Diethylcarbamazine attenuates the development of carrageenan-induced lung injury in mice

Pharmacological Effects of a New Indolinone Derivative in Experimental Pneumonitis in Rats

We studied the effect of a new indolinone derivative GRS on animal survival and on functioning and histological structure of the lungs in rats with experimental pneumonitis. The rats of experimental groups were intratracheally administered 0.5% aqueous solution of carrageenan under intramuscular anesthesia. Compound GRS (10 mg/kg; a suspension in 0.5% aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose) was orally administered for 4 days starting from the day of carrageenan administration; another rat group received the aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose alone. Control rats received intratracheally isotonic solution of sodium chloride. Animal mortality was registered over 5 days; on day 5, the respiratory parameters were measured, the lungs were weighed, pulmonary edema was evaluated, and histological structure of the lungs was studied. GRS compound improved survival of animals with modeled pneumonitis, restored the respiratory parameters to the level of control animals, and reduced pulmonary edema by 35% and the severity of histological damage score in the lungs by 17% (p<0.05).

Efficacy and Safety of Diethylcarbamazine in Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Double Blind Randomised Controlled Trial

There are many evidences showing diethylcarbamazine as a potential drug for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of diethylcarbamazine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and compared it with montelukast and levocetirizine. This parallel double-blind randomized clinical trial was done in allergic rhinitis patients. Seven hundred and twelve participants who met the inclusion criteria and provided informed written consent were randomized and divided into 2 equal groups. Diethylcarbamazine 300 mg/day orally in divided doses was given to group A, and montelukast 10 mg and levocetirizine 5 mg/day orally at night for 21 days was given to group B. Primary outcomes were the change in symptoms, absolute eosinophil count, serum total IgE, phadiatop and response in skin prick from baseline to 21 days and 3 months after treatment. Secondary outcome was to compare it with montelukast and levocetirizine. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 33 (10.6) years, with 374 (52.5%) males and 338 (47.5%) females. There was statistically significant improvement in all the parameters in both groups. Improvement was better with diethylcarbamazine compared to montelukast and levocetirizine and the effects were sustained for 3 months in diethylcarbamazine group. The findings suggest that diethylcarbamazine is effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. It gives better control and is cost-effective than montelukast and levocetirizine. Trial Registration: https://www.ctri.nic.in Identifier: CTRI/2020/03/024145 registered on 20-03-2020.

Diethylcarbamazine as potential treatment of COVID-19 lung fibrosis

Diethylcarbamazine, the antiparasitic drug, also possesses anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. The anti-fibrotic activity of diethylcarbamazine makes it a potential candidate to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related pulmonary fibrosis. Experimental and clinical studies should assess this possible effect.

Is the anti-filarial drug diethylcarbamazine useful to treat COVID-19?

SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in a devastating pandemic of COVID-19. Exploring compounds that could offer a breakthrough in treatment is the need of the hour. Re-positioning cheap, freely available and safe drugs is a priority. The paper proposes evidence for the potential use of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) in the treatment of COVID-19. DEC has inhibitory effects on arachidonic acid metabolism to prostaglandins, little known anti-viral effects on animal retroviruses and demonstrated anti-inflammatory actions in animal models of lung inflammation indicating the need to explore this hypothesis further. We believe this is the first time DEC is being proposed to treat COVID-19.

Radioprotective effect of diethylcarbamazine on radiation-induced acute lung injury and oxidative stress in mice

The present study was designed to evaluate the radioprotective effect of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) against oxidative stress and acute lung injury induced by total body radiation (TBI) in mice. For study the optimum dose for radiation protection of DEC, mice were administrated with three dose of DEC (10, 50 and 100 mg/kg), once daily for eight consecutive days. Animals were exposed whole body to 5 Gy X-radiation on the 9 day. The radioprotective potential of DEC in lung tissues was assessed using oxidative stress examinations at 24 h after TBI and histopathological assay also was analyzed one week after TBI. Results from biochemical analyses demonstrated increased malonyldialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and protein carbonyl (PC) levels of lung tissues in only irradiated group. Histopathologic findings also showed an increase in the number of inflammatory cells and the acute lung injury in this group. DEC pretreatment significantly mitigated the oxidative stress biomarkers as well as histological damages in irradiated mice. The favorable radioprotective effect against lungs injury was observed at a dose of 10 mg/kg of DEC in mice as compared with two other doses (50 and 100 mg/kg). The data of this study showed that DEC at a dose of 10 mg/kg with having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can be used as a therapeutic candidate for protecting the lung from radiation-induced damage.

