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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2002, p. 2569-2574, Vol. 46, No. 8
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.8.2569-2574.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Antileishmanial Activity of the Antiulcer Agent Omeprazole
Suping Jiang, Juliana Meadows, Steven A. Anderson, and Antony J. Mukkada*
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0006
Received 8 January 2002/
Returned for modification 19 February 2002/
Accepted 17 May 2002
The benzimidazole compound omeprazole, used widely for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, inhibits the growth of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis. Promastigotes cultured at acidic pH and amastigotes within infected macrophages are reduced 90% or more with 150 µM omeprazole. Antiparasitic action of the drug is due to its inhibition of the P-type K+,H+-ATPase on the surface membrane. This enzyme is important for pH homeostasis and the maintenance of proton motive force across the membrane in Leishmania. The drug is effective only at acidic pH, a condition that mimics the in vivo environment within the phagolysosomal vesicles where the amastigote form of the parasite resides. Omeprazole deserves consideration as an alternative to currently available chemotherapeutics, which have severe toxic side effects.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0006. Phone: (513) 556-9721. Fax: (513) 556-5299. E-mail:
mukkada{at}email.uc.edu.
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2002, p. 2569-2574, Vol. 46, No. 8
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.8.2569-2574.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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