Dr.Hala Salah El Wakil
Ain Shams University, Egypt
Title: The effect of iron on metronidazole activity against Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro
Biography
Biography: Dr.Hala Salah El Wakil
Abstract
Metronidazole is administered in an inactive form then activated to its cytotoxic form, within the hydrogenosome of trichomonads. Two hydrogenosomal proteins, pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase PFOR and ferredoxin, play a critical role in the reductive activation of metronidazole. The expression of these proteins and other hydrogenosomal proteins are likewise positively regulated by iron. In the present study, the effect of iron on minimal lethal concentration (MLC) of metronidazole that affect in vitro cultured Trichomonas vaginalis isolates were investigated. Interestingly, Addition of Ferrous ammonium sulphate (FAS) to T.vaginalis culture led to decrease the MLC of metronidazole. On using aerobic assay, MLC of metronidazole on untreated T. vaginalis, of both isolates, was 12.5 μg /ml that decreased to 0.38 μg /ml on FAS treated trichomonads. Also anaerobic assay revealed that MLC on untreated parasites was 3.12 μg /ml that was decreased to 0.097 μg /ml and 0.19 μg /ml, for isolate 1 and 2 respectively, after iron addition. It was concluded that the addition of iron to in vitro cultured Trichomonas vaginalis decreases metronidazole MLC; that was detected by aerobic and anaerobic assays. Reduction of the drug effective dose is useful in reduction of the side effects that mostly appear with the higher doses