New micromethod to study the effect of antimicrobial agents on Toxoplasma gondii: comparison of sulfadoxine and sulfadiazine individually and in combination with pyrimethamine and study of clindamycin, metronidazole, and cyclosporin A

An in vitro method by which reagents, cells, and Toxoplasma gondii trophozoites are conserved (micromethod) was developed to quantitate the effect of antimicrobial agents on T. gondii. Sulfadoxine alone had no effect on T. gondii in vitro when evaluated with a macromethod, the new micromethod, or visual inspection of Giemsa-stained preparations. Sulfadoxine combined with pyrimethamine inhibited T. gondii more than did pyrimethamine alone, but the combination of sulfadoxine plus pyrimethamine was slightly less active than was the combination of sulfadiazine plus pyrimethamine. Neither clindamycin nor metronidazole, alone or in combination with sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, had any effect on intracellular T. gondii. Brief exposure (10 min before and during challenge) to clindamycin had no effect on extracellular T. gondii when clindamycin was studied alone or with sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine plus sulfadiazine. Cyclosporin A inhibited T. gondii replication at concentrations of ca. greater than or equal to 2 micrograms/ml.