Effect of anacardic acid against echinococcosis through inhibition of VEGF-induced angiogenesis

Vet Res. 2019 Jan 14;50(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13567-019-0621-7.

Abstract

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic infection caused by cestode species of the genus Echinococcus, with limited treatment options. It is urgent to develop new anti-hydatid agent. In this paper, we reported anacardic acid (AA), a natural product isolated from the Brazilian cashew-nut shell liquid, which presented a high activity against metacestodes of Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) and Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (E. granulosus s.s.) in vitro and in vivo. AA exerted a better efficacy on E. granulosus s.s. protoscoleces and E. multilocularis metacestodes than that of albendazole (ABZ) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA) in vitro, and an inhibition on the growth of Echinococcus metacestode as effective as ABZ in vivo. Moreover, we also found that one of the mechanisms of AA against Echinococcus could be the suppression of angiogenesis on/in the metacestode mass through inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced signalling pathways. This work finds that AA is a new promising potential candidate drug for echinococcosis treatment.

MeSH terms

  • Anacardic Acids / pharmacology*
  • Anacardium / chemistry
  • Animals
  • Anticestodal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Echinococcus granulosus / drug effects*
  • Echinococcus granulosus / growth & development
  • Echinococcus granulosus / physiology
  • Echinococcus multilocularis / drug effects*
  • Echinococcus multilocularis / growth & development
  • Echinococcus multilocularis / physiology
  • Female
  • Larva / drug effects
  • Larva / growth & development
  • Larva / physiology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic / drug effects*
  • Random Allocation
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / antagonists & inhibitors*

Substances

  • Anacardic Acids
  • Anticestodal Agents
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
  • anacardic acid