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Essid R, Damergi B, Fares N, Jallouli S, Limam F, Tabbene O. Synergistic combination of Cinnamomum verum and Syzygium aromaticum treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis and investigation of their molecular mechanism of action. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH 2024; 34:2687-2701. [PMID: 37855230 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2023.2267470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Combination therapy at appropriately suitable doses presents a promising alternative to monotherapeutic drugs. In this study, Cinnamomum verum and Syzygium aromaticum essential oils and their major compounds have exhibited substantial leishmaniacidal potential against both promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania (L.) major. However, they displayed high cytotoxicity against Raw264.7 macrophage cells. Interestingly, when combined with each other or with amphotericin B, they demonstrated a synergistic effect (FIC<0.5) with low cytotoxicity. These combinations are able to modulate the production of nitric oxide (NO) by macrophages. Notably, the combination of S. aromaticum Essential oil with amphotericin B stimulates macrophage cells by increasing NO production to eliminate leishmanial parasites. Furthermore, investigation of the molecular mechanism of action of these synergistic combinations reveals potent inhibition of the sterol pathway through the inhibition of the CYP51 gene expression. The findings suggest that combination therapy may offer significant therapeutic benefits in both food and pharmaceutical fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rym Essid
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Bilel Damergi
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Nadia Fares
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Selim Jallouli
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Ferid Limam
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
| | - Olfa Tabbene
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
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Hurtado-Morillas C, Martínez-Rodrigo A, Orden JA, de Urbina-Fuentes L, Mas A, Domínguez-Bernal G. Enhancing Control of Leishmania infantum Infection: A Multi-Epitope Nanovaccine for Durable T-Cell Immunity. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:605. [PMID: 38396573 PMCID: PMC10886062 DOI: 10.3390/ani14040605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is a growing health problem for which vaccination is a crucial tool for the control of disease. The successful development of an effective vaccine against this disease relies on eliciting a robust and enduring T-cell immune response involving the activation of CD4+ Th1 and CD8+ T-cells. This study aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity and prophylactic efficacy of a novel nanovaccine comprising a multi-epitope peptide, known as HisDTC, encapsulated in PLGA nanoparticles against Leishmania infantum infection in the murine model. The encapsulation strategy was designed to enhance antigen loading and sustain release, ensuring prolonged exposure to the immune system. Our results showed that mice immunized with PLGA-encapsulated HisDTC exhibited a significant reduction in the parasite load in the liver and spleen over both short and long-term duration. This reduction was associated with a cellular immune profile marked by elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ, and the generation of memory T cells. In conclusion, the current study establishes that PLGA-encapsulated HisDTC can promote effective and long-lasting T-cell responses against L. infantum in the murine model. These findings underscore the potential utility of multi-epitope vaccines, in conjunction with appropriate delivery systems, as an alternative strategy for CanL control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Hurtado-Morillas
- INMIVET, Animal Health Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.H.-M.)
| | - Abel Martínez-Rodrigo
- INMIVET, Animal Science Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CISA-INIA-CSIC), 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - José A. Orden
- INMIVET, Animal Health Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.H.-M.)
| | - Laura de Urbina-Fuentes
- INMIVET, Animal Health Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.H.-M.)
| | - Alicia Mas
- INMIVET, Animal Health Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.H.-M.)
| | - Gustavo Domínguez-Bernal
- INMIVET, Animal Health Department, School of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.H.-M.)
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Mrázek J, Mrázková L, Mekadim C, Jarošíková T, Krayem I, Sohrabi Y, Demant P, Lipoldová M. Effects of Leishmania major infection on the gut microbiome of resistant and susceptible mice. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:145. [PMID: 38240984 PMCID: PMC10799115 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13002-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania major, is a widely frequent form in humans. To explore the importance of the host gut microbiota and to investigate its changes during L. major infection, two different groups of mouse models were assessed. The microbiome of two parts of the host gut-ileum and colon-from infected and non-infected mice were characterised by sequencing of 16S rDNA using an Ion Torrent PGM platform. Microbiome analysis was performed to reveal changes related to the susceptibility and the genetics of mice strains in two different gut compartments and to compare the results between infected and non-infected mice. The results showed that Leishmania infection affects mainly the ileum microbiota, whereas the colon bacterial community was more stable. Different biomarkers were determined in the gut microbiota of infected resistant mice and infected susceptible mice using LEfSe analysis. Lactobacillaceae was associated with resistance in the colon microbiota of all resistant mice strains infected with L. major. Genes related to xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism and amino acid metabolism were primarily enriched in the small intestine microbiome of resistant strains, while genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism and glycan biosynthesis and metabolism were most abundant in the gut microbiome of the infected susceptible mice. These results should improve our understanding of host-parasite interaction and provide important insights into the effect of leishmaniasis on the gut microbiota. Also, this study highlights the role of host genetic variation in shaping the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome. KEY POINTS: • Leishmaniasis may affect mainly the ileum microbiota while colon microbiota was more stable. • Biomarkers related with resistance or susceptibility were determined in the gut microbiota of mice. • Several pathways were predicted to be upregulated in the gut microbiota of resistant or susceptible mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Mrázek
- Laboratory of Anaerobic Microbiology, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Mrázková
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Namestí Sitna 3105, 272 01, Kladno, Czech Republic
| | - Chahrazed Mekadim
- Laboratory of Anaerobic Microbiology, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Taťána Jarošíková
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Namestí Sitna 3105, 272 01, Kladno, Czech Republic
| | - Imtissal Krayem
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Yahya Sohrabi
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Medical Genetics, 3Rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Ruská 87, 100 00, Prague 10, Czech Republic
- Department of Cardiology I-Coronary and Peripheral Vascular Disease, Heart Failure, University Hospital Münster, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany
| | - Peter Demant
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 14263, USA
| | - Marie Lipoldová
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Namestí Sitna 3105, 272 01, Kladno, Czech Republic
- Department of Medical Genetics, 3Rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Ruská 87, 100 00, Prague 10, Czech Republic
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Oljuskin T, Azodi N, Volpedo G, Bhattacharya P, Markle HL, Hamano S, Matlashewski G, Satoskar AR, Gannavaram S, Nakhasi HL. Leishmania major centrin knock-out parasites reprogram tryptophan metabolism to induce a pro-inflammatory response. iScience 2023; 26:107593. [PMID: 37744403 PMCID: PMC10517402 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is prevalent in 90 countries, and yet no licensed human vaccine exists against it. Toward control of leishmaniasis, we have developed Leishmania major centrin gene deletion mutant strains (LmCen-/-) as a live attenuated vaccine, which induces a strong IFN-γ-mediated protection to the host. However, the immune mechanisms of such protection remain to be understood. Metabolomic reprogramming of the host cells following Leishmania infection has been shown to play a critical role in pathogenicity and shaping the immune response following infection. Here, we applied untargeted mass spectrometric analysis to study the metabolic changes induced by infection with LmCen-/- and compared those with virulent L. major parasite infection to identify the immune mechanism of protection. Our data show that immunization with LmCen-/- parasites, in contrast to virulent L. major infection promotes a pro-inflammatory response by utilizing tryptophan to produce melatonin and downregulate anti-inflammatory kynurenine-AhR and FICZ-AhR signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timur Oljuskin
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Nazli Azodi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Greta Volpedo
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Parna Bhattacharya
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Hannah L. Markle
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Shinjiro Hamano
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), The Joint Usage/Research Center on Tropical Disease, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Leadership Program, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Greg Matlashewski
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Abhay R. Satoskar
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Sreenivas Gannavaram
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Hira L. Nakhasi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
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Mas A, Hurtado-Morillas C, Martínez-Rodrigo A, Orden JA, de la Fuente R, Domínguez-Bernal G, Carrión J. A Tailored Approach to Leishmaniases Vaccination: Comparative Evaluation of the Efficacy and Cross-Protection Capacity of DNA vs. Peptide-Based Vaccines in a Murine Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12334. [PMID: 37569710 PMCID: PMC10418836 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Zoonotic leishmaniases are a worldwide public health problem for which the development of effective vaccines remains a challenge. A vaccine against leishmaniases must be safe and affordable and should induce cross-protection against the different disease-causing species. In this context, the DNA vaccine pHisAK70 has been demonstrated to induce, in a murine model, a resistant phenotype against L. major, L. infantum, and L. amazonensis. Moreover, a chimeric multiepitope peptide, HisDTC, has been obtained by in silico analysis from the histone proteins encoded in the DNA vaccine and has showed its ability to activate a potent CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell protective immune response in mice against L. infantum infection. In the present study, we evaluated the plasmid DNA vaccine pHisAK70 in comparison with the peptide HisDTC (with and without saponin) against L. major and L. infantum infection. Our preliminary results showed that both formulations were able to induce a potent cellular response leading to a decrease in parasite load against L. infantum. In addition, the DNA candidate was able to induce better lesion control in mice against L. major. These preliminary results indicate that both strategies are potentially effective candidates for leishmaniases control. Furthermore, it is important to carry out such comparative studies to elucidate which vaccine candidates are the most appropriate for further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Mas
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Clara Hurtado-Morillas
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Abel Martínez-Rodrigo
- INMIVET Group, Animal Science Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - José A. Orden
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo de la Fuente
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gustavo Domínguez-Bernal
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Carrión
- INMIVET Group, Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Universidad Complutense Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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6
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Afshinpour M, Mahdiuni H. Arginine transportation mechanism through cationic amino acid transporter 1: insights from molecular dynamics studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:13580-13594. [PMID: 36762692 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2175374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic and signaling mechanisms in mammalian cells are facilitated by the transportation of L-arginine (Arg) across the plasma membrane through cationic amino acid transporter (CAT) proteins. Due to a lack of argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) activity in various tumor cells such as acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, these tumor entities are arginine-auxotrophic and therefore depend on the uptake of the amino acid arginine. Cationic amino acid transporter-1 (CAT-1) is the leading arginine importer expressed in the aforementioned tumor entities. Hence, in the present study, to investigate the transportation mechanism of arginine in CAT-1, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods on the modeled human CAT-1. The MM-PBSA approach was conducted to determine the critical residues interacting with arginine within the corresponding binding site of CAT-1. In addition, we found out that the water molecules have the leading role in forming the transportation channel within CAT-1. The conductive structure of CAT-1 was formed only when the water molecules were continuously distributed across the channel. Steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulation approach showed various energy barriers against arginine transportation through CAT-1, especially while crossing the bottlenecks of the related channel. These findings at the molecular level might shed light on identifying the crucial amino acids in the binding of arginine to eukaryotic CATs and also provide fundamental insights into the arginine transportation mechanisms through CAT-1. Understanding the transportation mechanism of arginine is essential to developing CAT-1 blockers, which can be potential medications for some types of cancers.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maral Afshinpour
- Bioinformatics Lab., Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Hamid Mahdiuni
- Bioinformatics Lab., Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
