Morphometric analysis of tachyzoites of the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii after in vitro exposure to atovaquone

Geovana Batista de Campos, Marina Clare Vinaud, Ana Maria de Castro

  • Geovana Batista de Campos Universidade Federal de Goiás
  • Marina Clare Vinaud Universidade Federal de Goiás
  • Ana Maria de Castro Universidade Federal de Goiás

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis with a major impact on public health, and despite this, there is still no effective treatment for all morphological forms of the parasite and stages of the disease. The current treatment protocol uses sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine, which can trigger serious adverse reactions in patients, as well as not being effective in tissue cysts. Atovaquone is an antimalarial drug that has demonstrated anti-Toxoplasma activity. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the morphometric changes in tachyzoites of the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii after exposure to atovaquone. The in vitro experiment was carried out using RAW 264.7 cells, seeded on plates with supplemented RPMI medium. Simultaneously with the infection of the cells, the tachyzoites were exposed to atovaquone. Exposure was assessed at 2 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days. The experiment was carried out in quintuplicate. The morphometric evaluation was carried out using ImageJ® software, and the statistical analysis was done using GraphPad Prism® 8.2.1. The morphometric changes observed showed that from the first hours of exposure, atovaquone affects the morphology of the tachyzoites.

 

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii, atovaquone, morphometric analysis.

Published
2024-09-10