Effect of Berenil on Growth, Mitochondrial DNA and Respiration of Leishmania tarentolae Promastigotes*

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Incubation of Leishmania tarentolae promastigotes in 1.0 μg/ml Berenil for 96 hr resulted in 33% inhibition of cell growth and 42.5% dyskinetoplasty in the cell population. The buoyant density of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), ρ= 1.703 g/ml, remained unchanged after 96‐hr exposure to the drug. Endogenous respiration as well as proline‐ and glucose‐induced respiration dropped markedly after 36‐hr exposure to Berenil. This drop occurred 12 hr before the onset of dyskinetoplasty, a result which suggests that this drug adversely affects mitochondrial respiratory activity of the promastigotes.