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Bouabid C, Rabhi S, Thedinga K, Barel G, Tnani H, Rabhi I, Benkahla A, Herwig R, Guizani-Tabbane L. Host M-CSF induced gene expression drives changes in susceptible and resistant mice-derived BMdMs upon Leishmania major infection. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1111072. [PMID: 37187743 PMCID: PMC10175952 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1111072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniases are a group of diseases with different clinical manifestations. Macrophage-Leishmania interactions are central to the course of the infection. The outcome of the disease depends not only on the pathogenicity and virulence of the parasite, but also on the activation state, the genetic background, and the underlying complex interaction networks operative in the host macrophages. Mouse models, with mice strains having contrasting behavior in response to parasite infection, have been very helpful in exploring the mechanisms underlying differences in disease progression. We here analyzed previously generated dynamic transcriptome data obtained from Leishmania major (L. major) infected bone marrow derived macrophages (BMdMs) from resistant and susceptible mouse. We first identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the M-CSF differentiated macrophages derived from the two hosts, and found a differential basal transcriptome profile independent of Leishmania infection. These host signatures, in which 75% of the genes are directly or indirectly related to the immune system, may account for the differences in the immune response to infection between the two strains. To gain further insights into the underlying biological processes induced by L. major infection driven by the M-CSF DEGs, we mapped the time-resolved expression profiles onto a large protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and performed network propagation to identify modules of interacting proteins that agglomerate infection response signals for each strain. This analysis revealed profound differences in the resulting responses networks related to immune signaling and metabolism that were validated by qRT-PCR time series experiments leading to plausible and provable hypotheses for the differences in disease pathophysiology. In summary, we demonstrate that the host's gene expression background determines to a large degree its response to L. major infection, and that the gene expression analysis combined with network propagation is an effective approach to help identifying dynamically altered mouse strain-specific networks that hold mechanistic information about these contrasting responses to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyrine Bouabid
- Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
- Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Sameh Rabhi
- Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Kristina Thedinga
- Department Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gal Barel
- Department Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hedia Tnani
- Laboratory de BioInformatic, BioMathematic and BioStatistic (BIMS), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Imen Rabhi
- Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
- Higher Institute of Biotechnology at Sidi-Thabet (ISBST), Biotechnopole Sidi-Thabet- University of Manouba, Sidi-Thabet, Tunisia
| | - Alia Benkahla
- Laboratory de BioInformatic, BioMathematic and BioStatistic (BIMS), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Ralf Herwig
- Department Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lamia Guizani-Tabbane
- Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
- *Correspondence: Lamia Guizani-Tabbane,
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Jiang L, Guo P, Ju J, Zhu X, Wu S, Dai J. Inhalation of L-arginine-modified liposomes targeting M1 macrophages to enhance curcumin therapeutic efficacy in ALI. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2023; 182:21-31. [PMID: 36442537 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2022.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS), characterized by uncontrolled lung inflammation, is one of the most devastating diseases with high morbidity and mortality. As the first line of defense system, macrophages play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS. Therefore, it has great potential to selectively target M1 macrophages to improve the therapeutic effect of anti-inflammatory drugs. l-arginine plays a key role in regulating the immune function of macrophages. The receptors mediating l-arginine uptake are highly expressed on the surface of M1-type macrophages. In this study, we designed an l-arginine-modified liposome for aerosol inhalation to target M1 macrophages in the lung, and the anti-inflammatory drug curcumin was encapsulated in liposomes as model drug. Compared with unmodified curcumin liposome (Cur-Lip), l-arginine functionalized Cur-Lip (Arg-Cur-Lip) exhibited higher uptake by M1 macrophages in vitro and higher accumulation in inflamed lungs in vivo. Furthermore, Arg-Cur-Lip showed more potent therapeutic effects in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells and the rat model of ALI. Overall, these findings indicate that l-arginine-modified liposomes have great potential to enhance curcumin treatment of ALI/ARDS by targeting M1 macrophages, which may provide an option for the treatment of acute lung inflammatory diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome and middle east respiratory syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linxia Jiang
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Pengchuan Guo
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Jiarui Ju
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Xiaoyan Zhu
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Shiyue Wu
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China
| | - Jundong Dai
- Department of Chinese Medicinal Pharmaceutics, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yang Guang South Street, Fangshan District, Beijing 102488, China.
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9
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Assouab A, El Filaly H, Akarid K. Inhibiting Human and Leishmania Arginases Using Cannabis sativa as a Potential Therapy for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: A Molecular Docking Study. Trop Med Infect Dis 2022; 7:tropicalmed7120400. [PMID: 36548655 PMCID: PMC9783378 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed7120400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by the Leishmania protozoan, is a serious public health problem in Morocco. The treatment of this disease is still based on pentavalent antimonials as the primary therapy, but these have associated side effects. Thus, the development of effective, risk-free alternative therapeutics based on natural compounds against leishmaniasis is urgent. Arginase, the key enzyme in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, plays a critical role in leishmaniasis outcome and has emerged as a potential therapeutic target. The objective of this study was to test Cannabis sativa's phytochemical components (cannabinoids and terpenoids) through molecular docking against Leishmania and human arginase enzymes. Our results showed that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) possessed the best binding energies of -6.02 and -6.35 kcal/mol with active sites of Leishmania and human arginases, respectively. Delta-9-THC interacted with Leishmania arginase through various amino acids including His139 and His 154 and linked to human arginase via His 126. In addition to delta-9-THC, caryophyllene oxide and cannabidiol (CBD) also showed a good inhibition of Leishmania and human arginases, respectively. Overall, the studied components were found to inhibit both arginases active sites via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. These components may serve as therapeutic agents or in co-administrated therapy for leishmaniasis.
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10
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Giraldo M, Upegui YA, Higuita-Castro JL, Gonzalez LA, Gutierrez S, Pulido SA, Robledo SM. Effect of the variation in the extracellular concentration of l-arginine in the physiology of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and its susceptibility to some antileishmanial drugs. Exp Parasitol 2022; 242:108395. [PMID: 36179851 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The knowledge about amino acid metabolism in trypanosomatids is a valuable source of new therapeutic targets. l-arginine is an essential amino acid for Leishmania parasites, and it participates in the synthesis of polyamines, a group of essential nutrients used for nucleic acids, proteins biosynthesis, and redox modulation necessary for proliferation. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of changes in the availability of this amino acid on promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes on U937 macrophages and showed that the absence of l-arginine in culture medium negatively influences the growth and infectivity of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, causing a decrease in the percentage of the infected cells and parasite load tested through light microscopy. In addition, the absence of l-arginine resulted in the parasite's inability to regulate its reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which persisted for up to 24 h by flow cytometry following the probe H2DCF-DA dye. Moreover, the differentiation of promastigote to amastigote in axenic culture was more significant at low concentrations of l-arginine suggesting that this depletion induces a stress environment to increase this transformation under axenic conditions. No association was established between the availability of l-arginine and the effectiveness of antileishmanial drugs. All these results confirm the importance of l-arginine in L. braziliensis life cycle vital processes, such as its replication and infectivity, as documented in other Leishmania species. Based on these results, we proposed that the l-arginine uptake/metabolism route is possible in exploring new antileishmanial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Giraldo
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Yulieth A Upegui
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Jorge L Higuita-Castro
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Luis A Gonzalez
- QOPN Grupo Química Orgánica de Productos Naturales, Instituto de Química, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Sneider Gutierrez
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Sergio A Pulido
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia
| | - Sara M Robledo
- PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA, Medellín, 050010474, Colombia.
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Freire RDP, Fonseca FRM, Rodrigues de Castro NL, Lima CXM, Ribeiro-Romão RP, Cavalcante DIM, Teixeira CR, Gomes R, Da-Cruz AM, Teixeira MJ. Different inoculum of Leishmania braziliensis concentrations influence immunopathogenesis and clinical evolution in the ear dermis hamster model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasite Immunol 2022; 44:e12947. [PMID: 36057920 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is commonly used as a promising model for Leishmania braziliensis infection developing skin-ulcerated lesions. However, different protocols using high concentration of parasites inoculated in the footpad result in severe clinical disease. Here, we further investigate the outcome of the site of infection and concentration of L. braziliensis parasites inoculated on the immunopathogenesis and clinical evolution. Initially, hamsters were infected in the ear dermis or hind footpad with a concentration of 1x105 parasites. Animals infected in the ear dermis developed a disease, with an increased parasite load that more closely resembled human CL lesions comparing to the group infected in the footpad. Next, we evaluated if different parasite concentrations (104 , 105 and 106 ) inoculated in the ear dermis would impact the course and clinical aspects of infection. Hamsters infected with 104 and 105 parasites developed mild lesions compared to the group infected with 106 that presented severe and persistent lesions. The parasite load varied between the different parasite concentrations. The inflammatory response was more intense when infection was initiated with 106 parasites accompanied by an increased initial expression of IL-4, IL-10 and arginase in the lymph node followed by expression of both pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines comparing to groups infected with 104 and 105 parasites. In conclusion, the number of parasites inoculated, and the initial site of infection could influence the inflammatory response, and clinical presentation. Our results suggest that the ear dermis infection model induces a chronic disease that relate to immunopathological aspects of CL natural infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Regis Gomes
- FIOCRUZ Ceará, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Eusébio, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Alda Maria Da-Cruz
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.,Disciplina de Parasitologia, DMIP-Faculdade de Ciencias Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Maria Jania Teixeira
- Department of Pathology and Legal Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
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12
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Ali V, Behera S, Nawaz A, Equbal A, Pandey K. Unique thiol metabolism in trypanosomatids: Redox homeostasis and drug resistance. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2022; 117:75-155. [PMID: 35878950 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2022.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Trypanosomatids are mainly responsible for heterogeneous parasitic diseases: Leishmaniasis, Sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease and control of these diseases implicates serious challenges due to the emergence of drug resistance. Redox-active biomolecules are the endogenous substances in organisms, which play important role in the regulation of redox homeostasis. The redox-active substances like glutathione, trypanothione, cysteine, cysteine persulfides, etc., and other inorganic intermediates (hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide) are very useful as defence mechanism. In the present review, the suitability of trypanothione and other essential thiol molecules of trypanosomatids as drug targets are described in Leishmania and Trypanosoma. We have explored the role of tryparedoxin, tryparedoxin peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutaredoxins in the anti-oxidant mechanism and drug resistance. Up-regulation of some proteins in trypanothione metabolism helps the parasites in survival against drug pressure (sodium stibogluconate, Amphotericin B, etc.) and oxidative stress. These molecules accept electrons from the reduced trypanothione and donate their electrons to other proteins, and these proteins reduce toxic molecules, neutralize reactive oxygen, or nitrogen species; and help parasites to cope with oxidative stress. Thus, a better understanding of the role of these molecules in drug resistance and redox homeostasis will help to target metabolic pathway proteins to combat Leishmaniasis and trypanosomiases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vahab Ali
- Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Department of Biochemistry, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna, Bihar, India.
