Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

BIBTEX RIS

Biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNp-Bio) restore testosterone levels and increase TNF-α and IL-6 in Leydig cells infected with Toxoplasma gondii

2022; Elsevier BV; Volume: 241; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108343

1090-2449

Sara Sofia Lopes Semedo, Raquel Arruda Sanfelice, Fernanda Tomiotto‐Pellissier, Taylon Felipe Silva, Bruna Taciane da Silva Bortoleti, Gabriela Correia de Oliveira, Gláucia Elóisa Munhoz de Lion Siervo, Larissa Rodrigues Bosqui, Danielle Lazarin-Bidói, Ivete Conchon‐Costa, Luiz Daniel de Barros, João Luís Garcia, Gerson Nakazato, Wander Rogério Pavanelli, Glaura Scantamburlo Alves Fernandes, Idessânia Nazareth Costa,

Hepatitis B Virus Studies

Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for toxoplasmosis. The available therapy for patients with toxoplasmosis involves a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, which have several adverse effects, including bone marrow suppression, megaloblastic anemia, leukopenia, and granulocytopenia. The development of therapeutic alternatives is essential for the management of toxoplasmosis, emphasizing the recent advances in nanomedicine. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro effects of biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNp-Bio) on tachyzoite forms and Leydig cells infected with T. gondii. We observed that the AgNp-Bio reduced the viability of the tachyzoites and did not exhibit cytotoxicity against Leydig cells at low concentrations. Additionally, treatment with AgNp-Bio reduced the rate of infection and proliferation of the parasite, and lowered the testosterone levels in the infected cells. It increased the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α and reduced the levels of IL- 10. Among the morphological and ultrastructural changes, AgNp-Bio induced a reduction in the number of intracellular tachyzoites and caused changes in the tachyzoites with accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and a decrease in the number of tachyzoites inside the parasitophorous vacuoles. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the AgNp-Bio affect T. gondii tachyzoites by activating microbicidal and inflammatory mechanisms and could be a potential alternative treatment for toxoplasmosis.