RESEARCH ARTICLE Progress in the pharmacological treatment of human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis: Compounds and therapeutic targets Mar Siles-Lucas1*, Adriano Casulli2,3, Roberto Cirilli4, David Carmena5* 1 Group of Parasitology, IRNASA-CSIC, Salamanca, Spain, 2 World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Epidemiology, Detection and Control of Cystic and Alveolar Echinococcosis, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy, 3 European Union Reference Laboratory for Parasites (EURLP), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy, 4 National Centre for the Control and Evaluation of Medicines, Istituto Superiore di a1111111111 Sanità, Rome, Italy, 5 Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, a1111111111 Carlos III Health Institute, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain a1111111111 a1111111111 *
[email protected] (MSL);
[email protected] (DC) a1111111111 Abstract Human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are helmintic zoonotic diseases caused by infec- OPEN ACCESS tions with the larval stages of the cestode parasites Echinococcus granulosus and E. multi- Citation: Siles-Lucas M, Casulli A, Cirilli R, locularis, respectively. Both diseases are progressive and chronic, and often fatal if left Carmena D (2018) Progress in the unattended for E. multilocularis. As a treatment approach, chemotherapy against these pharmacological treatment of human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis: Compounds and orphan and neglected diseases has been available for more than 40 years. However, drug therapeutic targets. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12(4): options were limited to the benzimidazoles albendazole and mebendazole, the only chemi- e0006422. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. cal compounds currently licensed for treatment in humans. To compensate this therapeutic pntd.0006422 shortfall, new treatment alternatives are urgently needed, including the identification, devel- Editor: Giovanna Raso, GesundheitsfoÈrderung opment, and assessment of novel compound classes and drug targets.