| | - Sachidananda Behera
- Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Department of Biochemistry, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Afreen Nawaz
- Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Department of Biochemistry, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Asif Equbal
- Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Department of Biochemistry, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna, Bihar, India; Department of Botany, Araria College, Purnea University, Purnia, Bihar, India
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Department of Clinical Medicine, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna, Bihar, India
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Zhang J, Li J, Hu K, Zhou Q, Chen X, He J, Yin S, Chi Y, Liao X, Xiao Y, Qin H, Zheng Z, Chen J. Screening Novel Vaccine Candidates for Leishmania Donovani by Combining Differential Proteomics and Immunoinformatics Analysis. Front Immunol 2022; 13:902066. [PMID: 35812381 PMCID: PMC9260594 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.902066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is the most dangerous form of leishmaniasis. Currently no effective vaccine is available for clinical use. Since the pathogenicity of different Leishmania strains is inconsistent, the differentially expressed proteins in Leishmania strains may play an important role as virulence factors in pathogenesis. Therefore, effective vaccine candidate targets may exist in the differentially expressed proteins. In this study, we used differential proteomics analysis to find the differentially expressed proteins in two Leishmania donovani strains, and combined with immunoinformatics analysis to find new vaccine candidates. The differentially expressed proteins from L. DD8 (low virulent) and L. 9044 (virulent) strains were analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and preliminarily screened by antigenicity, allergenicity and homology evaluation. The binding peptides of MHC II, IFN-γ and MHC I from differentially expressed proteins were then predicted and calculated for the second screening. IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios and conserved domain prediction were performed to choose more desirable differentially expressed proteins. Finally, the 3D structures of three vaccine candidate proteins were produced and submitted for molecular dynamics simulation and molecular docking interaction with TLR4/MD2. The results showed that 396 differentially expressed proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS, and 155 differentially expressed proteins were selected through antigenicity, allergenicity and homology evaluation. Finally, 16 proteins whose percentages of MHC II, IFN-γ and MHC I binding peptides were greater than those of control groups (TSA, LmSTI1, LeIF, Leish-111f) were considered to be suitable vaccine candidates. Among the 16 candidates, amino acid permease, amastin-like protein and the hypothetical protein (XP_003865405.1) simultaneously had the large ratios of IFN-γ/IL-10 and high percentages of MHC II, IFN-γ and MHC I, which should be focused on. In conclusion, our comprehensive work provided a methodological basis to screen new vaccine candidates for a better intervention against VL and associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhui Zhang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiao Li
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kaifeng Hu
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qi Zhou
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Chen
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jinlei He
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuangshuang Yin
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yangjian Chi
- Department of Urinary Surgery, Jianou Municipal Hospital of Fujian Province, Jianou, China
| | - Xuechun Liao
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuying Xiao
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hanxiao Qin
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhiwan Zheng
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Zhiwan Zheng, ; Jianping Chen,
| | - Jianping Chen
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Zhiwan Zheng, ; Jianping Chen,
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Carter NS, Kawasaki Y, Nahata SS, Elikaee S, Rajab S, Salam L, Alabdulal MY, Broessel KK, Foroghi F, Abbas A, Poormohamadian R, Roberts SC. Polyamine Metabolism in Leishmania Parasites: A Promising Therapeutic Target. Med Sci (Basel) 2022; 10:24. [PMID: 35645240 PMCID: PMC9149861 DOI: 10.3390/medsci10020024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites of the genus Leishmania cause a variety of devastating and often fatal diseases in humans and domestic animals worldwide. The need for new therapeutic strategies is urgent because no vaccine is available, and treatment options are limited due to a lack of specificity and the emergence of drug resistance. Polyamines are metabolites that play a central role in rapidly proliferating cells, and recent studies have highlighted their critical nature in Leishmania. Numerous studies using a variety of inhibitors as well as gene deletion mutants have elucidated the pathway and routes of transport, revealing unique aspects of polyamine metabolism in Leishmania parasites. These studies have also shed light on the significance of polyamines for parasite proliferation, infectivity, and host-parasite interactions. This comprehensive review article focuses on the main polyamine biosynthetic enzymes: ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, and spermidine synthase, and it emphasizes recent discoveries that advance these enzymes as potential therapeutic targets against Leishmania parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sigrid C. Roberts
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR 97123, USA; (N.S.C.); (Y.K.); (S.S.N.); (S.E.); (S.R.); (L.S.); (M.Y.A.); (K.K.B.); (F.F.); (A.A.); (R.P.)
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miR-294 and miR-410 Negatively Regulate Tnfa, Arginine Transporter Cat1/2, and Nos2 mRNAs in Murine Macrophages Infected with Leishmania amazonensis. Noncoding RNA 2022; 8:ncrna8010017. [PMID: 35202090 PMCID: PMC8875753 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna8010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate cellular processes by the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, including immune responses. The shift in the miRNA profiling of murine macrophages infected with Leishmania amazonensis can change inflammatory response and metabolism. L-arginine availability and its conversion into nitric oxide by nitric oxide synthase 2 (Nos2) or ornithine (a polyamine precursor) by arginase 1/2 regulate macrophage microbicidal activity. This work aimed to evaluate the function of miR-294, miR-301b, and miR-410 during early C57BL/6 bone marrow-derived macrophage infection with L. amazonensis. We observed an upregulation of miR-294 and miR-410 at 4 h of infection, but the levels of miR-301b were not modified. This profile was not observed in LPS-stimulated macrophages. We also observed decreased levels of those miRNAs target genes during infection, such as Cationic amino acid transporters 1 (Cat1/Slc7a1), Cat2/Slc7a22 and Nos2; genes were upregulated in LPS stimuli. The functional inhibition of miR-294 led to the upregulation of Cat2 and Tnfa and the dysregulation of Nos2, while miR-410 increased Cat1 levels. miR-294 inhibition reduced the number of amastigotes per infected macrophage, showing a reduction in the parasite growth inside the macrophage. These data identified miR-294 and miR-410 biomarkers for a potential regulator in the inflammatory profiles of microphages mediated by L. amazonensis infection. This research provides novel insights into immune dysfunction contributing to infection outcomes and suggests the use of the antagomiRs/inhibitors of miR-294 and miR-410 as new therapeutic strategies to modulate inflammation and to decrease parasitism.
