1NM-PP1 treatment of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii.

Bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) target analog-sensitive kinases, which the genomes of mammals rarely encode. Previously, we demonstrated that a BKI effectively suppressed the in vitro replication of Toxoplasma gondii, the causative pathogen of toxoplasmosis, by targeting T. gondii calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (TgCDPK1) (Eukaryotic Cell, 9: 667-670). Here, we examined whether the BKI 1NM-PP1 reduced parasite replication in vivo. A high dose of 1NM-PP1, by intraperitoneal injection, just before the parasite inoculation effectively reduced the parasite load in the brains, livers, and lungs of T. gondii-infected mice, however, a low dose of 1NM-PP1 with oral administration didn't change the survival rates of infected mice.