%0 Journal Article
%T Flucofuron as a Promising Therapeutic Agent against Brain-Eating Amoeba.
%A Chao-Pellicer J
%A Arberas-Jiménez I
%A Sifaoui I
%A Piñero JE
%A Lorenzo-Morales J
%J ACS Infect Dis
%V 10
%N 6
%D 2024 Jun 14
%M 38757533
%F 5.578
%R 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00062
%X Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare and fulminant neurodegenerative disease caused by the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Currently, there is a lack of standardized protocols for therapeutic action. In response to the critical need for effective therapeutic agents, we explored the Global Health Priority Box, a collection of 240 compounds provided by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). From this pool, flucofuron emerged as a promising candidate, exhibiting high efficacy against trophozoites of both N. fowleri strains (ATCC 30808 IC50 : 2.58 ± 0.64 μM and ATCC 30215 IC50: 2.47 ± 0.38 μM), being even active against the resistant cyst stage (IC50: 0.88 ± 0.07 μM). Moreover, flucofuron induced diverse metabolic events that suggest the triggering of apoptotic cell death. This study highlights the potential of repurposing medications for treating challenging diseases, such as PAM.