Discovery of Novel Antiprotozoal Agents: Current Status and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 848

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Basic and Applied Immunology, Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís 65080-805, Brazil
Interests: neglected tropical diseases; drug discovery; natural products; medicinal chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

  • The spectrum of diseases caused by protozoans affects millions of people around the world. Protozooses such as malaria, American trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, trichomoniasis, giardiasis, and amoebiasis are responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates. The number of cases of antiprotozoal resistance is increasing and represents a threat to the available therapeutic arsenal. Therefore, the search for new antiprotozoal agents is a constant concern.
  • This Special Issue of Pathogens aims to gather relevant manuscripts, including basic, translational, and clinical research, on various advances in the treatment of protozoan diseases. For this research topic, we invite researchers to share their original research, relevant findings, and review articles in the areas of antiprotozoal drug identification, drug combinations, immunotherapy, drug delivery systems, drug resistance, and target identification–validation for microbial diseases of medical interest.

Prof. Dr. Klinger Antonio da Franca Rodrigues
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neglected tropical diseases
  • drug discovery
  • natural products
  • medicinal chemistry

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 4169 KB  
Article
2-Aminothiophene Derivative SB-83 Inhibits Trypanothione Reductase and Modulates Cytokine Production in Trypanosoma cruzi-Infected Cells
by Airton Lucas Sousa dos Santos, Vanessa Maria Rodrigues de Souza, Julyanne Maria Saraiva de Sousa, Raiza Raianne Luz Rodrigues, Mércya Lopes Braga, Maria Gabrielly Gonçalves Da Silva Sousa, Douglas Soares de Oliveira, Mirely Vitória Farias da Silva, Edeildo Ferreira da Silva-Junior, Thaís Amanda de Lima Nunes, Marcos Vinícius da Silva, Ingrid Gracielle Martins da Silva, Karine Brenda Barros-Cordeiro, Sônia Nair Báo, Francisco Jaime Bezerra Mendonça Junior and Klinger Antonio da Franca Rodrigues
Pathogens 2026, 15(1), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010064 - 8 Jan 2026
Viewed by 669
Abstract
Chagas disease remains a significant neglected tropical disease that predominantly affects vulnerable populations in rural, low-income areas of Latin America. The management of this condition is severely hindered by the limitations of current therapies, which are characterized by substantial toxicity, diminished efficacy during [...] Read more.
Chagas disease remains a significant neglected tropical disease that predominantly affects vulnerable populations in rural, low-income areas of Latin America. The management of this condition is severely hindered by the limitations of current therapies, which are characterized by substantial toxicity, diminished efficacy during the chronic phase, and the emergence of parasitic resistance. Given the promising activity of SB-83 (a 2-aminothiophenic derivative) against Leishmania spp., the present study sought to evaluate its trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma cruzi. The results showed that SB-83 exhibited potent inhibitory effects on the epimastigote forms of T. cruzi (IC50 = 6.23 ± 0.84 μM), trypomastigotes (EC50 = 7.31 ± 0.52 μM) and intracellular amastigotes (EC50 = 5.12 ± 0.49 μM). Furthermore, the cellular proliferation assay results indicated CC50 values of 77.80 ± 2.05 µM for LLC-MK2 CCL-7 and 24.21 ± 1.2 µM for Vero CCL-87, with a selectivity index above 10 for LLC-MK2 cells. In addition, the compound increased TNF-α, IL-12, nitric oxide, and ROS while decreasing IL-10. Moreover, in silico and in vitro assays confirmed its binding to trypanothione reductase, disrupting redox balance. Flow cytometry further revealed apoptosis induction in trypomastigotes, whereas electron microscopy showed cellular disruption and organelle disorganization. Therefore, SB-83 demonstrated potent activity against the TcI-resistant strain linked to Chagas cardiomyopathy at non-toxic concentrations for host cells, supporting its potential as a therapeutic candidate. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop