Argentine researchers publish new findings on compounds with parasite growth inhibitory effects.

After five years of intensive research in the field of Chagas disease and the biology of the parasite that causes this malady, Dr. Alberto Frasch and his team of co-workers from the National University of San Martin (UNSAM) in Argentina, have come to some interesting results regarding the identity of some chemical compound which could block certain weak spots of Trypanosoma cruzi, and kill it. One compound in particular, lactitol (a lactose derivative), has been characterised from a chemical point of view, and the finding has been published in the scientific journal Glycobiology. These results are the outcome of joint research activities between Dr. French's team and Dr. Rosa Muchnik de Lederkremer, Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FCEyN) of the University of Buenos Aires, and also a researcher of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) of Argentina.

Another paper published in the Journal Cellular Microbiology by the same research team illustrated that lactitol prevents immune cell death in mice. "Both in vivo and in vitro effects of lactitol obey to the same cause, and lactitol is quickly eliminated through urine" explained Dr. Frasch. That is to say, and opposite to what occurs in isolated cells, in experimental animals lactitol is rapidly eliminated and, therefore, "barely" has time to act on the parasite during the early phases of infection (when Trypanosoma attacks the body's immune system). To solve this problem, the researchers have modified the chemical structure of lactitol molecules with the purpose of increasing the average life of these compounds in the living organism.

In this sense, transialidase is an interesting molecular target from a therapeutic point of view. This enzyme is exclusive to Trypanosoma parasites and therefore, it is absent in mammalian cells. Due to this particularity, the inhibitory action of lactitol derivatives on transalidase could block the deleterious effects of the parasite on the patients´ immune system without causing any important side effect.

So far, Benznidazol and Nifurtimox remain the only alternatives in the treatment of acute phases of Chagas disease, and the latter is no longer manufactured since 1997. In addition, and due to the fact that these drugs have been in use for over three decades now, their action is not always specific when it comes to T. cruzi, they are sometimes ineffective, and usually show undesirable side effects.