A new diethylcarbamazine formulation (NANO-DEC) as a therapeutic tool for hepatic fibrosis

The aim of the present study was to assess if the uninterrupted and prolonged administration of nanoparticles containing diethylcarbamazine (NANO-DEC) would cause liver, kidney and heart toxicity and then analyze for the first time its action in model of liver fibrosis. Thus, NANO-DEC was administered in C57BL/6 mice daily for 48 days, and at the end the blood was collected for biochemical analyzes. In the long-term administration assay, the evaluation of serological parameters (CK-MB, creatinine, ALT, AST and urea) allowed the conclusion that NANO-DEC prolonged administration did not cause hepatic, renal and cardiac damage. For fibrosis assays, C57BL/6 mice were divided into six groups: 1) control (Cont); 2) carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄); 3) CCl₄ + DEC 25 mg/kg; 4) CCl₄ + DEC 50 mg/kg; 5) CCl₄ + NANO-DEC 5 mg/kg and 6) CCl₄ + NANO-DEC 12.5 mg/kg. Carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic fibrosis observed through increased inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, COX-2, NO and iNOS) and fibrotic markers (TGF-β and TIMP-1), changes in the hepatic morphology, high presence of collagen fibers and elevated serum levels of AST, ALT and ALP. Treatment with NANO-DEC exhibited a superior anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects compared to the DEC traditional formulation, restoring liver morphology, reducing the content of collagen fibers and serological parameters, besides decreasing the expression of inflammatory and fibrotic markers. The present formulation of nanoencapsulated DEC is a well tolerated anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic drug and therefore could be a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of chronic liver disorders.

Protective effect of diethylcarbamazine inhibits NF-κB activation in isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial infarction rat model through the PARP pathway

The present study investigated the protective effect of diethylcarbamazine in inhibiting nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation in isoproterenol‑induced acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rats through the poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) pathway. Male albino Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously with isoproterenol (100 mg/kg/day) for 2 days to induce an AMI model. Diethylcarbamazine (50 mg/kg) was administered by gavage for 12 days prior to the isoproterenol-induced AMI. It was noted that diethylcarbamazine significantly inhibited AMI‑induced casein kinase and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and reduced the AMI‑induced wet heart weight to body weight ratio in AMI rats. Diethylcarbamazine treatment significantly weakened reactive oxygen species production and reduced the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, interleukin‑6 and NF‑κB/p65 in AMI rats. Western blotting demonstrated that diethylcarbamazine significantly suppressed the AMI‑induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1, cyclooxygenase‑2 (COX‑2) and PARP protein expression in AMI rats. The results demonstrated that the protective effect of diethylcarbamazine inhibited isoproterenol‑induced AMI through the suppression of inflammation, iNOS, TGF‑β1, COX‑2 and the PARP pathway, and revealed the clinical potential of diethylcarbamazine for therapeutic and clinical applications.

Diethylcarbamazine reduces chronic inflammation and fibrosis in carbon tetrachloride- (CCl₄-) induced liver injury in mice

This study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of DEC on the CCl₄-induced hepatotoxicity in C57BL/6 mice. Chronic inflammation was induced by i.p. administration of CCl₄ 0.5 μL/g of body weight through two injections a week for 6 weeks. DEC (50 mg/kg) was administered by gavage for 12 days before finishing the CCl₄ induction. Histological analyses of the DEC-treated group exhibited reduced inflammatory process and prevented liver necrosis and fibrosis. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses of the DEC-treated group showed reduced COX-2, IL1β, MDA, TGF-β, and αSMA immunopositivity, besides exhibiting decreased IL1β, COX-2, NFκB, IFNγ, and TGFβ expressions in the western blot analysis. The DEC group enhanced significantly the IL-10 expression. The reduction of hepatic injury in the DEC-treated group was confirmed by the COX-2 and iNOS mRNA expression levels. Based on the results of the present study, DEC can be used as a potential anti-inflammatory drug for chronic hepatic inflammation.

Diethylcarbamazine inhibits NF-κB activation in acute lung injury induced by carrageenan in mice

Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) is widely used to treat lymphatic filariasis and Tropical Pulmonary Eosinophilia. A number of studies have reported a possible role in the host immune system, but exactly how DEC exerts this effect is still unknown. The present study reports the effects of DEC pretreatment on NF-κB regulation using the pleurisy model induced by carrageenan. Swiss male mice (Mus musculus) were divided into four experimental groups: control (SAL); carrageenan (CAR); diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and curcumin (CUR). The animals were pretreated with DEC (50mg/kg, v.o), CUR (50mg/kg, i.p) or distilled water for three consecutive days before pleurisy. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed by Tukey post-hoc test, and values were considered statistically significant when p<0.05. DEC pretreatment reduced tissue damage and the production of inflammatory markers, such as NO, iNOS, PGE2, COX-2, and PARP induced by carrageenan. Similarly, a known inhibitor of NF-κB pathway (curcumin) was also able to reduce these parameters. Like curcumin, DEC prevents NF-κB activation by reducing NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and IκBα degradation. DEC prevented NF-κB activation via p38 MAPK, but did not interfere in the ERK pathway in this experimental model. However, further studies should be developed to confirm this hypothesis. These findings suggest that DEC could be a promising drug for inflammatory disorders, especially in pulmonary diseases such as Acute Lung Inflammation, due its high anti-inflammatory potential which prevents NF-κB activation.