Decrease of intestinal P-glycoprotein activity by 2n-propylquinoline, a new oral treatment for visceral leishmaniasis

Drugs currently available for visceral leishmaniasis treatment are potentially toxic, have to be administered by parenteral route and frequently give rise to drug resistance, due to the involvement of P-glycoproteins (P-gp) in Leishmania. The purpose of this study was to investigate a possible inhibitory effect of 2n-propylquinoline (2nPQ) on P-gp activity. 2nPQ is a new oral anti-leishmanial drug that has demonstrated its efficacy in BALB/c infected mice with Leishmania donovani [Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 37 (1993) 859]. Rat everted gut sacs and human intestinal Caco-2 cell lines were used to study the effect of 2nPQ on P-gp activity. Our results demonstrate an inhibitory effect of 2nPQ on the P-gp activity with two P-gp substrates (rhodamine 123 and digoxin), two P-gp inhibitors (cyclosporin A and verapamil), and in two different species. Alone or associated with other active drugs, 2nPQ would be very useful to control Leishmania Multi-Drug-Resistance and intestinal P-gp in humans with kala-azar. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.