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BARRETO ANNAL, ALONSO ARIADNEN, MORAES DANIELCDE, CURVELO JOSÉA, MIRANDA KILDARE, PORTELA MARISTELAB, FERREIRA-PEREIRA ANTÔNIO, SOUTO-PADRÓN THAIS, SOARES ROSANGELAMARIADEA. Anti-Leishmania amazonensis activity of the marine sponge Dercitus (Stoeba) latex (Porifera) from São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago, Pernambuco, Brazil. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2022; 94:e20211090. [DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220211090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- ANNA L.S. BARRETO
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto Brasileiro de Medicina de Reabilitação (IBMR), Brazil
| | - ARIADNE N. ALONSO
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratório Richet Medicina Diagnóstica, Brazil
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17
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Alinejad S, Khademvatan S, Amani S, Asadi N, Tappeh KH, Yousefi E, Miandoabi T. The Effect of Curcumin on the Expression of INFγ, TNF-α, and iNOS Genes in PBMCs Infected with Leishmania major [MRHO/IR/75/ER]. Infect Disord Drug Targets 2022; 22:83-89. [PMID: 35379161 DOI: 10.2174/1871526522666220404083220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leishmaniasis, caused by the Leishmania parasite, is one of the most important tropical neglected diseases. The urgent search for effective, inexpensive, and preferably herbal anti-leishmanial agents, is needed. OBJECTIVE Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric that is well known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-cancer activity. METHODS The present work evaluates the anti-leishmanial [Leishmania major] activity of curcumin. The infected PBMCs were treated with curcumin. The ROS level at 6, 12, 24 h and gene expression levels at 24, 48, and 72 h of PBMCs after treatment with curcumin were determined. RESULTS Based on the results, the curcumin concentrations of 268 μM [24 h] and 181.2 μM [72 h] were defined as IC50 against L. major promastigotes. Treatment of L. major infected-peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] with IC50 concentrations of curcumin, depending on exposure time, significantly induced the reactive oxygen species [ROS] generation and increased the expression levels of interferongamma [IFN-γ], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], and nitric oxide synthase [iNOS] genes. CONCLUSION These findings suggest the potential of curcumin against Leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soheila Alinejad
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Shahram Khademvatan
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Shahla Amani
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Negar Asadi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Khosrow Hazrati Tappeh
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Elham Yousefi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Touraj Miandoabi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Institute & Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
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18
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Barros-Gonçalves TDD, Saavedra AF, da Silva-Couto L, Ribeiro-Romão RP, Bezerra-Paiva M, Gomes-Silva A, Carvalho VF, Da-Cruz AM, Pinto EF. Increased levels of cortisol are associated with the severity of experimental visceral leishmaniasis in a Leishmania (L.) infantum-hamster model. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009987. [PMID: 34813597 PMCID: PMC8651114 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Several infectious diseases are associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disorders by elevating circulating glucocorticoids (GCs), which are known to have an immunosuppressive potential. We conducted this study in golden hamsters, a suitable model for human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), to investigate the relationship of Leishmania (L.) infantum infection on cortisol production and VL severity. Methods L. infantum-infected (n = 42) and uninfected hamsters (n = 30) were followed-up at 30, 120, and 180 days post-infection (dpi). Plasma cortisol was analyzed by radioimmunoassay and cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and arginase by RT-qPCR. Results All hamsters showed splenomegaly at 180 dpi. Increased parasite burden was associated with higher arginase expression and lower iNOS induction. Cortisol levels were elevated in infected animals in all-time points evaluated. Except for monocytes, all other leucocytes showed a strong negative correlation with cortisol, while transaminases were positively correlated. Immunological markers as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-10, and transforming growth-factor-β (TGF-β) were positively correlated to cortisol production, while interferon-γ (IFN-γ) presented a negative correlation. A network analysis showed cortisol as an important knot linking clinical status and immunological parameters. Conclusions These results suggest that L. infantum increases the systemic levels of cortisol, which showed to be associated with hematological, biochemical, and immunological parameters associated to VL severity. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an infectious disease that is common in most tropical countries. VL has high morbidity and leads to death if not properly treated. In Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum is the main causative agent of VL. Golden hamsters have proven to be a suitable model for VL. Despite the importance of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disturbances in infectious disease, few studies have addressed this issue in VL. In this study, we showed that L. infantum-infected hamsters present augmented levels of plasmatic cortisol in association with increased spleen parasite burden. Indeed, a strong positive correlation was observed between cortisol and biochemical parameters (AST/ALT/ALP) related to liver damage, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1β), anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β), and the arginase enzyme that may favor the progression of infection. On the other side, cortisol was negatively correlated with leucocytes, except monocytes, and with IFN-γ and iNOS, which are involved in parasite-killing macrophage function. These results shed light on an unexplored aspect of VL pathogenesis, which is the importance of cortisol production in the disease-associated immune dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea F. Saavedra
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Luzinei da Silva-Couto
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Raquel P. Ribeiro-Romão
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Milla Bezerra-Paiva
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Adriano Gomes-Silva
- Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vinicius F. Carvalho
- Laboratório de Inflamação, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Neuroimunomodulação (INCT-NIM), CNPq, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alda Maria Da-Cruz
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Neuroimunomodulação (INCT-NIM), CNPq, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Disciplina de Parasitologia-DMIP, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Rede de Pesquisas em Saúde do Estado do Rio de Janeiro/FAPERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Eduardo F. Pinto
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Rede de Pesquisas em Saúde do Estado do Rio de Janeiro/FAPERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Metabolomic Reprogramming of C57BL/6-Macrophages during Early Infection with L. amazonensis. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22136883. [PMID: 34206906 PMCID: PMC8267886 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22136883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania survival inside macrophages depends on factors that lead to the immune response evasion during the infection. In this context, the metabolic scenario of the host cell-parasite relationship can be crucial to understanding how this parasite can survive inside host cells due to the host's metabolic pathways reprogramming. In this work, we aimed to analyze metabolic networks of bone marrow-derived macrophages from C57BL/6 mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis wild type (La-WT) or arginase knocked out (La-arg-), using the untargeted Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry (CE-MS) approach to assess metabolomic profile. Macrophages showed specific changes in metabolite abundance upon Leishmania infection, as well as in the absence of parasite-arginase. The absence of L. amazonensis-arginase promoted the regulation of both host and parasite urea cycle, glycine and serine metabolism, ammonia recycling, metabolism of arginine, proline, aspartate, glutamate, spermidine, spermine, methylhistidine, and glutathione metabolism. The increased L-arginine, L-citrulline, L-glutamine, oxidized glutathione, S-adenosylmethionine, N-acetylspermidine, trypanothione disulfide, and trypanothione levels were observed in La-WT-infected C57BL/6-macrophage compared to uninfected. The absence of parasite arginase increased L-arginine, argininic acid, and citrulline levels and reduced ornithine, putrescine, S-adenosylmethionine, glutamic acid, proline, N-glutamyl-alanine, glutamyl-arginine, trypanothione disulfide, and trypanothione when compared to La-WT infected macrophage. Moreover, the absence of parasite arginase leads to an increase in NO production levels and a higher infectivity rate at 4 h of infection. The data presented here show a host-dependent regulation of metabolomic profiles of C57BL/6 macrophages compared to the previously observed BALB/c macrophages infected with L. amazonensis, an important fact due to the dual and contrasting macrophage phenotypes of those mice. In addition, the Leishmania-arginase showed interference with the urea cycle, glycine, and glutathione metabolism during host-pathogen interactions.
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20
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The Effect of Naja naja oxiana Snake Venom Against Leishmania tropica Confirmed by Advanced Assays. Acta Parasitol 2021; 66:475-486. [PMID: 33159262 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-020-00301-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to explore the activity of Naja naja oxiana venom on Leishmania tropica and its modes of action. METHODS Different fractions of Naja naja oxiana venom (NNOV) were prepared and characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography. The superior component, fraction k (FK) was selected. The activity of the fraction was assessed using advanced assays. RESULTS Interleukin (IL)-12, TNF-α and iNOS gene expression as the indicators of Th1 significantly increased. In contrast, the level of IL-10, as the marker of T helper 2 substantially decreased (p < 0.001). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) after treatment with different concentrations of NNOV-FK, unlike arginase (L-ARG) activity which showed a significant reduction (p < 0.001). The NNOV-FK showed significant lethal activity on the L. tropica stages. CONCLUSION The findings demonstrated that NNOV-FK represented a strong leishmanicidal activity on L. tropica stages. The major modes of NNOV-FK action are multidimensional, which perceives the induction of a synergistic response and upregulation of the immune-modulatory role towards Th1 response against L. tropica stages as well as apoptotic and anti-metabolic action as a model drug to generate ROS, block the polyamine synthesis and lead to parasite death.
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21
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Nitric-oxide releasing chitosan nanoparticles towards effective treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Nitric Oxide 2021; 113-114:31-38. [PMID: 33940194 DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2021.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major public health problem caused by Leishmania parasites that produce destructive and disfiguring skin conditions. There is an urgent need for alternative topical therapies due to the limitations of current systemic treatments. Recently, we have synthesized nitric oxide-releasing chitosan nanoparticles (NONPs) and shown their potential in vitro against Leishmania amazonensis. Herein we evaluated the application of NONPs for the treatment of CL on infected BALB/c mice. Mice were treated with topical administration of increasing concentrations of NONPs and disease progression was investigated regarding parasite load, lesion thickness, and pain score. As a result, we observed a dose-dependent NONPs effect. Parasite burden and lesion thickness were substantially lower on animals receiving NONPs at a 2 mM concentration compared to untreated control. Moreover, the clinical presentation of the lesions did not show any visible signs of ulcer, suggesting clinical healing in these animals. This successful outcome was sustained for at least 21 days after therapy even in one single dose. Thus, we demonstrate that NONPs are suitable for topical administration, and represent an attractive approach to treat CL.
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22
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Constitutive nitric oxide synthase-like enzyme in two species involved in cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasitol Int 2021; 83:102347. [PMID: 33862253 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2021.102347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania is an obligate intracellular parasite that primarily inhabits macrophages. The destruction of the parasite in the host cell is a fundamental mechanism for infection control. In addition, inhibition of the leishmanicidal activity of macrophages seems to be related to the ability of some species to inhibit the production of nitric oxide (NO) by depleting arginine. Some species of Leishmania have the ability to produce NO from a constitutive nitric oxide synthase-like enzyme (cNOS-like). However, the localization of cNOS-like in Leishmania has not been described before. As such, this study was designed to locate cNOS-like enzyme and NO production in promastigotes of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. NO production was initially quantified by flow cytometry, which indicated a significant difference in NO production between L. (L.) amazonensis (GMFC = 92.17 +/- 4.6) and L. (V.) braziliensis (GMFC = 18.89 +/- 2.29) (P < 0.05). Analysis of cNOS expression by immunoblotting showed more expression in L. (L.) amazonensis versus L. (V.) braziliensis. Subsequently, cNOS-like immunolabeling was observed in promastigotes in regions near vesicles, the flagellar pocket and mitochondria, and small clusters of particles appeared to be fusing with vesicles suggestive of glycosomes, peroxisome-like-organelles that compartmentalize the glycolytic pathway in trypanosomatid parasites. In addition, confocal microscopy analysis demonstrated colocalization of cNOS-like and GAPDH, a specific marker for glycosomes. Thus, L. (L.) amazonensis produces greater amounts of NO than L. (V.) braziliensis, and both species present the cNOS-like enzyme inside glycosomes.
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Arginase/nitric oxide modifications using live non-pathogenic Leishmania tarentolae as an effective delivery system inside the mammalian macrophages. J Parasit Dis 2021; 45:65-71. [PMID: 33746388 DOI: 10.1007/s12639-020-01279-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant live delivery system based on chemokine IFN-γ-inducible protein-10 kDa (CXCL 10 or IP-10), as a suitable immunotherapy tool, have been used for the treatment of Leishmania infections. This chemokine can defeat Leishmania spp. infection via producing nitric oxide (NO) for parasite killing. This study was performed to investigate the effects of IP-10 on the infected human macrophages by L. tarentolae expressing IP-10. We also quantified the arginase activity and NO production in the co-cultured human macrophages with L. tarentolae expressing IP-10 as compared with wild L. tarentolae. The results elucidate that in the infected cells with L. tarentolae expression of IP-10 the arginase activity decreased, and inversely, NO production intensely increased. Altogether, L. tarentolae expressing IP-10 shows a favorable therapeutic tool to improve the treatment of Leishmania infection. This work suggests that L. tarentolae expressing IP-10 cause specific effects on the metabolic pathways of the macrophage host, which might enable the host cells in killing of parasites and decreasing the survival of them against Leishmania infection.
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24
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Immunotherapy in treatment of leishmaniasis. Immunol Lett 2021; 233:80-86. [PMID: 33771555 DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2021.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis caused by various species of protozoan transmitted by sand fly vectors occurs as a spectrum of clinical features including cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral forms. It is a geographically distributed parasitic disease and a major public health problem in the world. The clinical syndromes are highly variable depending on the parasite species, host genetics, vectors and environment. To date, there is no effective vaccine and traditional treatments are toxic, expensive with long administration duration and many adverse side effects and/or drug resistance. Instead of treatments based on chemotherapy, certain strategies aim to recover leishmaniasis and reduce the parasitic burden. Immunotherapy has focused on the induction of effective immune response to rapidly control the disease. Recent studies have indicated that a single dose of a suitable therapeutic vaccine induces a quick and lasting recovery in patients. Immunotherapy reduces the toxicity of drug and the emergence of resistance dramatically. It could be an effective addition to chemotherapy with a safe and potent drug compared with monotherapy, resulting in a prophylactic and therapeutic cure of leishmaniasis. This review has focused on treatment of leishmaniasis with particular emphasis on immunotherapy as an alternative to conventional drug treatment.
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25
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Restrepo CM, Llanes A, Herrera L, Ellis E, Lleonart R, Fernández PL. Gene expression patterns associated with Leishmania panamensis infection in macrophages from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009225. [PMID: 33617537 PMCID: PMC7932533 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania parasites can trigger different host immune responses that result in varying levels of disease severity. The C57BL/6 and BALB/c mouse strains are among the host models commonly used for characterizing the immunopathogenesis of Leishmania species and the possible antileishmanial effect of novel drug candidates. C57BL/6 mice tend to be resistant to Leishmania infections, whereas BALB/c mice display a susceptible phenotype. Studying species-specific interactions between Leishmania parasites and different host systems is a key step to characterize and validate these models for in vivo studies. Here, we use RNA-Seq and differential expression analysis to characterize the transcriptomic profiles of C57BL/6 and BALB/c peritoneal-derived macrophages in response to Leishmania panamensis infection. We observed differences between BALB/c and C57BL/6 macrophages regarding pathways associated with lysosomal degradation, arginine metabolism and the regulation of cell cycle. We also observed differences in the expression of chemokine and cytokine genes associated with regulation of immune responses. In conclusion, infection with L. panamensis induced an inflammatory gene expression pattern in C57BL/6 macrophages that is more consistently associated with a classic macrophage M1 activation, whereas in BALB/c macrophages a gene expression pattern consistent with an intermediate inflammatory response was observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M. Restrepo
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Alejandro Llanes
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Lizzi Herrera
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Esteban Ellis
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Latina de Panamá, Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Ricardo Lleonart
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Patricia L. Fernández
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama City, Panama, Republic of Panama
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26
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Guerra JM, Fernandes NCCA, Réssio RA, Kimura LM, Barbosa JER, Taniguchi HH, Hiramoto RM, Motoie G, Tolezano JE, Cogliati B. Cytokine profile and parasite load in lymph nodes of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum from distinct epidemiological scenarios in São Paulo State, Brazil. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2021; 233:110198. [PMID: 33548792 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2021.110198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important zoonotic vector-borne disease and domestic dogs are considered the main domiciliary and peri-domiciliary reservoir of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum in South America. Distinct eco-epidemiological scenarios associated to the prevalence of the disease, clusters of parasite genotypes and chemotypes of vectors population are described in Brazil, especially in the state of São Paulo (SP). In this context, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the clinical signs, histopathological lesions, parasite load and cytokine profile by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in popliteal lymph nodes of canines naturally infected with L. infantum, from different municipalities of the state of SP. Eighty-three dogs with VL, 61 from northwest SP (NWSP) and 22 from southeast SP (SESP), were clinically classified in stage II, with no babesiosis and ehrlichiosis. Subcapsular inflammatory infiltration and histiocytosis were significantly higher in the SESP group (p = 0.0128; 0.0077, respectively). On the other hand, dogs from NWSP revealed 4.6-fold significantly higher parasite burden (p = 0.0004) and higher IHC scores of IL-1β (p = 0.0275) and IL-4 (p = 0.0327) in the popliteal lymph node tissues, which may be associated with the susceptibility and progression of the disease in these dogs. Differences in immune response profile associated with higher parasite load in dogs can also contribute to explain the distinct eco-epidemiological patterns of VL in specific geographic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana M Guerra
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil.
| | - Natália C C A Fernandes
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo A Réssio
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lidia M Kimura
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - José E R Barbosa
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Helena H Taniguchi
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Roberto M Hiramoto
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Motoie
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - José E Tolezano
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria do Estado daSaúde de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Bruno Cogliati
- Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
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27
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Ferreira-Paes T, Charret KDS, Ribeiro MRDS, Rodrigues RF, Leon LL. Comparative analysis of biological aspects of Leishmania infantum strains. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230545. [PMID: 33270636 PMCID: PMC7714135 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania infantum infantum (LII) is one of the species that causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Old World, while L. infantum chagasi (LIC) is present in the New World. Few studies address biological differences or the behavior of these strains during infection. These parasites live inside cells of their hosts, continuously evading microbicidal mechanisms and modulating the immune responses of these cells. One of the mechanisms used by these protozoa involves the L-arginine metabolism. Understanding the differences between Leishmania species and establishing an improved murine model for study of leishmaniasis are matters of extreme importance. Thereby, the objectives of this work were to analyze the biological and molecular differences between two Leishmania infantum strains (LII and LIC) and the degree of susceptibility to infection of mice with different genetic backgrounds. The infectivity in vivo and in vitro of LII and LIC strains was evaluated in BALB/c and Swiss Webster mice, as well the NOS and ARG activities. The LII strain was more infective than the LIC strain both in vivo and in vitro. In animals infected by the LII and LIC strains, differences in NOS and ARG activities occurred. In vitro, promastigotes of LII isolated from BALB/c and Swiss Webster mice showed higher ARG activity than LIC promastigotes during the growth curve. However, no difference was observed in intracellular NO production by promastigotes of these strains. The ARG gene sequences were compared, and those of both strains were identical. However, despite the similarity, the strains showed different expression levels of this gene. It can be concluded that although L. chagasi strains are considered identical to L. infantum strains from a molecular point of view, these strains have different biological behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taiana Ferreira-Paes
- Laboratório de Bioquímica de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Karen dos Santos Charret
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Doenças Endêmicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Raquel Ferreira Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Bioquímica de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Leonor Laura Leon
- Laboratório de Bioquímica de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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28
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Meireles P, Brás D, Fontinha D, Chora ÂF, Serre K, Mendes AM, Prudêncio M. Elimination of Hepatic Rodent Plasmodium Parasites by Amino Acid Supplementation. iScience 2020; 23:101781. [PMID: 33294789 PMCID: PMC7689548 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites, causative agents of malaria, scavenge host nutrients to sustain their intracellular replication. Modulation of the host's nutritional status can potentially help control infection by limiting the parasite's access to nutrients, or by boosting the immune system. Here, we show that dietary supplementation of mice employing a combination of arginine (R) with two additional amino acids, lysine (K) and valine (V), termed RKV, significantly decreases Plasmodium liver infection. RKV supplementation results in the elimination of parasites at a late stage of their development in the liver. Our data employing genetic knockout mouse models and in vivo depletion of specific cell populations suggest that RKV supplementation boosts the host's overall innate immune response, and that parasite elimination is dependent on MyD88 signaling in immune cells. The immunostimulatory effect of RKV supplementation opens a potential role for dietary supplementation as an adjuvant for prophylaxis or immunization strategies against Plasmodium infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Meireles
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Daniela Brás
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Diana Fontinha
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ângelo F Chora
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Karine Serre
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - António M Mendes
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Miguel Prudêncio
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
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29
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Bogdan C. Macrophages as host, effector and immunoregulatory cells in leishmaniasis: Impact of tissue micro-environment and metabolism. Cytokine X 2020; 2:100041. [PMID: 33604563 PMCID: PMC7885870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cytox.2020.100041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania are protozoan parasites that predominantly reside in myeloid cells within their mammalian hosts. Monocytes and macrophages play a central role in the pathogenesis of all forms of leishmaniasis, including cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. The present review will highlight the diverse roles of macrophages in leishmaniasis as initial replicative niche, antimicrobial effectors, immunoregulators and as safe hideaway for parasites persisting after clinical cure. These multiplex activities are either ascribed to defined subpopulations of macrophages (e.g., Ly6ChighCCR2+ inflammatory monocytes/monocyte-derived dendritic cells) or result from different activation statuses of tissue macrophages (e.g., macrophages carrying markers of of classical [M1] or alternative activation [M2]). The latter are shaped by immune- and stromal cell-derived cytokines (e.g., IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β), micro milieu factors (e.g., hypoxia, tonicity, amino acid availability), host cell-derived enzymes, secretory products and metabolites (e.g., heme oxygenase-1, arginase 1, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, NOS2/NO, NOX2/ROS, lipids) as well as by parasite products (e.g., leishmanolysin/gp63, lipophosphoglycan). Exciting avenues of current research address the transcriptional, epigenetic and translational reprogramming of macrophages in a Leishmania species- and tissue context-dependent manner.
