Growth Inhibition of Axenic Entamoeba Histolytica by Tubercidin and Ara-a

William B. EubankDepartment of Biochemistry and the Department of Tropical Medicine and Medical Parasitology, Louisiana State University Medical Center Graduate School, 1100 Florida Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119

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Richard E. ReevesDepartment of Biochemistry and the Department of Tropical Medicine and Medical Parasitology, Louisiana State University Medical Center Graduate School, 1100 Florida Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119

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Several analogs of nucleic acid components including 7-deazaadenosine (tubercidin), adenine 9-β-D-arabinofuranoside (ara-A), 8-azaguanine, 6-azathymine, 6-mercaptopurine, 6-mercaptopurine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine riboside and 1,3-dideazapurine (benzimidazole) were tested for inhibition of growth of an axenic strain of Entamoeba histolytica in 72 hour experiments. Metronidazole and emetine were included in the experiments for comparison. Tubercidin and ara-A, analogs of adenosine, were the most potent of the tested growth inhibitors with amebistatic concentrations of about 0.6 and 3.0 µM, respectively. The other analogs did not significantly inhibit amebal growth below 100 µM. In the present study metronidazole and emetine had amebistatic concentrations, respectively, 17-and 60-fold higher than tubercidin.

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