Member Profile
Membership type: full
Alicia Ponte-Sucre
Country of origin: Venezuela Currently in: Venezuela, Caracas General field of specialization: Medical and Health Sciences incl Neurosciences-
Degrees
1978 Undergraduate Biological Systems and Organisms1981 Master Biological Systems and Organisms1993 Doctorate Biological Systems and Organisms -
Current Research Activities
Biological Systems and Organisms
My interests have been focused towards the biochemical characterization of i) enzymes associated with parasite metabolism, ii) membrane transporters essential for parasite survival or involved in the development of resistance to drugs, and iii) proteins involved in cellular differentiation and parasite-host interaction. Additionally she has analyzed functional phenomena involved in host-parasite interactions and characterized natural products and target-oriented designed compounds as potential therapeutic agents. All these studies have been performed using Leishmania and Trypanosoma as a model.
Publications resulting from Research:
Since 2009:
1. Ponte-Sucre, A., Gulder, T., Wegehaupt, A., Albert, C., Rikanović, C., Schaeflein, L., Frank, A., Schultheis, M., Unger, M., Holzgrabe, U., Bringmann, G., Moll, H. Structure-Activity Relationship and Studies on the Molecular Mechanism of Leishmanicidal N,C-Coupled Arylisoquinolinium Salts. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 52:626-36, 2009.
2. Padrón-Nieves, M., Díaz, E., Machuca, C., Romero, A., Ponte-Sucre, A. Glibenclamide modulates glucantime activity and disposition in Leishmania major. Experimental Parasitology, 121:331-337, 2009.
3. Ponte-Sucre A. (Editor) ABC Transporters in Microorganisms: Research, Innovation and Value as Targets against Drug Resistance, Horizon Scientific Press, 2009.
4. Ponte-Sucre A, Padrón-Nieves M, Díaz E. ABC transporter blockers and reversal of drug resistance in microorganisms. In “ABC Transporters in Microorganisms: Research, Innovation and Value as Targets against Drug Resistance, Ed. Alicia Ponte-Sucre, Horizon Scientific Press, pp. 177-195, 2009.
5. Ponte-Sucre, A., Gulder, T., Gulder, T., Vollmers, T., Bringmann, G. Moll, H. Alterations on the structure of Leishmania major induced by N arylisoquinolines correlate with compound accumulation and disposition. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 59:69-75, 2010.
6. Aguilar, C.M., Maldonado, J., Bonfante Garrido, R., Borges, R., Tapia, F.J., Delgado, O., Jorquera, A., D´Suze, C., Rojas, E., Mendoza-León, A., Ponte Sucre, A. Evaluación de Enfermedades Parasitarias en Venezuela. Sugerencias para la Solución de problemas en las distintas parasitosis, caso Leishmaniasis. Documento producido durante las XXVIII Jornadas de la Sociedad Parasitológica Venezolana (SPV) “J W Torrealba” Centro de Investigaciones en Salud Pública “Jacinto Convit”. Sanare, Estado Lara, 2- 4 de Julio de 2009. Salus On Line, 14:1, 2010.
7. Llanes-Coronel, D.S., Gámez-Díaz, L.Y., Suarez-Quintero, L.P. Páez, L.J. Torres, F., Echeverri, F., Ponte-Sucre, A., Patiño, P.J., Trujillo-Vargas, C.M., New promising Euphorbiaceae extracts with activity in human lymphocytes from primary cell cultures. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology 33:279-90, 2011.
8. Díaz, E., Köhidai, L., Ríos, A., Vanegas, O., Ponte-Sucre, A. Ensayos de quimiotaxis in vitro en Leishmania sp. Evaluación de la técnica de los capilares-dos cámaras en promastigotes”, Revista de la Facultad de Farmacia, UCV, 74: 31-40, 2011.
9. Ponte-Sucre, A., Díaz, E., Padrón Nieves, M. Quantitative Structure-Activity analysis of leishmanicidal compounds. In “Chemoinformatics: Directions Toward Combating Neglected Diseases”, Ed. Teodorico C. Ramalho. E-book, Bentham Sciences ISBN 978-1-60805-183-0. 33-48, 2012. http://benthamscience.com/ebooks/9781608051830/index.htm,
10. Ponte-Sucre, A., Díaz, E., Padrón Nieves, M. (Editors) Drug resistance in Leishmania parasites. Consequences, Molecular Mechanisms, and possible treatments. Springer Verlag Wien, 2012.
