Faustin Kamena
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Faustin Kamena has a total of 6 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Anja Taubert
Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
1 shared publication - Arwid Daugschies
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
1 shared publication - Carlos Hermosilla
Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
1 shared publication - Lisa Maxi Berberich
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
1 shared publication - Lum Abienwi Ambe
Laboratory of Human Metabolism and Non-Communicable Diseases, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies (IMPM), Yaoundé P.O. Box 13033, Cameroon
1 shared publication - Tran Nguyen-Ho-Bao
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Octaarginine Improves the Efficacy of Nitazoxanide against Cryptosporidium parvum
Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal disease that affects a variety of hosts including animals and humans. Since no vaccines exist against the disease till date, drug treatment is the mainstay of disease control. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of human cryptosporidiosis. However, its efficacy in immunocompromised people such as those with AIDS, in malnourished children, or those with concomitant cryptosporidiosis is limited. In the absence of effective drugs against cryptosporidiosis, improving the efficacy of existing drugs may offer an attractive alternative. In the present work, we have assessed the potential of the cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) octaarginine (R8) to increase the uptake of NTZ. Octaarginine (R8) was synthetically attached to NTZ in an enzymatically releasable manner and used to inhibit growth of Cryptosporidium parvum in an in vitro culture system using human ileocecal adenocarcinoma (HCT-8) cell line. We observed a significant concentration-dependent increase in drug efficacy. We conclude that coupling of octaarginine to NTZ is beneficial for drug activity and it represents an attractive strategy to widen the repertoire of anti-cryptosporidial therapeutics. Further investigations such as in vivo studies with the conjugate drug will help to further characterize this strategy for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis.
Open AccessOctaarginine Improves the Efficacy of Nitazoxanide against Cryptosporidium parvum
Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal disease that affects a variety of hosts including animals and humans. Since no vaccines exist against the disease till date, drug treatment is the mainstay of disease control. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of human cryptosporidiosis. However, its efficacy in immunocompromised people such as those with AIDS, in malnourished children, or those with concomitant cryptosporidiosis is limited. In the absence of effective drugs against cryptosporidiosis, improving the efficacy of existing drugs may offer an attractive alternative. In the present work, we have assessed the potential of the cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) octaarginine (R8) to increase the uptake of NTZ. Octaarginine (R8) was synthetically attached to NTZ in an enzymatically releasable manner and used to inhibit growth of Cryptosporidium parvum in an in vitro culture system using human ileocecal adenocarcinoma (HCT-8) cell line. We observed a significant concentration-dependent increase in drug efficacy. We conclude that coupling of octaarginine to NTZ is beneficial for drug activity and it represents an attractive strategy to widen the repertoire of anti-cryptosporidial therapeutics. Further investigations such as in vivo studies with the conjugate drug will help to further characterize this strategy for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis.