Listen to what the animals say: a systematic review and meta-analysis of sterol 14-demethylase inhibitor efficacy for in vivo models of Trypanosoma cruzi infection.

Publisher: Springer International Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 8703571 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-1955 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09320113 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Parasitol Res Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Berlin : Springer International, c1987-

14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors*/pharmacology ; 14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors*/therapeutic use ; Chagas Disease*/drug therapy ; Chagas Disease*/parasitology ; Disease Models, Animal* ; Trypanosoma cruzi*/drug effects; Animals ; Humans ; Sterol 14-Demethylase/metabolism ; Thiazoles ; Treatment Outcome ; Triazoles/therapeutic use ; Triazoles/pharmacology ; Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology ; Trypanocidal Agents/therapeutic use

Sterol 14-demethylase (CYP51) inhibitors, encompassing new chemical entities and repurposed drugs, have emerged as promising candidates for Chagas disease treatment, based on preclinical studies reporting anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity. Triazoles like ravuconazole (RAV) and posaconazole (POS) progressed to clinical trials. Unexpectedly, their efficacy was transient in chronic Chagas disease patients, and their activity was not superior to benznidazole (BZ) treatment. This paper aims to summarize evidence on the global activity of CYP51 inhibitors against T. cruzi by applying systematic review strategies, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analysis from in vivo studies. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for original articles, obtaining fifty-six relevant papers meeting inclusion criteria. Characteristics of animal models, parasite strain, treatment schemes, and cure rates were extracted. Primary outcomes such as maximum parasitaemia values, survival, and parasitological cure were recorded for meta-analysis, when possible. The risk of bias was uncertain in most studies. Animals treated with itraconazole, RAV, or POS survived significantly longer than the infected non-treated groups (RR = 4.85 [3.62, 6.49], P < 0.00001), and they showed no differences with animals treated with positive control drugs (RR = 1.01 [0.98, 1.04], P = 0.54). Furthermore, the overall analysis showed that RAV or POS was not likely to achieve parasitological cure when compared with BZ or NFX treatment (OD = 0.49 [0.31, 0.77], P = 0.002). This systematic review contributes to understanding why the azoles had failed in clinical trials and, more importantly, how to improve the animal models of T. cruzi infection by filling the gaps between basic, translational, and clinical research.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

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Keywords: Trypanosoma cruzi; Animal models; Chagas disease; Meta-analysis; Sterol 14-demethylase inhibitors; Systematic review

0 (14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors)
95YH599JWV (ER 30346)
6TK1G07BHZ (posaconazole)
EC 1.14.14.154 (Sterol 14-Demethylase)
0 (Thiazoles)
0 (Triazoles)
0 (Trypanocidal Agents)

Date Created: 20240621 Date Completed: 20240621 Latest Revision: 20240703

20240703

10.1007/s00436-024-08257-3

38904688