Efeito de nanopartículas no tratamento da esquistossomose usando praziquantel como referência: uma revisão sistemática de evidência pré-clínica

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is one the several neglected tropical diseases caused by Schistosoma sp. The treatment recommended by WHO is conducted with the drug praziquantel. This drug has low solubility and is quickly metabolized into a less active compound. On the other hand, nanoparticles have been studied to improve bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. In this sense, the objective of this work was to perform a systematic review of in vivo studies, using the PRISMA 2020 methodology. We compared experimental treatments using nanostructured praziquantel (NE-PZQ) and the reference drug, free praziquantel (F-PZQ), to verify whether there was higher effectiveness in the treatment of schistosomiasis. The search was carried out in PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases. From 1186 articles analyzed, 12 were included in this review, which evaluated praziquantel-loaded nanoparticles of liposome type, nanoliposome functionalized with antibody, niosome, clay and silica nanocarrier, lipid nanocapsule, solid lipid nanoparticle, nanostructured lipid carrier and nanocrystals. Parasitological, histopathological, pharmacokinetic and toxicological parameters were evaluated. In the general context, NE-PZQ provided greater efficacy than L-PZQ, significantly reducing both worm and tissue egg load. Treatment with NE-PZQ also demonstrate a change in oogram profile, with an increase in dead eggs and a decrease in immature and mature eggs. NE-PZQ reduced number and diameter of granulomas when compared with F-PZQ. Additionally, NE-PZQ has greater bioavailability and lower toxicity than F-PZQ. Therefore, the reviewed articles demonstrated the possibility of improving PZQ activity through the use of nanoparticles, as well as showing that the type of nanoparticle charge can influence the outcome of the analyzed parameters. The improvement in therapeutic efficacy was reaffirmed by pharmacokinetic factors, resulting in greater bioavailability and a lower toxicity profile, even with the prolongation of the time spent in systemic circulation