Quantification of parasite load in macrophage cells and spleen tissue of infected mice in acute toxoplasmosis following treatment with rosuvastatin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles using real-time PCR.

Statins, especially Rosuvastatin, effectively block the early stages of isoprenoid biosynthesis in the parasite and human hosts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of Rosuvastatin-loaded Chitosan nanoparticles (CH-NP-ROS) in potentially enhancing Rosuvastatin's bioavailability and anti-Toxoplasma activity compared to standard Rosuvastatin in T. gondii RH strain-infected murine macrophage cells and in reducing parasite burden in the spleen of BALB/c mice. In this in vivo experiment, BALB/c mice were infected with tachyzoites of the RH strain of T. gondii; subsequently, they were treated with different formulations: CH-NP, ROS, CH-NP-ROS administered via injection and oral routes, and the standard anti-toxoplasmosis therapy with sulfadiazine/pyrimethamine (SDZ/PYR). The reduction in intracellular parasite load was significantly greater in CH-NP-ROS treatment compared to standard treatment. The spleen parasite load was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The parasite load was significantly lower in mice receiving CH-NP-ROS in injection form or orally than in mice receiving ROS (p < 0.05). The present study indicated that CH-NP-ROS has greater anti-Toxoplasma effects than ROS and CH-NP in vitro and murine models.