ArticleAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy2010
Tafenoquine, an antiplasmodial 8-aminoquinoline, targets leishmania respiratory complex III and induces apoptosis.
Article in Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 94 citations in OpenAlex.
- Promising Drug Repurposing Candidates Targeting Free-Living Amoebae: A Systematic and Critical Review of Laboratory-Based Evidence.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Long-Acting Antimalarial Drug Delivery Systems for Chemoprophylaxis: Formulation Strategies and Routes of Administration.Pharmaceutical research · 2026Review
- Tafenoquine: A Breakthrough Option for Babesiosis Treatment.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Article
- Heme limitation induces LHR2, an essential gene for Leishmania pathogenesis.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Tafenoquine succinate inhibits the growth of the equine piroplasmosis hemoparasites Theileria equi and Babesia caballi.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Tafenoquine Disrupts Intraerythrocytic Stages of Malaria Parasites by Inhibiting Nonclassical Pathways of β-Hematin Nucleation and Growth.Biochemistry · 2025Article
- Plant-derived products as anti-leishmanials which target mitochondria: a review.Expert reviews in molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Plasma Blood Levels of Tafenoquine following a Single Oral Dosage in BALBc Mice with AcutePathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Efficacy Evaluation of 10-Hydroxy Chondrofoline and Tafenoquine againstPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Naphthoquinone as a New Chemical Scaffold for Leishmanicidal Inhibitors ofBiomedicines · 2022Article
- Functionalized 1,2,3-triazolium salts as potential agents against visceral leishmaniasis.Parasitology research · 2022Article
- The Potential of 2-Substituted Quinolines as Antileishmanial Drug Candidates.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Is the mitochondrion a promising drug target in trypanosomatids?Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2022Article
- Biological Evaluation and Mechanistic Studies of Quinolin-(1Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2021Article
- Tryp-ing Up Metabolism: Role of Metabolic Adaptations in Kinetoplastid Disease Pathogenesis.Infection and immunity · 2021Review
- An Integrated Approach to Identify New Anti-Filarial Leads to Treat River Blindness, a Neglected Tropical Disease.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- In vivo experiments demonstrate the potent antileishmanial efficacy of repurposed suramin in visceral leishmaniasis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Tafenoquine: A Step toward Malaria Elimination.Biochemistry · 2020Article
- Could the Drug Tafenoquine Revolutionize Treatment of Babesia microti Infection?The Journal of infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Exploiting knowledge on pharmacodynamics-pharmacokinetics for accelerated anti-leishmanial drug discovery/development.Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tafenoquine (TFQ), an 8-aminoquinoline analogue of primaquine, which is currently under clinical trial (phase IIb/III) for the treatment and prevention of malaria, may represent an alternative treatment for leishmaniasis. In this work, we have studied the mechanism of action of TFQ against Leishmania parasites. TFQ impaired the overall bioenergetic metabolism of Leishmania promastigotes, causing a rapid drop in intracellular ATP levels without affecting plasma membrane permeability. TFQ induced mitochondrial dysfunction through the inhibition of cytochrome c reductase (respiratory complex III) with a decrease in the oxygen consumption rate and depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. This was accompanied by ROS production, elevation of intracellular Ca(2+) levels and concomitant nuclear DNA fragmentation. We conclude that TFQ targets Leishmania mitochondria, leading to an apoptosis-like death process.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.