11. Ponte-Sucre, A. Leishmaniasis, the biology of a parasite. In Drug resistance in Leishmania parasites. Consequences, Molecular Mechanisms, and possible treatments. Springer Verlag Wien, pp. 1-12, 2012.
12. Zerpa, O., Ponte-Sucre, A. American tegumentary leishmaniasis. In Drug resistance in Leishmania parasites. Consequences, Molecular Mechanisms, and possible treatments. Springer Verlag Wien, pp. 199-111, 2012.
13. Ponte-Sucre, A., Díaz, E., Padrón Nieves, M. The concept of fitness and drug resistance in Leishmania. In Drug resistance in Leishmania parasites. Consequences, Molecular Mechanisms, and possible treatments. Springer Verlag Wien, pp. 431-449, 2012.
14. Padrón-Nieves, M., Ponte-Sucre, A. Marcadores de resistencia en Leishmania: Susceptibilidad in vitro a drogas leishmanicidas vs. retención de calceina en aislados de pacientes venezolanos con Leishmaniasis Cutánea Difusa. Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacología y Terapeutica (en prensa).
15. Díaz, E, Köhidai, L, Ríos A, Vanegas O, Silva, A, Szabó, R, Mező, G, Hudecz, H, Ponte-Sucre, A. Leishmania braziliensis: Cytotoxic and chemotactic effects of branched chain polypeptide conjugates with poly [L-Lysine] backbone. Experimental Parasitology, 135(1):134-141, 2013.
16. Stich, A., Ponte-Sucre, A., Holzgrabe, U. Do we need new drugs against Human African trypanosomiasis? Lancet Infectious Diseases, 13: 733-734, 2013.
17. Padron-Nieves, M., Diaz, E., Machuca, C., Rodriguez, N., Cotrim, P., Ponte-Sucre, A. Correlation between glucose uptake and membrane potential in Leishmania parasites isolated from DCL-patients with therapeutic failure: A proof of concept. Parasitology Research 113(6):2121-2128, 2014.
18. Vanaerschot, M., Dumetz, F., Roy, S., Ponte-Sucre, A., Arevalo, J., Dujardin, J.C. Treatment failure in leishmaniasis: drug-resistance or another (epi-) phenotype? Expert Reviews Anti Infective Therapy, 12(8):937-46, 2014.
19. Alcazar, W., Silva López, A., Alakurtti, S., Tuononen, M.L., Yli-Kauhaluom, J., Ponte-Sucre, A. Betulin derivatives impair Leishmania braziliensis viability and host-parasite interaction" by. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 22:6220-6226, 2014.
20. Ponte-Sucre, A., Bruhn, H., Schirmeister, T., Cecil, A., Albert, C.A., Buechold, C., Tischer, M., Schlesinger, S., Goebel, T., Fuß, A., Mathein, D., Merget, B., Sotriffer, C.A., Stich, A., Krohne, G., Engstler, M., Bringmann, G., Holzgrabe, U. Anti- trypanosomal activities and structural chemical properties of selected compound classes. Parasitology Research 114:501-12, 2015
21. Cecil, A., Ohlsen, K., Menzel, T., Francois, P., Schrenzel, J., Fischer, A., Dörries, K., Selle, M., Lalk, M., Hantzschmann, J., Dittirch, M., Liang, C., Bernhardt, J., Oelschlaeger, T., Bringmann, G., Bruhn, H., Unger, M., Ponte-Sucre, A., Lehmann, L., Dandekar, T. Modelling antibiotic and cytotoxic isoquinoline effects in Staphylococci and human cells. International Journal of Medical Microbiology 305:96-109, 2015.
Current profession
Current professional activities type:ResearchAdvisor for projects related to the description of antiviral, anti-tumor and immuno-modulatory activity of extracts from plants of the family Euphorbiaceae, and determination of the active compounds responsible for the biological activity. Full Professor in Human Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine, UCV. Lecturer at the Graduate Course of Cellular Biology, School of Biology, UCV; Graduate Courses of Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences at the Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine, UCV, as well as invited lecturer in diverse courses and symposia and visiting Professor at Missio Institute, Würzburg, Germany. Member of academic committees at the Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Research Council and Rectorate, UCV; Vice-president of the Directorate of the University Foundation Fundadiagnóstica.
