Activité anti-toxoplasmose, screening phytochimique et étude de la cytotoxicité de l’extrait éthanolique 70% de Hunteria eburnea Pichon (Apocynaceae)

Hunteria eburnea is a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine in the Sassandra Region (Ivory Coast) in the treatment of malaria and skin diseases. The aim of this study is to study the inhibitory effect of 70% ethanolic extract of Hunteria eburneaa stem bark on Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite such as Plasmodium falciparum that causes toxoplasmosis. The 70% ethanolic extract was obtained from the parts of the plant that are used by traditional health practitioners in the Haut-Sassandra Region (Ivory Coast).The 70% ethanolic extract of Hunteria eburnea stem bark revealed high anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity with an estimated IC50 of 0.72 mg / mL and no cytotoxicity to HFF cells. (Human Foreskin Fibroblasts). Also, the phytochemical screening of this extract revealed the presence of sterols / triterpenes as well as alkaloids. This result indicates a promising source of new anti-Toxoplasma drugs from Hunteria eburnea, a West African medicinal plant

Structure, function and biogenesis of the secondary plastid of apicomplexan parasites

International audienc

Compounds with antiparasitic activity and applications thereof

Signet WO2012150577 (A1) - COMPOUNDS WITH ANTIPARASITIC ACTIVITY AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF Inventeur(s) CAMARA DJENEB [FR]; BISANZ CORDELIA [FR]; BARETTE CAROLINE [FR]; CESBRON-DELAUW MARIE-FRANCE [FR]; REBEILLE FABRICE [FR]; BIRKHOLTZ MARIE-LYN [ZA] + (CAMARA, DJENEB, ; BISANZ, CORDELIA, ; BARETTE, CAROLINE, ; CESBRON-DELAUW, MARIE-FRANCE, ; REBEILLE, FABRICE, ; BIRKHOLTZ, MARIE-LYN) Demandeur(s) COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE [FR]; CENTRE NAT RECH SCIENT [FR]; CAMARA DJENEB [FR]; BISANZ CORDELIA [FR]; BARETTE CAROLINE [FR]; CESBRON-DELAUW MARIE-FRANCE [FR]; REBEILLE FABRICE [FR]; BIRKHOLTZ MARIE-LYN [ZA] + (COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIESALTERNATIVES, ; CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, ; CAMARA, DJENEB, ; BISANZ, CORDELIA, ; BARETTE, CAROLINE, ; CESBRON-DELAUW, MARIE-FRANCE, ; REBEILLE, FABRICE, ; BIRKHOLTZ, MARIE-LYN) Classification: - internationale A01N43/38; A01P13/00; A61K31/407; A61P33/00; A61P33/06 - coopérative A01N43/90; A61K31/407 Numéro de demande WO2012IB52246 20120504 Numéro(s) de priorité: EP20110290215 20110504 Également publié en tant que: EP2520297 (A1)The invention relates to novel compounds responding to the following formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, for use as medicaments, and in particular as medicaments for the prevention and/or the treatment of parasitic diseases caused by apicomplexans parasites. The invention also concerns pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds of formula (I) as active principles. Finally, the present invention relates to the use of compounds of formula (I) as herbicides and/or algaecides and to herbicide and/or algaecide compositions containing such compounds

The Arabidopsis nuclear DAL gene encodes a chloroplast protein which is required for the maturation of the plastid ribosomal RNAs and is essential for chloroplast differentiation

International audienceAltered pigmentation is an easily scored and sensitive monitor of plastid function. We analyzed in detail a yellow colored transposon-tagged mutant (dal1-2) that is allelic to the da1 mutant previously identified (Babiychuk et al., 1997). Mesophyll cells of mutant plants possess abnormal nucleoids and more but smaller plastids than wild type cells. Plastid development in dal1-2 is not altered in the dark but is arrested at the early steps of thylakoid assembly. The amino acid sequence of the protein deduced from our cDNA clone is 21 amino acids longer than the previously published DAL sequence (Babiychuk et al., 1997) and allowed us to show that DAL codes for a chloroplast protein. The dal1-2 mutation has a global negative effect on plastid RNA accumulation and on expression of nuclear encoded photosynthetic genes. We show that the plastid RNA polymerases, the nuclear-encoded NEP and the plastid-encoded PEP, are functional in the mutant. Precursor 16S and 23S rRNA species specifically accumulate at a high level in the mutant but the 5'-end and the long 3'-end trailer are not modified. We suggest that the dal mutation is involved in plastid rRNA processing and consequently in translation and early chloroplast differentiation

Refractoriness to toxoplasmosis results from rapid and atypical death of infected macrophage and is associated to a highly conserved polymorphic haplotypic block

International audienc

NALP1 influences susceptibility to human congenital toxoplasmosis, proinflammatory cytokine response, and fate of Toxoplasma gondii-infected monocytic cells.

International audienceNALP1 is a member of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family of proteins that form inflammasomes. Upon cellular infection or stress, inflammasomes are activated, triggering maturation of proinflammatory cytokines and downstream cellular signaling mediated through the MyD88 adaptor. Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that stimulates production of high levels of proinflammatory cytokines that are important in innate immunity. In this study, susceptibility alleles for human congenital toxoplasmosis were identified in the NALP1 gene. To investigate the role of the NALP1 inflammasome during infection with T. gondii, we genetically engineered a human monocytic cell line for NALP1 gene knockdown by RNA interference. NALP1 silencing attenuated progression of T. gondii infection, with accelerated host cell death and eventual cell disintegration. In line with this observation, upregulation of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-18, and IL-12 upon T. gondii infection was not observed in monocytic cells with NALP1 knockdown. These findings suggest that the NALP1 inflammasome is critical for mediating innate immune responses to T. gondii infection and pathogenesis. Although there have been recent advances in understanding the potent activity of inflammasomes in directing innate immune responses to disease, this is the first report, to our knowledge, on the crucial role of the NALP1 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of T. gondii infections in humans