EFFICACIES OF KY62 AGAINST LEISHMANIA-AMAZONENSIS AND LEISHMANIA-DONOVANI IN EXPERIMENTAL MURINE CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS AND VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS

Current therapy for leishmaniasis is unsatisfactory because parenteral antimonial salts and pentamidine are associated with significant toxi city and failure rates, We examined the efficacy of KY62, a new, water -soluble, polyene antifungal, against cutaneous infection with Leishma nia amazonensis and against visceral infection with Leishmania donovan i in susceptible BALB/c mice. Mice were infected with I,, amazonensis promastigotes in the ear pinna and in the tail and were treated with K Y62 or amphotericin B. The cutaneous Lesions showed a remarkable respo nse to therapy with KY62 at a dose of 30 mg per kg of body weight per day, At this dose, the efficacy of KY62 was equivalent to or better th an that of amphotericin B at 1 to 5 mg/kg/day, Mice infected intraveno usly with 10(7) L, donovani promastigotes and treated with KY62 showed a 4-log reduction in the parasite burden in the liver and spleen comp ared to untreated mice. These studies indicate potent activity of KY62 against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L, amazoniensi s and against experimental visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. donovan i.