Table 1. Nitroheterocyclic drug efficacy in BALB/c and C3H mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi CL Brener and JR strains.
| Chronic Infection Cure Rate | Acute Infection Cure Rate | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. cruzi CL Brener strain | Treatment length | Treatment length | ||||||
| Drug | Mouse strain | Dose (mg kg−1) | 5 days | 10 days | 20 days | 5 days | 10 days | 20 days |
| BZ | BALB/c | 10 qd | — | 0% (0/6) | 17% (1/6) | — | 0% (0/6) | 0% (0/6) |
| BALB/c | 30 qd | 0% (0/6) | 67% (4/6) | 100% (6/6) | — | 0% (0/6) | 33% (2/6) | |
| BALB/c | 100 qd | 100% (11/11)* | 100%(15/15)* | 100%(11/11)* | 0% (0/30) | 0% (0/6) | 93%(14/15) | |
| BALB/c | 50 bid | — | 100% (6/6) | — | 0% (0/6) | — | — | |
| NF | BALB/c | 30 qd | 33% (2/6) | 83% (5/6) | — | — | — | — |
| BALB/c | 100 qd | 90% (9/10) | — | — | 0% (0/6) | 17 (1/6) | — | |
| BALB/c | 50 bid | — | — | — | 17% (1/6) | — | — | |
| FX | BALB/c | 30 qd | 50% (3/6) | 100% (6/6) | — | — | — | — |
| BALB/c | 100 qd | 100% (8/8) | — | — | 67% (4/6) | 100 (6/6) | — | |
| BALB/c | 50 bid | — | — | — | 100% (6/6) | — | — | |
| FXS | BALB/c | 30 qd | 17% (1/6) | 100% (6/6) | — | 0% (0/6) | — | — |
| BALB/c | 50 qd | 100% (6/6) | — | — | 0% (0/6) | — | — | |
| BALB/c | 100 qd | 100% (7/7) | — | — | 100%(15/15) | — | — | |
| BALB/c | 50 bid | — | — | — | 83% (5/6) | — | — | |
| T. cruzi JR strain | ||||||||
| BZ | BALB/c | 100 qd | — | — | — | 0% (0/6) | — | — |
| C3H | 100 qd | 60% (3/5) | — | — | 0% (0/5) | — | — | |
| FXS | BALB/c | 100 qd | — | — | — | 80% (4/5) | — | — |
| C3H | 100 qd | 100% (5/5) | — | — | 80% (4/5) | — | — | |
*includes data reported previously in ref. 25 qd; quaque die (once daily), bid; bis in die (twice daily).
Following treatment, mice in the acute or chronic stage were monitored by bioluminescence imaging (Methods, Figs 1, 2, 3 and 4). Mice were only designated as cured if they were bioluminescence negative by both in vivo and ex vivo imaging, following immunosuppressive treatment. BZ = benznidazole; NF = nifurtimox; FX = fexinidazole; FXS = fexinidazole sulfone.