Mebendazole

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Background

Mebendazole is a broad-spectrum microtubule-disrupting anthelmintic that is active against adult or larval cestodes, and human intestinal nematodes [1][2]. Mebendazole had good potency against Giardia isolates with IC50 for a 24-h was 0.19 μM and for a 4-h exposure was 2.7 μM, respectively. And inhibition of Giardia growth in vitro was maintained beyond 72 to 96 h [2]. Mebendazole is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic and a tubulin-disrupting agent. Mebendazole inhibited melanoma growth with an average IC50 of 0.32 μmol/L and induced apoptosis through the intrinsic and extrinsic mitochondrial pathways. In melan-a, M-14, and SK-Mel-19 cells, Mebendazole caused overall microtubular network disarray. In M-14 and SK-Mel-19 melanoma cells, Mebendazole led to Bcl-2 phosphorylation, which then promoted melanoma apoptosis [3]. In human lung cancer cell lines, Mebendazole arrested cells at the G2-M phase before the onset of apoptosis [4]. Also, Mebendazole potently inhibited Hh signaling and slowed the growth of Hh-driven human medulloblastoma cells [6]. Additionally, mebendazole stabilized the transcriptional activator HIF-1α and its downstream targets, preventing oxidative neuronal death in primary neurons [7]. In nu/nu mice bearing human tumor xenografts, Mebendazole inhibited tumor growth and significantly reduced the number and size of tumors [4][5].

[1]. Seo BS, Cho SY, Kang SY, et al. Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Methyl-5-Benzoylbenzimidazole-2-Carbamate(Mebendazole) Against Multiple Helminthic Infections. Kisaengchunghak Chapchi. 1977 Jun;15(1):11-16.
[2]. Morgan UM, Reynoldson JA, Thompson RC. Activities of several benzimidazoles and tubulin inhibitors against Giardia spp. in vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1993 Feb;37(2):328-31.
[3]. Doudican N, Rodriguez A, Osman I, et al. Mebendazole induces apoptosis via Bcl-2 inactivation in chemoresistant melanoma cells. Mol Cancer Res. 2008 Aug;6(8):1308-15.
[4]. Mukhopadhyay T, Sasaki J, Ramesh R, et al. Mebendazole elicits a potent antitumor effect on human cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Clin Cancer Res. 2002 Sep;8(9):2963-9.
[5]. Sasaki J, Ramesh R, Chada S, et al. The anthelmintic drug mebendazole induces mitotic arrest and apoptosis by depolymerizing tubulin in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2002 Nov;1(13):1201-9.
[6]. Larsen AR, Bai RY, Chung JH, et al. Repurposing the antihelmintic mebendazole as a hedgehog inhibitor. Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Jan;14(1):3-13.
[7]. Aleyasin H, Karuppagounder SS, Kumar A, et al. Antihelminthic benzimidazoles are novel HIF activators that prevent oxidative neuronal death via binding to tubulin. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2015 Jan 10;22(2):121-34.