indicated localisation of BPQ within the stratum corneum and dermis. Histology studies confirmed the reduction of parasitism and indicated healing in animals treated with BPQ-SNEDDS hydrogels. These results highlight the potential clinical capability of nano-enabled BPQ hydrogels towards a non-invasive treatment for CL.
- The Effect of Ursolic Acid on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis Is Related to Programed Cell Death and Presents Therapeutic Potential in Experimental Cutaneous Leishmaniasis(2015) YAMAMOTO, Eduardo S.; CAMPOS, Bruno L. S.; JESUS, Jessica A.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; RIBEIRO, Susan P.; KALLAS, Esper G.; RAFAEL-FERNANDES, Mariana; SANTOS-GOMES, Gabriela; SILVA, Marcelo S.; SESSA, Deborah P.; LAGO, Joao H. G.; LEVY, Debora; PASSERO, Luiz F. D.Among neglected tropical diseases, leishmaniasis is one of the most important ones, affecting more than 12 million people worldwide. The available treatments are not well tolerated, and present diverse side effects, justifying the search for new therapeutic compounds. In the present study, the activity of ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) were assayed in experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis (in vitro and in vivo). Promastigote forms of L. amazonensis were incubated with OA and UA for 24h, and effective concentration 50% (EC50) was estimated. Ultraestructural alterations in Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes after UA treatment were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, and the possible mode of action was assayed through Annexin V and propidium iodide staining, caspase 3/7 activity, DNA fragmentation and transmembrane mitochondrial potential. The UA potential was evaluated in intracellular amastigotes, and its therapeutic potential was evaluated in L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice. UA eliminated L. amazonensis promastigotes with an EC50 of 6.4 mu g/mL, comparable with miltefosine, while OA presented only a marginal effect on promastigote forms at 100 mu g/mL. The possible mechanism by which promastigotes were eliminated by UA was programmed cell death, independent of caspase 3/7, but it was highly dependent on mitochondria activity. UA was not toxic for peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice, and it was able to eliminate intracellular amastigotes, associated with nitric oxide (NO) production. OA did not eliminate amastigotes nor trigger NO. L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice submitted to UA treatment presented lesser lesion size and parasitism compared to control. This study showed, for the first time, that UA eliminate promastigote forms through a mechanism associated with programed cell death, and importantly, was effective in vivo. Therefore, UA can be considered an interesting candidate for future tests as a prototype drug for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.