Browsing by Author "Dembele, Laurent"

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    Ex Vivo Plasmodium malariae Culture Method for Antimalarial Drugs Screen in the Field
    (ACS Publications, 2021-10-28) Dembele, Laurent; Diallo, Nouhoum; Sogore, Fanta
    In vitro and ex vivo cultivation of Plasmodium (P) falciparum has facilitated active research into the malaria parasite toward the quest for basic knowledge and the discovery of effective drug treatments. Such a drug discovery program is currently difficult for P. malariae simply because of the absence of in vitro and ex vivo cultivation system for its asexual blood stages supporting antimalarial evaluation. Despite availability of artemisinin combination therapies effective on P. falciparum, P. malariae is being increasingly detected in malaria endemic countries. P. malariae is responsible for chronic infections and is associated with a high burden of anemia and morbidity. Here, we optimized and adapted ex vivo conditions under which P. malariae can be cultured and used for screening antimalarial drugs. Subsequently, this enabled us to test compounds such as artemether, chloroquine, lumefantrine, and quinine for ex vivo antimalarial activity against P. malariae.
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    Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium falciparum comparative susceptibility to antimalarial drugs in Mali
    (Advance Access Publication, 2021-03-16) Dembele, Laurent; Aniweh, Yaw; Diallo, Nouhoum
    Objectives: To evaluate Plasmodium malariae susceptibility to current and lead candidate antimalarial drugs. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional screening and detection of all Plasmodium species malaria cases, which were nested within a longitudinal prospective study, and an ex vivo assessment of efficacy of a panel of antimalarials against P. malariae and Plasmodium falciparum, both PCR-confirmed mono-infections. Reference compounds tested included chloroquine, lumefantrine, artemether and piperaquine, while candidate antimalar ials included the imidazolopiperazine GNF179, a close analogue of KAF156, and the Plasmodium phosphatidylinositol-4-OH kinase (PI4K)-specific inhibitor KDU691. Results: We report a high frequency (3%–15%) of P. malariae infections with a significant reduction in ex vivo susceptibility to chloroquine, lumefantrine and artemether, which are the current frontline drugs against P. malariae infections. Unlike these compounds, potent inhibition of P. malariae and P. falciparum was observed with piperaquine exposure. Furthermore, we evaluated advanced lead antimalarial compounds. In this regard, we identified strong inhibition of P. malariae using GNF179, a close analogue of KAF156 imidazolopiperazines, which is a novel class of antimalarial drug currently in clinical Phase IIb testing. Finally, in addition to GNF179, we demonstrated that the Plasmodium PI4K-specific inhibitor KDU691 is highly inhibitory against P. malariae and P. falciparum. Conclusions: Our data indicated that chloroquine, lumefantrine and artemether may not be suitable for the treatment of P. malariae infections and the potential of piperaquine, as well as new antimalarials imidazolpiperazines and PI4K-specific inhibitor, for P. malariae cure.