A study of azithromycin,acetyl spiramycin,and artesunate to counter Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice

Objectives To observe the effect of azithromycin,acetyl spiramycin,and artesunate individually and in combination to counter toxoplasmosis and to explore effective drugs and therapies to treat toxoplasmosis.Methods Mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 5×104 tachyzoites/ml of the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii in an animal model of acute T.gondii infection.One group received azithromycin alone,one received acetyl spiramycin alone,one received artesunate alone,one received a combination of azithromycin and acetyl spiramycin,one received a combination of azithromycin and artesunate,and one received a combination of artesunate and acetyl spiramycin.Two h post-infection,the initial dose was doubled.After 7 d of treatment,the morphology of parasites in peritoneal lavage fluid and the survival time and survival rate of mice were noted as indicators.Observation continued for 30 days.Results The morphology of Toxoplasma tachyzoites changed significantly in treated groups,and treated groups had a longer average survival than the control group(P0.05).Specifically,survival for the group treated with azithromycin alone was 10.63 ± 0.75 d,that for the group treated with a combination of azithromycin and artesunate was 7.37 ± 0.36 d,and that for the group treated with artesunate alone was 6.48 ± 0.25 d.Survival for the untreated control group was 4.33 ± 0.22 d.Conclusion Three drugs had a potent effect on Toxoplasma in mice.Azithromycin,artesunate,and combinations of the two were more potent.