Ketoconazole is a clinically safe antifungal agent that also inhibits the growth of
Leishmania spp. A study was undertaken to determine whether
Leishmania parasites are prone to becoming resistant to ketoconazole by upregulating C14-demethylase after stepwise pharmacological pressure.
Leishmania amazonensis
promastigotes [inhibitory concentration (IC)
50 = 2 μM] were subjected to stepwise selection with ketoconazole and two resistant lines were obtained, La8 (IC
50 = 8 μM) and La10 (IC
50 = 10 μM). As a result, we found that the resistance level was directly proportional to the C14-demethylase mRNA expression level; we also observed that expression levels were six and 12 times higher in La8 and La10, respectively. This is the first demonstration that
L. amazonensis can up-regulate C14-demethylase in response to drug pressure and this report contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of parasite resistance.
