Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37540716›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2023

Establishment and application of unbiased in vitro drug screening assays for the identification of compounds against Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto.

Marc Kaethner, Matías Preza, Tobias Kaempfer, Pascal Zumstein, Claudia Tamponi, Antonio Varcasia, Andrew Hemphill, Klaus Brehm, Britta Lundström-Stadelmann

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. First comparative proteomic andFrontiers in veterinary science · 2025
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  9. Article
  10. In Vitro Activities of Dithiocarbamate Derivatives againstTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Marc KaethnerInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Matías PrezaInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Tobias KaempferInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Pascal ZumsteinInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Claudia TamponiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Italy.
Antonio VarcasiaDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Italy.
Andrew HemphillInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Klaus BrehmInstitute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany.
Britta Lundström-StadelmannInstitute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-2672-5766
University of Bern · CHUniversity of Sassari · ITUniversity of Würzburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus s.l. are the causative agents of alveolar and cystic echinococcosis, respectively. Drug treatment options for these severe and neglected diseases are limited to benzimidazoles, which are not always efficacious, and adverse side effects are reported. Thus, novel and improved treatments are needed. In this study, the previously established platform for E. multilocularis in vitro drug assessment was adapted to E. granulosus s.s. In a first step, in vitro culture protocols for E. granulosus s.s. were established. This resulted in the generation of large amounts of E. granulosus s.s. metacestode vesicles as well as germinal layer (GL) cells. In vitro culture of these cells formed metacestode vesicles displaying structural characteristics of metacestode cysts generated in vivo. Next, drug susceptibilities of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus s.s. protoscoleces, metacestode vesicles and GL cells were comparatively assessed employing established assays including (i) metacestode vesicle damage marker release assay, (ii) metacestode vesicle viability assay, (iii) GL cell viability assay, and (iv) protoscolex motility assay. The standard drugs albendazole, buparvaquone, mefloquine, MMV665807, monepantel, niclosamide and nitazoxanide were included. MMV665807, niclosamide and nitazoxanide were active against the parasite in all four assays against both species. MMV665807 and monepantel were significantly more active against E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles, while albendazole and nitazoxanide were significantly more active against E. multilocularis GL cells. Albendazole displayed activity against E. multilocularis GL cells, but no effects were seen in albendazole-treated E. granulosus s.s. GL cells within five days. Treatment of protoscoleces with albendazole and monepantel had no impact on motility. Similar results were observed for both species with praziquantel and its enantiomers against protoscoleces. In conclusion, in vitro culture techniques and drug screening methods previously established for E. multilocularis were successfully implemented for E. granulosus s.s., allowing comparisons of drug efficacy between the two species. This study provides in vitro culture techniques for the reliable generation of E. granulosus s.s. metacestode vesicles and GL cell cultures and describes the validation of standardized in vitro drug screening methods for E. granulosus s.s.

Indexed as

Echinococcus granulosusEchinococcus multilocularisAlbendazoleAminoacetonitrileAnimalsBenzamidesDrug Evaluation, PreclinicalNiclosamideNitro CompoundsThiazoles5-chloro-2-hydroxy-N-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)benzamideAlbendazoleAminoacetonitrileBenzamidesmonepantelNiclosamidenitazoxanideNitro CompoundsThiazoles

Identifiers

PMID37540716
PMCPMC10431624
OpenAlexW4385610982

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.