The effect of curdlan sulphate on development in vitro of Plasmodium falciparum

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 92; no. 1; pp. 87 - 89
• Main Authors: Evans, S.G., Morrison, D., Kaneko, Y., Havlik, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1998; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; anti-invasive activity in vitro; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antimalarials - pharmacology; Antiparasitic agents; beta-Glucans; Biological and medical sciences; curdlan sulphate; Erythrocytes - parasitology; Glucans - pharmacology; Humans; Life Cycle Stages; malaria; Malaria, Falciparum - drug therapy; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum - drug effects; Plasmodium falciparum - growth & development; Tropical medicine; Plasmodium falciparum; anti-invasive activity in vitro; curdlan sulphate; malaria; Protozoa; Apicomplexa; Protozoal disease; Malaria; Toxicity; Parasitosis; Glycoconjugate; Experimental study; Sulfates; In vitro; Invasion; Infection; Merozoite; Inhibition; Mechanism of action
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/S0035-9203(98)90969-5

Sulphated glycoconjugates have been reported to inhibit malarial merozoite invasion and interfere with rosetting and adhesion. Curdlan sulphate, a sulphated glycoconjugate with a favourable toxicity profile, exhibits antimalarial activity
in vitro. The aim of this study was to characterize the antimalarial activity of curdlan and investigate its effect on adhesion. The antimalarial activity of curdlan at different points in the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle was investigated using morphological observation and radiolabelled hypoxanthine uptake as indices of parasite growth. Effects on adhesion were investigated using a platelet model. Curdlan suphate had no effect on the ability of the parasite to develop through the intraerythrocytic cycle. Inhibition of invasion was dependent on the drug being present at the time of invasion. Curdlan did not interfere with the ability of the parasite to adhere to the C36 receptor in the platelet model. In conclusion, the low toxicity of curdlan and its marked anti-invasion activity on merozoites make curdlan a potential auxiliary treatment for severe malaria.