Lack of therapeutic effect of colchicine on murine toxoplasmosis

In a previous report, we showed that addition of colchicine to cultures of glial cells infected with Toxoplasma gondii decreased the number of parasites by up to 80%. To provide support for potential therapeutic use of colchicine in toxoplasmosis, a murine model of T. gondii infection was used. Mice infected with pure RH T. gondii tachyzoites (from 2,233 to 25,000 parasites) were treated daily with either pyrimethamine (80 or 51 mg/kg), colchicine (10 mg/kg), pyrimethamine-colchicine, or vehicle (controls). Survival rates were lower in animals treated with colchicine (from 40% to 27%) and pyrimethamine-colchicine (from 73% to 41%) than in animals treated with pyrimethamine alone (from 100% to 73%). There was no extension of mean survival time in animals treated with colchicine compared to controls. These results demonstrate that colchicine does not improve the course of acute toxoplasmosis in mice, and it is detrimental rather than beneficial at the regimen tested.