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Effect of spiramycin versus aminoguanidine and their combined use in experimental toxoplasmosis

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Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is one of the widest spread parasitic infections which is caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoon. Many experimental studies have evaluated the effect of aminoguanidine upon parasitic load and inflammatory process. However, few reports have illustrated the impact of combining aminoguanidine with spiramycin in the treatment of toxoplasmosis. Therefore, our study aimed to explore the possible effects of spiramycin used alone and combined with aminoguanidine against the avirulent (ME49) Toxoplasma gondii strain in experimental toxoplasmosis. Fifty-five Swiss albino mice were included in the study and were divided into five groups: (GI): non-infected control group; (GII): infected untreated control group; (GIII): infected- spiramycin treated group; (GIV): infected-aminoguanidine treated group; (GV): infected and received combination of spiramycin and aminoguanidine. Obtained results exhibited a significant increase in brain cysts numbers in aminoguanidine treated groups compared to infected untreated control groups. Histopathological studies denoted that combination between spiramycin and aminoguanidine improved the pathological features only in liver and heart tissues of the studied groups. Moreover, it was noticed that spiramycin administered alone had no effect on nitric oxide expression, whereas its combination with aminoguanidine had an inhibitory effect on inducible nitric oxide synthase enzyme in brain, liver and heart tissues of different study groups. In conclusion, the combination of spiramycin and aminoguanidine significantly reduced the parasitic burden, yet, it failed to resolve the pathological sequels in brain tissues of Toxoplasma gondii infected mice.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr Heba O. Abdelal, Research associate and Data innovation Coordinator at LIS cross- national data centre in Luxembourg, for her assistance in the statistical analysis.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Marwa Omar, Beessa E. Abaza, Esraa Mousa, Shereen M. Ibrahim & Tahani I. Farag

  2. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Hayam E. Rashed

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  1. Marwa Omar
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  2. Beessa E. Abaza
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  3. Esraa Mousa
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  4. Shereen M. Ibrahim
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  6. Tahani I. Farag
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Contributions

Marwa Omar conceptualized the idea. Study design and material preparation were performed by Marwa Omar, Beessa E. Abaza, Esraa Mousa, Shereen M. Ibrahim and Tahani I. Farag. All authors participated in the experimental work. Hayam E. Rashed evaluated the pathological and immunohistochemical results. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Marwa Omar and all authors commented of previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marwa Omar.

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Omar, M., Abaza, B.E., Mousa, E. et al. Effect of spiramycin versus aminoguanidine and their combined use in experimental toxoplasmosis. J Parasit Dis 45, 1014–1025 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-021-01396-9

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