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<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>The declining efficacy of artemisinin derivatives against<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">Plasmodium falciparum</jats:named-content>highlights the urgent need to identify alternative highly potent compounds for the treatment of malaria. In Papua Indonesia, where multidrug resistance has been documented against both<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. falciparum</jats:named-content>and<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. vivax</jats:named-content>malaria, comparative<jats:italic>ex vivo</jats:italic>antimalarial activity against<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">Plasmodium</jats:named-content>isolates was assessed for the artemisinin derivatives artesunate (AS) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA), the synthetic peroxides OZ277 and OZ439, the semisynthetic 10-alkylaminoartemisinin derivatives artemisone and artemiside, and the conventional antimalarial drugs chloroquine (CQ), amodiaquine (AQ), and piperaquine (PIP).<jats:italic>Ex vivo</jats:italic>drug susceptibility was assessed in 46 field isolates (25<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. falciparum</jats:named-content>and 21<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. vivax</jats:named-content>). The novel endoperoxide compounds exhibited potent<jats:italic>ex vivo</jats:italic>activity against both species, but significant differences in intrinsic activity were observed. Compared to AS and its active metabolite DHA, all the novel compounds showed lower or equal 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub>s) in both species (median IC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub>s between 1.9 and 3.6 nM in<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. falciparum</jats:named-content>and 0.7 and 4.6 nM in<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. vivax</jats:named-content>). The antiplasmodial activity of novel endoperoxides showed different cross-susceptibility patterns in the two<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">Plasmodium</jats:named-content>species: whereas their<jats:italic>ex vivo</jats:italic>activity correlated positively with CQ, PIP, AS, and DHA in<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. falciparum</jats:named-content>, the same was not apparent in<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. vivax</jats:named-content>. The current study demonstrates for the first time potent activity of novel endoperoxides against drug-resistant<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">P. vivax</jats:named-content>. The high activity against drug-resistant strains of both<jats:named-content xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" content-type="genus-species" xlink:type="simple">Plasmodium</jats:named-content>species confirms these compounds to be promising candidates for future artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) regimens in regions of coendemicity.</jats:p>

Original publication

DOI

10.1128/aac.00283-12

Type

Journal

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Publisher

American Society for Microbiology

Publication Date

10/2012

Volume

56

Pages

5258 - 5263