Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38043188›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance2023

Evaluation of topotecan and 10-hydroxycamptothecin on Toxoplasma gondii: Implications on baseline DNA damage and repair efficiency.

Constanza Cristaldi, Ana M Saldarriaga Cartagena, Agustina Ganuza, William J Sullivan, Sergio O Angel, Laura Vanagas

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Therapeutic effect of baicalein as an antiparasitic agent againstJournal of Zhejiang University. Science. B · 2025
    Article
  2. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  3. Characterization of the Activities of Vorinostat AgainstInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  4. Construction and biological function ofZhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Constanza CristaldiLaboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM). Chascomús, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Argentina.
Ana M Saldarriaga CartagenaLaboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM). Chascomús, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Argentina.
Agustina GanuzaLaboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM). Chascomús, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Argentina.
William J SullivanPharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States; Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
Sergio O AngelLaboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM). Chascomús, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Argentina. Electronic address: sangel@intech.gov.ar.
Laura VanagasLaboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM). Chascomús, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Argentina. Electronic address: vanagas@intech.gov.ar.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas · ARIndiana University School of Medicine

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa that causes toxoplasmosis in humans and animals worldwide. Despite its prevalence, there is currently no effective vaccine or treatment for chronic infection. Although there are therapies against the acute stage, prolonged use is toxic and poorly tolerated. This study aims to explore the potential of repurposing topotecan and 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) as drugs producing double strand breaks (DSBs) in T. gondii. DSBs are mainly repaired by Homologous Recombination Repair (HRR) and Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ). Two T. gondii strains, RHΔHXGPRT and RHΔKU80, were used to compare the drug's effects on parasites. RHΔHXGPRT parasites may use both HRR and NHEJ pathways but RHΔKU80 lacks the KU80 protein needed for NHEJ, leaving only the HRR pathway. Here we demonstrate that topotecan and HCPT, both topoisomerase I venoms, affected parasite replication in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, variations in fluorescence intensity measurements for the H2A.X phosphorylation mark (γH2A.X), an indicator of DNA damage, were observed in intracellular parasites under drug treatment conditions. Interestingly, intracellular replicative parasites without drug treatment show a strong positive staining for γH2A.X, suggesting inherent DNA damage. Extracellular (non-replicating) parasites did not exhibit γH2A.X staining, indicating that the basal level of DNA damage is likely to be associated with replicative stress. A high rate of DNA replication stress possibly prompted the evolution of an efficient repair machinery in the parasite, making it an attractive target. Our findings show that topoisomerase 1 venoms are effective antiparasitics blocking T. gondii replication.

Indexed as

ParasitesToxoplasmaAnimalsCamptothecinDNA DamageDNA RepairHumansTopotecan10-hydroxycamptothecinCamptothecinTopotecan10-HydroxycamptothecinDNA damageDNA damage responseStress replicationTopotecanToxoplasma gondii

Identifiers

PMID38043188
PMCPMC10730954
OpenAlexW4388979711

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.