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Key Words
- (L)CL, (localized) cutaneous leishmaniasis
- AHR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor
- AMP, antimicrobial peptide
- Arg, arginase
- Arginase
- CAMP, cathelicidin-type antimicrobial peptide
- CR, complement receptor
- DC, dendritic cells
- DCL, diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis
- HO-1, heme oxygenase 1
- Hypoxia
- IDO, indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase
- IFN, interferon
- IFNAR, type I IFN (IFN-α/β) receptor
- IL, interleukin
- Interferon-α/β
- Interferon-γ
- JAK, Janus kinase
- LPG, lipophosphoglycan
- LRV1, Leishmania RNA virus 1
- Leishmaniasis
- Macrophages
- Metabolism
- NCX1, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1
- NFAT5, nuclear factor of activated T cells 5
- NK cell, natural killer cell
- NO, nitric oxide
- NOS2 (iNOS), type 2 (or inducible) nitric oxide synthase
- NOX2, NADPH oxidase 2 (gp91 or cytochrome b558 β-subunit of Phox)
- Nitric oxide
- OXPHOS, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation
- PKDL, post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis
- Phagocyte NADPH oxidase
- Phox, phagocyte NADPH oxidase
- RNS, reactive nitrogen species
- ROS, reactive oxygen species
- SOCS, suppressor of cytokine signaling
- STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription
- TGF-β, transforming growth factor-beta
- TLR, toll-like receptor
- Th1 (Th2), type 1 (type2) T helper cell
- Tonicity
- VL, visceral leishmaniasis
- mTOR, mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Bogdan
- Mikrobiologisches Institut - klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany.,Medical Immunology Campus Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
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30
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Bodhale N, Ohms M, Ferreira C, Mesquita I, Mukherjee A, André S, Sarkar A, Estaquier J, Laskay T, Saha B, Silvestre R. Cytokines and metabolic regulation: A framework of bidirectional influences affecting Leishmania infection. Cytokine 2020; 147:155267. [PMID: 32917471 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania, a protozoan parasite inflicting the complex of diseases called Leishmaniases, resides and replicates as amastigotes within mammalian macrophages. As macrophages are metabolically highly active and can generate free radicals that can destroy this parasite, Leishmania also devise strategies to modulate the host cell metabolism. However, the metabolic changes can also be influenced by the anti-leishmanial immune response mediated by cytokines. This bidirectional, dynamic and complex metabolic coupling established between Leishmania and its host is the result of a long co-evolutionary process. Due to the continuous alterations imposed by the host microenvironment, such metabolic coupling continues to be dynamically regulated. The constant pursuit and competition for nutrients in the host-Leishmania duet alter the host metabolic pathways with major consequences for its nutritional reserves, eventually affecting the phenotype and functionality of the host cell. Altered phenotype and functions of macrophages are particularly relevant to immune cells, as perturbed metabolic fluxes can crucially affect the activation, differentiation, and functions of host immune cells. All these changes can deterministically direct the outcome of an infection. Cytokines and metabolic fluxes can bidirectionally influence each other through molecular sensors and regulators to dictate the final infection outcome. Our studies along with those from others have now identified the metabolic nodes that can be targeted for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neelam Bodhale
- National Centre for Cell Science, 411007 Pune, India; Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS), Kolkata 700107 India
| | - Mareike Ohms
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck 23538, Germany
| | - Carolina Ferreira
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Inês Mesquita
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | | | - Sónia André
- INSERM U1124, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Arup Sarkar
- Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
| | - Jérôme Estaquier
- INSERM U1124, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France; Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Tamás Laskay
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck 23538, Germany
| | - Bhaskar Saha
- National Centre for Cell Science, 411007 Pune, India; Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
| | - Ricardo Silvestre
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
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31
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Pessenda G, da Silva JS. Arginase and its mechanisms in Leishmania persistence. Parasite Immunol 2020; 42:e12722. [PMID: 32294247 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease with clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic or mild symptoms to chronic infection and eventual death. The mechanisms of disease susceptibility and pathology have been extensively studied, but there are no steadfast rules regarding leishmaniasis. A Th1 response is usually associated with infection control, while a predominant Th2 response is detrimental to the patient. In this scenario, the enzymes arginase and inducible nitric oxide synthase represent two possible pathways of immune response. While the former contributes to parasite replication, the latter is crucial for its control. In the present review, we collected study results that associate arginase expression in patients and in experimental models with disease susceptibility/chronicity and show some proposed mechanisms that explain the role of arginase in maintaining Leishmania infection, including polyamine and thiol synthesis, tissue-resident macrophage (TRM) proliferation and activation and T-cell suppression and exhaustion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Pessenda
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - João Santana da Silva
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.,Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Bi-institucional, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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Ikeogu NM, Akaluka GN, Edechi CA, Salako ES, Onyilagha C, Barazandeh AF, Uzonna JE. Leishmania Immunity: Advancing Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1201. [PMID: 32784615 PMCID: PMC7465679 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8081201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasitic diseases still constitute a major global health problem affecting billions of people around the world. These diseases are capable of becoming chronic and result in high morbidity and mortality. Worldwide, millions of people die each year from parasitic diseases, with the bulk of those deaths resulting from parasitic protozoan infections. Leishmaniasis, which is a disease caused by over 20 species of the protozoan parasite belonging to the genus Leishmania, is an important neglected disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 12 million people are currently infected in about 98 countries and about 2 million new cases occur yearly, resulting in about 50,000 deaths each year. Current treatment methods for leishmaniasis are not very effective and often have significant side effects. In this review, we discussed host immunity to leishmaniasis, various treatment options currently being utilized, and the progress of both immunotherapy and vaccine development strategies used so far in leishmaniasis. We concluded with insights into what the future holds toward the fight against this debilitating parasitic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nnamdi M. Ikeogu
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
| | - Gloria N. Akaluka
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
| | - Chidalu A. Edechi
- Department of Pathology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P5, Canada;
| | - Enitan S. Salako
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
| | - Chukwunonso Onyilagha
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
- National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3M4, Canada
| | - Aida F. Barazandeh
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
| | - Jude E. Uzonna
- Department of Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada; (G.N.A.); (E.S.S.); (C.O.); (A.F.B.)
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Mas A, Martínez-Rodrigo A, Orden JA, Molina R, Jiménez M, Jiménez MÁ, Carrión J, Domínguez-Bernal G. Properties of virulence emergence of Leishmania infantum isolates from Phlebotomus perniciosus collected during the human leishmaniosis outbreak in Madrid, Spain. Hepatic histopathology and immunological parameters as virulence markers in the mouse model. Transbound Emerg Dis 2020; 68:704-714. [PMID: 32668083 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent anthropic activity related to the construction of the Bosquesur Green Park in a large urban setting in Madrid (Spain) has resulted in the largest reported community outbreak of human leishmaniosis in Europe. Previous phylogenetic and molecular-typing studies of parasite isolates have implicated the Leishmania infantum ITS-Lombardi genotype in this outbreak. In an unusual scenario, visceral leishmaniosis (VL) is affecting a significant number of individuals, suggesting that an increase in parasite virulence has occurred. In this work, using an in vivo BALB/c model of VL, we aimed to investigate the properties of emergent virulence of the L. infantum POL2FL7 and BOS1FL1 isolates obtained from Phlebotomus perniciosus collected in the outbreak area and compare them with those of the well-characterized strain BCN150 MON-1 isolated from a dog. The P. perniciosus specimens were collected during an entomological survey conducted in the transmission season of 2012. We observed a range of virulence phenotypes from moderately to highly aggressive after 5 weeks of infection. IV challenge of mice with outbreak isolates from sand flies induced higher splenic and liver parasite burdens, higher serological titres of specific anti-Leishmania antibodies and impaired capacities to control infection, as revealed by the arginine metabolism and low ratios of Th1/Th2 cytokine profiles analysed, compared with the corresponding measures evaluated in mice infected with the BCN150 strain. The BOS1FL1 isolate showed the highest degree of virulence among the isolates, superior to that of POL2FL7, as evidenced by the analysed biomarkers and the histopathological severity of liver lesions. These results provide insight into how L. infantum isolates from sand flies collected in the outbreak area have been able to affect not only immunosuppressed patients but also middle-aged people with normal immunocompetence in the largest human VL outbreak in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Mas
- INMIVET, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Abel Martínez-Rodrigo
- INMIVET, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Antonio Orden
- INMIVET, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Molina
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Maribel Jiménez
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - María Ángeles Jiménez
- Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Hospital Clínico Veterinario, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Carrión
- INMIVET, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gustavo Domínguez-Bernal
- INMIVET, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Differential expression of polyamine biosynthetic pathways in skin lesions and in plasma reveals distinct profiles in diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10543. [PMID: 32601369 PMCID: PMC7324605 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67432-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is a parasitic disease that can result in wide spectrum clinical manifestations. It is necessary to understand host and parasite determinants of clinical outcomes to identify novel therapeutic targets. Previous studies have indicated that the polyamine biosynthetic pathway is critical for Leishmania growth and survival. Despite its importance, expression of the such pathway has not been previously investigated in TL patients. We performed an exploratory analysis employing Systems Biology tools to compare circulating polyamines and amino acid concentration as well as polyamine pathway gene expression in cutaneous lesions patients presenting with distinct TL disease presentations. Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) was associated with higher concentrations of amino acids, polyamines and its substrate transporters than mucosal cutaneous leishmaniasis or localized cutaneous leishmaniasis. In addition, the RNA expression of polyamine-related genes of patients lesions from two separate cohorts demonstrated that differential activation of this pathway is associated with parasite loads and able to discriminate the clinical spectrum of TL. Taken together, our findings highlight a new aspect of DCL immunopathogenesis indicating that the polyamine pathway may be explored as a novel therapeutic target to control disease burden.
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Differential Regulation of l-Arginine Metabolism through Arginase 1 during Infection with Leishmania mexicana Isolates Obtained from Patients with Localized and Diffuse Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Infect Immun 2020; 88:IAI.00963-19. [PMID: 32312763 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00963-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
l-Arginine metabolism through arginase 1 (Arg-1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) constitutes a fundamental axis for the resolution or progression of leishmaniasis. Infection with Leishmania mexicana can cause two distinct clinical manifestations: localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL). In this work, we analyzed in an in vivo model the capacity of two L. mexicana isolates, one obtained from a patient with LCL and the other from a patient with DCL, to regulate the metabolism of l-arginine through Arg-1 and NOS2. Susceptible BALB/c mice were infected with L. mexicana isolates from both clinical manifestations, and the evolution of the infection as well as protein presence and activity of Arg-1 and NOS2 were evaluated. The lesions of mice infected with the DCL isolate were bigger, had higher parasite loads, and showed greater protein presence and enzymatic activity of Arg-1 than the lesions of mice infected with the LCL isolate. In contrast, NOS2 protein synthesis was poorly or not induced in the lesions of mice infected with the LCL or DCL isolate. The immunochemistry analysis of the lesions allowed the identification of highly parasitized macrophages positive for Arg-1, while no staining for NOS2 was found. In addition, we observed in lesions of patients with DCL macrophages with higher parasite loads and stronger Arg-1 staining than those in lesions of patients with LCL. Our results suggest that L. mexicana isolates obtained from patients with LCL or DCL exhibit different virulence or pathogenicity degrees and differentially regulate l-arginine metabolism through Arg-1.
