IACS’s novel compound treats drug-resistant kala-azar infection
Why in news:
- Experimental work undertaken in mice has shown a novel quinoline derivative to be effective in sharply reducing the load of Leishmania donovani in both the spleen and liver of labgrown mice.
More about the news:
- The quinoline derivative is a potent inhibitor of an enzyme called topoisomerase 1 (LdTop1), which is essential for maintenance of DNA architecture in the parasites.
- This enzyme is distinct from the one found in humans.
- Poisoning of LdTop1 imparts a significant level of cytotoxicity to both the Leishmania parasites found in gut of sandfly vectors (promastigotes) as well as the form found in the infected humans (amastigotes) of both the wild type and the antimony resistant isolates without inducing any lethality to human and mice host cells.
About Kala Azar:
- Kalaazar is a vector borne (sandfly) neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasites of the genus leishmania.
- It afflicts the world’s poorest populations in over 90 countries.
- Kala azar, also called visceral leishmaniasis, is a disease in which a parasite migrates to the internal organs such as the liver, spleen (hence “visceral”), and bone marrow.
- If left untreated, will almost always result in the death of the host.
- Signs and symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia, and substantial swelling of the liver and spleen.
- Current annual estimates of kalaazar are about 1,00,000, with more than 95% of cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from India and other tropical countries.
- The four States endemic for kalaazar in India are: Bihar (33 districts), Jharkhand (4 districts), West Bengal (11 districts), and Uttar Pradesh (six districts).
Syllabus: Prelims
