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. 1992 Apr;36(4):779–782. doi: 10.1128/aac.36.4.779

Antimicrotubule benzimidazoles inhibit in vitro growth of Pneumocystis carinii.

M S Bartlett 1, T D Edlind 1, M M Durkin 1, M M Shaw 1, S F Queener 1, J W Smith 1
PMCID: PMC189407  PMID: 1503439

Abstract

Nine antimicrotubule benzimidazole derivatives tested in a Pneumocystis carinii culture system with human embryonic lung fibroblast monolayers inhibited organism proliferation. The concentrations of drugs inhibitory in culture ranged from 10 to 0.1 micrograms/ml, with thiabendazole being the least effective (10 micrograms/ml) and parbendazole being the most effective (0.1 microgram/ml). The parent compound, benzimidazole, was inactive at 10 micrograms/ml. Demonstration that this group of compounds has activity against P. carinii provides a new potential target that can be exploited, the microtubules. Also, the variability in the effectiveness of the compounds provides the basis for studies of structure-activity relationships, which were initiated in this study.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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