Melatonin-loaded silver nanoparticles as a promising therapy for chronic murine toxoplasmosis | ||
| Microbes and Infectious Diseases | ||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 06 July 2025 | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/mid.2025.389797.2839 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Enas Said Elbahaie; Naglaa Fathy Abd El-Aal; Enas Fakhry Abd El-Hamed; Ayat Mohamed Abdelrahman; Shaimaa Elsayed Ashoush* | ||
| Medical parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Toxoplasmosis is an obligate protozoan infection that infects various hosts including human. Available therapy for toxoplasmosis usually comes with side effects and is largely ineffective against bradyzoites. Consequently, our study aimed to assess the anti-Toxoplasma therapeutic impact of melatonin, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and melatonin loaded on AgNPs in T. gondii-infected rats. Methods: Sixty-six male rats aged 6 weeks, weighing about 200g, and free from any diseases were used. They were equally divided into six groups as follows: (GI): Normal uninfected control. (GII): Infected untreated control. (GIII): Infected and treated with spiramycin. (GIV): Infected and treated with melatonin. (GV): Infected and treated with AgNPs (GVI): Infected and treated with melatonin loaded on AgNPs. The therapeutic effects of these medications were evaluated using parasitological, histopathological, biochemical, and immunohistochemical studies. Results: Melatonin-loaded AgNPs presented a significant reduction in the number of brain tissue cysts, an enhancement of liver functions, and a marked histopathological improvement of brain and liver rat tissues. These results were confirmed by marked expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) in the brain, relative to infected untreated animals. Meanwhile, melatonin alone caused minimal anti-T. gondii effect. Conclusion: Melatonin-loaded AgNPs had the highest therapeutic efficacy against toxoplasmosis. Moreover, melatonin contributed to reducing AgNPs-induced toxicity through its antioxidant effect. Detection of NRF2 expression in the brain was a valuable method to assess the effectiveness of therapy against Toxoplasma infection. Therefore, melatonin-loaded on AgNPs could be considered as an additional therapeutic agent for T. gondii infection. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Keywords: T. gondii; Melatonin; Silver nanoparticles; Melatonin loaded-AgNPs; NRF2 | ||
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