This study investigated the effects of albendazole on the viability, morphology and ultrastructure of different life stages of Caenorhabditis elegans. The albendazole EC50 value after seven days of treatment was 18.43 μM. This concentration was very efficient against all the stages. Light and electron microscopy analysis showed damage to the body wall of the adults and larvae. An intense desquamation of the cuticle of larvae and of the surface of the eggs was observed, preventing their hatching and development. The main ultrastructural damage detected was the degeneration of the mitochondria in the noncontractile muscle of the body wall, which appeared as large vacuoles. This study reaffirmed the use of C. elegans as a screening system for compounds with potential anthelmintic activity and showed the effects of albendazole on the different life stages of these worms.
Dinitroanilines are known herbicides that impair the polymerization of microtubules. This study investigated the effects of oryzalin and trifluralin on the viability, morphology, and ultrastructure of different life stages of Caenorhabditis elegans. Both drugs reduced the survival of the adult population in 50% after three days of treatment with concentrations of approximately 30 μM and 57 μM, respectively. The development of new adults was monitored for seven days and treatment with both drugs also showed a decrease in the adult population. 25 μM Oryzalin or trifluralin inhibited the hatching of eggs by nearly 100%. Both drugs showed remarkable larvicidal activity at 25 μM against the larvae at first and second stages (L1-L2) and at third and fourth stages (L3-L4) after 24 h. Treatment with dinitroanilines led to incomplete egg embryo development. The oryzalin and trifluralin treatments caused the detachment of cuticular layers of adults and larvae and the formation of a large number of intracellular membrane whirls and lipid bodies in the hypodermal cells and non-contractile muscles of adults. Both drugs also provoked the bagging process, which generated lesions in the uterus of the adults. In addition, trifluralin caused the detachment of certain areas of the cuticle adjacent to the hypodermis in a large number of nematodes. Our results suggest that dinitroanilines are a potentially new alternative for anthelmintic chemotherapy.
Alkylphospholipid analogs were initially developed as anticancer agents and were later found to antiparasitic activity. Miltefosine is the prototype alkylphosphocholine and is the first oral treatment against visceral leishmaniasis. Here we investigated the effects of miltefosine and two ring-substituted alkylphosphocholine derivatives, TCAN26 and TC70, on the viability, morphology, and ultrastructure of the life stages of Caenorhabditis elegans and infective larvae of the parasite Strongyloides venezuelensis. Miltefosine displayed activity against C. elegans adults at low concentrations and was more effective than TCAN26 and TC70. Miltefosine inhibited the hatching of eggs, leading to embryonic lethality, and showed larvicidal activity against C. elegans and S. venezuelensis larvae after 24 h. Mitelfosine also induced alterations in the reproductive system of hermaphrodites, causing vulvar prolapse and general effects in the body wall. Electron microscopy analysis showed that miltefosine induced selective embryonic lethality, leading to cell death. Our results suggest that alkylphospholipid analogs are a potential new alternative for anti-nematode chemotherapy.
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