Thursday, 28 November 2019 13:46

Switzerland: Reduction of Mouse Tests using Amoebas Featured

Prof. Thierry Soldati and his team from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Geneva infected amoebae and amoeboid-mobile slime fungus cells to test new antibiotics and to reduce animal testing with mice.


In the beginning, pharmaceutical researchers normally test new substances with tuberculosis bacteria themselves. However, most drug candidates fail than in the following tests with cells and mice, because tuberculosis bacteria behave differently in these cases.

To sort out unsuitable substances before they are tested on mice, Prof. Soldati and his team used acanthamoeba and amoeboid slime fungus cells (Dictyostelium discoideum) in these following steps instead. Acanthamoeba is a protozoa living in soil and freshwater. Such organisms resemble macrophages to a certain extent and can be infected with TBC pathogens, in this case with Mycobacterium marinum, which causes skin infections in humans.

By using the treated protozoa, the team tested 168 active ingredients against tuberculosis and found that less than 5 percent showed strong anti-infective effects in the protozoa infection models. These drugs were then suitable to be tested in animal experiments as well.

The researchers now want to test active substances from traditional medicine.

The researchers presented their method in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports" in 2018:
Valentin Trofimov, Sébastien Kicka, Sabrina Mucaria, Nabil Hanna, Fernando Ramon-Olayo, Laura Vela-Gonzalez Del Peral, Joël Lelièvre, Lluís Ballell, Leonardo Scapozza, Gurdyal S. Besra, Jonathan A. G. Cox & Thierry Soldati (2018). Antimycobacterial drug discovery using Mycobacteria-infected amoebae identifies anti-infectives and new molecular targets. Scientific Reports 8:3939, DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-22228-6

Source:
https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schweiz/amoeben-koennten-tierversuche-reduzieren-135966110