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Carneiro MB, Lopes ME, Hohman LS, Romano A, David BA, Kratofil R, Kubes P, Workentine ML, Campos AC, Vieira LQ, Peters NC. Th1-Th2 Cross-Regulation Controls Early Leishmania Infection in the Skin by Modulating the Size of the Permissive Monocytic Host Cell Reservoir. Cell Host Microbe 2020; 27:752-768.e7. [PMID: 32298657 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The impact of T helper (Th) 1 versus Th2 immunity on intracellular infections is attributed to classical versus alternative activation of macrophages leading to resistance or susceptibility. However, observations in multiple infectious settings demonstrate deficiencies in mediators of Th1-Th2 immunity, which have paradoxical or no impact. We report that prior to influencing activation, Th1/Th2 immunity first controls the size of the permissive host cell reservoir. During early Leishmania infection of the skin, IFN-γ- or STAT6-mediated changes in phagocyte activation were counteracted by changes in IFN-γ-mediated recruitment of permissive CCR2+ monocytes. Monocytes were required for early parasite expansion and acquired an alternatively activated phenotype despite the Th1 dermal environment required for their recruitment. Surprisingly, STAT6 did not enhance intracellular parasite proliferation, but rather modulated the size and permissiveness of the monocytic host cell reservoir via regulation of IFN-γ and IL-10. These observations expand our understanding of the Th1-Th2 paradigm during infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Batista Carneiro
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Mateus Eustáquio Lopes
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia - ICB - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270901, Brazil
| | - Leah S Hohman
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Audrey Romano
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Bruna Araujo David
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Rachel Kratofil
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Paul Kubes
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Matthew L Workentine
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Alexandre C Campos
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia - ICB - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270901, Brazil
| | - Leda Quercia Vieira
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia - ICB - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270901, Brazil
| | - Nathan C Peters
- Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
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Acuña SM, Floeter-Winter LM, Muxel SM. MicroRNAs: Biological Regulators in Pathogen-Host Interactions. Cells 2020; 9:cells9010113. [PMID: 31906500 PMCID: PMC7016591 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An inflammatory response is essential for combating invading pathogens. Several effector components, as well as immune cell populations, are involved in mounting an immune response, thereby destroying pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. In the past decade, microRNAs (miRNAs), a group of noncoding small RNAs, have emerged as functionally significant regulatory molecules with the significant capability of fine-tuning biological processes. The important role of miRNAs in inflammation and immune responses is highlighted by studies in which the regulation of miRNAs in the host was shown to be related to infectious diseases and associated with the eradication or susceptibility of the infection. Here, we review the biological aspects of microRNAs, focusing on their roles as regulators of gene expression during pathogen–host interactions and their implications in the immune response against Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Toxoplasma, and Plasmodium infectious diseases.
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Badirzadeh A, Heidari-Kharaji M, Fallah-Omrani V, Dabiri H, Araghi A, Salimi Chirani A. Antileishmanial activity of Urtica dioica extract against zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0007843. [PMID: 31929528 PMCID: PMC6957141 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neglected parasitic diseases (NTDs) like cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have caused high mortality and morbidity rate in developing countries. This disease is considered as one of the six major tropical diseases, and has a great importance in HIV infected individuals as an opportunistic infection in those areas that both infections are endemic. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of the Urtica dioica L (U. dioica) aqueous extract as an anti-leishmanial herbal drug in-vitro and in-vivo, and in addition to that, evaluated two vital immune system cytokines including gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) plus nitric oxide (NO) and arginase activity against Leishmania major (L. major) infected mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In-vitro anti-leishmanial activity of U. dioica aqueous extract was determined using MTT method and also Parasite Rescue Transformation Assay. Also, the footpad lesion size and parasite load in BALB/c mice infected with L. major were quantified for in-vivo assessment. Furthermore, for evaluating the immune responses, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, NO and arginase were measured in the BALB/c mice. These results indicated that U. dioica extract significantly reduced the L. major promastigotes viability. According to the in-vitro cytotoxicity assay of the extract on Leishmania parasites (CC50) and infected macrophages (EC50), the extract had no toxicity to the macrophages, however it efficiently killed the L. major amastigotes. In addition, the lesion size, parasite load, IL-4, and ARG were decreased in the treated infected mice, however IFN-γ and NO were significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This study established satisfactory results in Leishmania parasite clearing both in-vivo and in-vitro. Therefore, U. dioica extract can be considered as an effective and harmless herbal compound for killing the parasite without toxicity to the host macrophages. Furthermore, it also can treat the CL by switching the mouse immune response towards a cell-mediated response (Th1); hence, it may be identified as a perfect therapeutic herbal drug for CL treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Badirzadeh
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Vahid Fallah-Omrani
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hossein Dabiri
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Atefeh Araghi
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran
| | - Alireza Salimi Chirani
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Santos-Pereira S, Cardoso FO, Calabrese KS, Zaverucha do Valle T. Leishmania amazonensis resistance in murine macrophages: Analysis of possible mechanisms. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226837. [PMID: 31856207 PMCID: PMC6922422 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis encompass a group of infectious parasitic diseases occurring in 97 endemic countries where over one billion people live in areas at risk of infection. It is in the World Health Organization list of neglected diseases and it is considered a serious public health problem, with more than 20,000 deaths a year and high morbidity. Infection by protozoa from the genus Leishmania can cause several forms of the disease, which may vary from a self-healing ulcer to fatal visceral infection. Leishmania species, as well as host immune response and genetics can modulate the course of the disease. Leishmania sp are obligatory intracellular parasites that have macrophages as their main host cell. Depending on the activation phenotype, these cells may have distinct roles in disease development, acting in parasite control or proliferation. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to analyze Leishmania amazonensis infection in primary macrophage cells obtained from mice with two distinct genetic backgrounds, ie. different susceptibility to the infection; evaluating the cause for that difference. After infection, peritoneal macrophages from the resistant C3H/He strain presented lower parasite load when compared to susceptible BALB/c macrophages. The same was also true when cells received a Th2 stimulus after infection, but the difference was abrogated under Th1 stimulus. Nitric oxide production and arginase activity was different between the strains under Th1 or Th2 stimulus, respectively, but iNOS inhibition was unable to suppress C3H/He resistance. Hydrogen peroxide production was also higher in C3H/He than BALB/c under Th1 stimulus, but it could not account for differences in susceptibility. These results led us to conclude that, although they have an important role in parasite control, neither NO nor H2O2 production can explain C3H/He resistance to infection. Other studies are needed to uncover different mechanisms of resistance/susceptibility to L. amazonensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandy Santos-Pereira
- Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Protozoologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Flávia O. Cardoso
- Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Protozoologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Kátia S. Calabrese
- Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Protozoologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tânia Zaverucha do Valle
- Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Protozoologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Metabolomic Profile of BALB/c Macrophages Infected with Leishmania amazonensis: Deciphering L-Arginine Metabolism. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20246248. [PMID: 31835767 PMCID: PMC6940984 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20246248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Leishmaniases are neglected tropical diseases that are caused by Leishmania, being endemic worldwide. L-arginine is an essential amino acid that is required for polyamines production on mammal cells. During Leishmania infection of macrophages, L-arginine is used by host and parasite arginase to produce polyamines, leading to parasite survival; or, by nitric oxide synthase 2 to produce nitric oxide leading to parasite killing. Here, we determined the metabolomic profile of BALB/c macrophages that were infected with L. amazonensis wild type or with L. amazonensis arginase knockout, correlating the regulation of L-arginine metabolism from both host and parasite. Methods: The metabolites of infected macrophages were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry (CE-MS). The metabolic fingerprints analysis provided the dual profile from the host and parasite. Results: We observed increased levels of proline, glutamic acid, glutamine, L-arginine, ornithine, and putrescine in infected-L. amazonensis wild type macrophages, which indicated that this infection induces the polyamine production. Despite this, we observed reduced levels of ornithine, proline, and trypanothione in infected-L. amazonensis arginase knockout macrophages, indicating that this infection reduces the polyamine production. Conclusions: The metabolome fingerprint indicated that Leishmania infection alters the L-arginine/polyamines/trypanothione metabolism inside the host cell and the parasite arginase impacts on L-arginine metabolism and polyamine production, defining the infection fate.
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Crauwels P, Bank E, Walber B, Wenzel UA, Agerberth B, Chanyalew M, Abebe M, König R, Ritter U, Reiling N, van Zandbergen G. Cathelicidin Contributes to the Restriction of Leishmania in Human Host Macrophages. Front Immunol 2019; 10:2697. [PMID: 31824492 PMCID: PMC6883804 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In cutaneous Leishmaniasis the parasitic control in human host macrophages is still poorly understood. We found an increased expression of the human cathelicidin CAMP in skin lesions of Ethiopian patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Vitamin D driven, Cathelicidin-type antimicrobial peptides (CAMP) play an important role in the elimination of invading microorganisms. Recombinant cathelicidin was able to induce cell-death characteristics in Leishmania in a dose dependent manner. Using human primary macrophages, we demonstrated pro-inflammatory macrophages (hMDM1) to express a higher level of human cathelicidin, both on gene and protein level, compared to anti-inflammatory macrophages (hMDM2). Activating the CAMP pathway using Vitamin D in hMDM1 resulted in a cathelicidin-mediated-Leishmania restriction. Finally, a reduction of cathelicidin in hMDM1, using a RNA interference (RNAi) approach, increased Leishmania parasite survival. In all, these data show the human cathelicidin to contribute to the innate immune response against Leishmaniasis in a human primary cell model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Crauwels
- Division of Immunology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany.,Institute for Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Clinic of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Elena Bank
- Division of Immunology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany.,Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Clinic of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Bianca Walber
- Division of Immunology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany
| | - Ulf Alexander Wenzel
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Clinic of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Mucosal Immunobiology and Vaccine Center (MIVAC), Institute of Biomedicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Birgitta Agerberth
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Menberework Chanyalew
- Research and Innovation Directorate, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Markos Abebe
- Research and Innovation Directorate, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Renate König
- Research Group "Host-Pathogen Interactions", Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany
| | - Uwe Ritter
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Regensburg and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Norbert Reiling
- Division of Microbial Interface Biology, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Center for Medicine and Biosciences, Borstel, Germany
| | - Ger van Zandbergen
- Division of Immunology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany.,Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Clinic of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Immunology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.,Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Evaluation of methods for detection of asymptomatic individuals infected with Leishmania infantum in the state of Piauí, Brazil. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007493. [PMID: 31260440 PMCID: PMC6625727 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral Leishmaniasis in humans presents with fever, anemia, and splenomegaly and can be lethal if not treated. Nevertheless, the majority of Leishmania infantum-infected individuals does not manifest symptoms and remain so provided they are not immunosuppressed. In this work, the performance of different tests was evaluated to detect asymptomatic individuals who were living in Teresina, Piauí state, Brazil, an endemic area for VL. METHODOLOGY L. infantum-specific antibodies were detected by ELISA and two different rapid immunochromatographic (IC) diagnostic tests, Kalazar Detect and OnSite, and parasitic loads were detected by real time PCR [qPCR]. Additionally, we measured levels of the biomarkers monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG) and IFN-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10) before and after stimulation of whole blood with soluble Leishmania antigen [SLA]. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Kalazar Detect and OnSite detected, respectively, 76% and 64% of patients presenting with active Visceral Leishmaniasis; 50% and 57% of patients remained positive in these tests, respectively, after treatment. Of the healthy participants in the study who were living in the endemic area, only 1.7% were positive with both of the IC tests. On the other hand, reactivity in ELISA tests revealed that 13% of these individuals presented asymptomatic infections; among VL patients, 84% presenting with active disease were reactive in ELISA, and after treatment, 55.5% were seropositive. L. infantum DNA was present in the blood of 37.9% of infected individuals living in the endemic area, while IP-10 and MIG biomarkers were detected in 26.7% of them. The greatest concordance of positivity occurred between ELISA and qPCR. CONCLUSION The association of different techniques can detect asymptomatic infections, however, more research is necessary to develop ideal biomarkers that are simple to use in the clinic and in field studies in areas endemic for Visceral Leishmaniasis.
