Repurposing Terfenadine as a Novel Antigiardial Compound

Area of Science:

• Parasitology
• Drug Discovery
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Giardia lamblia causes giardiasis, a significant gastrointestinal illness.
• Existing giardiasis treatments face challenges like side effects and drug resistance.
• Drug repurposing offers a faster route to developing new therapeutic agents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of terfenadine as a repurposed drug against Giardia lamblia.
• To evaluate the cytotoxic effects of terfenadine on Giardia lamblia trophozoites.

Main Methods:

• Assessed terfenadine's effect on Giardia lamblia trophozoite growth and viability.
• Utilized scanning electron microscopy to observe morphological changes in treated trophozoites.
• Examined the impact on tubulin and Giardia GiK expression.

Main Results:

• Terfenadine demonstrated time- and dose-dependent inhibition of Giardia lamblia growth and viability.
• Morphological analysis revealed membrane protrusions and dysregulation of tubulin and Giardia GiK.
• Terfenadine exhibited low toxicity against Caco-2 human intestinal cells.

Conclusions:

• Terfenadine shows promise as a repurposed therapeutic agent for giardiasis.
• Further research is needed to clarify its mechanism of action and clinical efficacy.