In Vitro Effect of the Synthetic cal14.1a Conotoxin, Derived from Conus californicus, on the Human Parasite Toxoplasma gondii
Marco A. De León-Nava,
Eunice Romero-Núñez,
Angélica Luna-Nophal,
Johanna Bernáldez-Sarabia,
Liliana N. Sánchez-Campos,
Alexei F. Licea-Navarro,
Jorge Morales-Montor,
Saé Muñiz-Hernández
Affiliations
Marco A. De León-Nava
Departamento de Innovación Biomédica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Baja California, C.P. 22860, Mexico
Eunice Romero-Núñez
Subdirección de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Secretaría de Salud, San Fernando No. 22, Col. Sección XVI, Tlalpan, Ciudad de Mexico, C.P. 14080, Mexico
Angélica Luna-Nophal
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico; Ciudad de Mexico, C.P. 04510, Mexico
Johanna Bernáldez-Sarabia
Departamento de Innovación Biomédica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Baja California, C.P. 22860, Mexico
Liliana N. Sánchez-Campos
Departamento de Innovación Biomédica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Baja California, C.P. 22860, Mexico
Alexei F. Licea-Navarro
Departamento de Innovación Biomédica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Baja California, C.P. 22860, Mexico
Jorge Morales-Montor
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico; Ciudad de Mexico, C.P. 04510, Mexico
Saé Muñiz-Hernández
Subdirección de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Secretaría de Salud, San Fernando No. 22, Col. Sección XVI, Tlalpan, Ciudad de Mexico, C.P. 14080, Mexico
Toxins that are secreted by cone snails are small peptides that are used to treat several diseases. However, their effects on parasites with human and veterinary significance are unknown. Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasite that affects approximately 30% of the world’s population and can be lethal in immunologically compromised individuals. The conventional treatment for this parasitic infection has remained the same since the 1950s, and its efficacy is limited to the acute phase of infection. These findings have necessitated the search for new drugs that specifically target T. gondii. We examined the effects of the synthetic toxin cal14.1a (s-cal14.1a) from C. californicus on the tachyzoite form of T. gondii. Our results indicate that, at micromolar concentrations, s-cal14.1a lowers viability and inhibits host cell invasion (by 50% and 61%, respectively) on exposure to extracellular parasites. Further, intracellular replication decreased significantly while viability of the host cell was unaffected. Our study is the first report on the antiparasitic activity of a synthetic toxin of C. californicus.