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Song J, Shan Z, Mao J, Teng W. Serum polyamine metabolic profile in autoimmune thyroid disease patients. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2019; 90:727-736. [PMID: 30725486 DOI: 10.1111/cen.13946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Polyamines are indispensable polycations and play important physiological roles in living cells. Some polyamine metabolites have been associated with autoimmune disorders. The aims of this study were to profile polyamine metabolites in autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and predict whether polyamine metabolites are associated with thyroid hormone, thyroid autoantibodies or disease progression. DESIGN, PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS A total of 136 participants were recruited, including Graves' disease (GD) (n = 36), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) (n = 33) and thyroid autoantibody-positive (pTAb) (n = 29) patients and 38 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Fourteen polyamine metabolites, including polyamine precursors, polyamines and polyamine catabolite, were measured by UFLC-MS/MS RESULTS: Both GD and HT patients had higher L-arginine, L-ornithine, lysine and agmatine levels and lower putrescine, 1,3-diaminopropane, spermine, N-acetylputrescine levels than HCs. Some polyamine metabolite levels were different only in GD or HT patients compared to HCs: GD patients had significantly higher spermidine, N-acetylspermidine and γ-aminobutyric acid and lower cadaverine, whereas HT patients had significantly decreased N-acetylspermine. Only spermine and N-acetylspermine were significantly lower in pTAb than HCs. The spermine:spermidine ratio was significantly reduced in all AITD patients. In addition, spermine was negatively correlated with thyroid-specific antibodies grade. N-acetylspermidine might be a risk factor for pTAb progression to overt hypothyroidism. CONCLUSIONS Compared with the HCs, most metabolites of GD and HT showed similar patterns, suggesting the possibility of a common pathophysiological basis or metabolic pathway. Moreover, pTAb progression to overt hypothyroidism may be related to high N-acetylspermidine. Thyroid autoimmunity was associated with low spermine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Song
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Endocrinology, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Endocrine Diseases, The First Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhongyan Shan
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Endocrinology, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Endocrine Diseases, The First Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jinyuan Mao
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Endocrinology, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Endocrine Diseases, The First Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Weiping Teng
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Endocrinology, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Endocrine Diseases, The First Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
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Wanderley JLM, Deolindo P, Carlsen E, Portugal AB, DaMatta RA, Barcinski MA, Soong L. CD4 + T Cell-Dependent Macrophage Activation Modulates Sustained PS Exposure on Intracellular Amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:105. [PMID: 31032234 PMCID: PMC6473175 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes can make use of surface-exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules to promote infection and non-classical activation of macrophages (MΦ), leading to uncontrolled intracellular proliferation of the parasites. This mechanism was quoted as apoptotic mimicry. Moreover, the amount of PS molecules exposed on the surface of amastigotes correlates with the susceptibility of the host. In this study, we tested whether host cellular responses influence PS expression on intracellular amastigotes. We found that the level of PS exposure on intracellular amastigotes was modulated by CD4+ T cell and MΦ activation status in vitro and in vivo. L. amazonensis infection generated a Th1/Th2-mixed cytokine profile, providing the optimal MΦ stimulation that favored PS exposure on intracellular amastigotes. Maintenance of PS exposed on the parasite was dependent on low, but sustained, levels of nitric oxide and polyamine production. Amastigotes obtained from lymphopenic nude mice did not expose PS on their surface, and adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells reversed this phenotype. In addition, histopathological analysis of mice treated with anti-PS antibodies showed increased inflammation and similarities to nude mouse lesions. Collectively, our data confirm the role of pathogenic CD4+ T cells for disease progression and point to PS as a critical parasite strategy to subvert host immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao Luiz Mendes Wanderley
- Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Unidade de Pesquisa Integrada em Produtos Bioativos e Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, Brazil
| | - Poliana Deolindo
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Parasitas e Vetores, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Eric Carlsen
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Arieli Bernardo Portugal
- Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Unidade de Pesquisa Integrada em Produtos Bioativos e Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, Brazil
| | - Renato Augusto DaMatta
- Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
| | - Marcello Andre Barcinski
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Lynn Soong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Tropical Diseases, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
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Zamani S, Hoseini AZ, Namin AM. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity can modulate macrophage response to Leishmania major infection. Int Immunopharmacol 2019; 69:178-183. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2019.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Revised: 12/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Nascimento NRFD, Aguiar FLND, Santos CF, Costa AML, Hardoim DDJ, Calabrese KDS, Almeida-Souza F, Sousa EHSD, Lopes LGDF, Teixeira MJ, Pereira VS, Brilhante RSN, Rocha MFG. In vitro and in vivo leishmanicidal activity of a ruthenium nitrosyl complex against Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Acta Trop 2019; 192:61-65. [PMID: 30689977 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. There are many complications presented by the current treatment, as high toxicity, high cost and parasite resistance, making the development of new therapeutic agents indispensable. The present study aims to evaluate the leishmanicidal potential of ruthenium nitrosyl complex cis-[Ru(bpy)2(SO3)(NO)](PF6) against Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. The effect of this metal complex on parasite-host interaction was evaluated by in vitro efficacy test in dermal fibrobast cells in the presence of different concentrations (1, 10, 50 and 100 μM) and by in vivo efficacy tests performed in the presence of two different concentrations of complex (100 μg/kg/day or 300 μg/kg/day) evaluating its effect on the size of the lesion and the number of parasites present in the draining lymph nodes in hamsters. Even at the lowest concentration of 1 μM of ruthenium complex, it was observed a significant decrease of the infected cells, after 24 h exposure in vitro, with total reduction at 50 μM of the ruthenium complex. In the in vivo cutaneous infection model, administration of daily doses of 300 μg/kg/day of complex reduced significantly lesion size by 51% (p < 0.05), with a 99.9% elimination of the parasites found in the lymph nodes (p < 0.001). The results suggest a promising leishmanicidal effect by that ruthenium nitrosyl complex against L. (V.) braziliensis.
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Fernandes JCR, Aoki JI, Maia Acuña S, Zampieri RA, Markus RP, Floeter-Winter LM, Muxel SM. Melatonin and Leishmania amazonensis Infection Altered miR-294, miR-30e, and miR-302d Impacting on Tnf, Mcp-1, and Nos2 Expression. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:60. [PMID: 30949455 PMCID: PMC6435487 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniases are neglected diseases that cause a large spectrum of clinical manifestations, from cutaneous to visceral lesions. The initial steps of the inflammatory response involve the phagocytosis of Leishmania and the parasite replication inside the macrophage phagolysosome. Melatonin, the darkness-signaling hormone, is involved in modulation of macrophage activation during infectious diseases, controlling the inflammatory response against parasites. In this work, we showed that exogenous melatonin treatment of BALB/c macrophages reduced Leishmania amazonensis infection and modulated host microRNA (miRNA) expression profile, as well as cytokine production such as IL-6, MCP-1/CCL2, and, RANTES/CCL9. The role of one of the regulated miRNA (miR-294-3p) in L. amazonensis BALB/c infection was confirmed with miRNA inhibition assays, which led to increased expression levels of Tnf and Mcp-1/Ccl2 and diminished infectivity. Additionally, melatonin treatment or miR-30e-5p and miR-302d-3p inhibition increased nitric oxide synthase 2 (Nos2) mRNA expression levels and nitric oxide (NO) production, altering the macrophage activation state and reducing infection. Altogether, these data demonstrated the impact of melatonin treatment on the miRNA profile of BALB/c macrophage infected with L. amazonensis defining the infection outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Cristina Ribeiro Fernandes
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Ide Aoki
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Maia Acuña
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Andrade Zampieri
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Regina P Markus
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Sandra Marcia Muxel
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Stamper BD, Davis M, Scott-Collins S, Tran J, Ton C, Simidyan A, Roberts SC. Model-based Evaluation of Gene Expression Changes in Response to Leishmania Infection. GENE REGULATION AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY 2019; 13:1177625019828350. [PMID: 30792575 PMCID: PMC6376507 DOI: 10.1177/1177625019828350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Since the development of high-density microarray technology in the late 1990s, global host gene expression changes in response to various stimuli have been extensively studied. More than a dozen peer-reviewed publications have investigated the effect of Leishmania infection in various models since 2001. This review covers the transcriptional changes in macrophage models induced by various Leishmania species and summarizes the resulting impact these studies have on our understanding of the host response to leishmaniasis in vitro. Characterization of the similarities and differences between various model systems will not only further our understanding of Leishmania-induced changes to macrophage gene expression but also identify potential therapeutic targets in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Madison Davis
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | | | - Julie Tran
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | - Caryn Ton
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | - Agapi Simidyan
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | - Sigrid C Roberts
- School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon, Hillsboro, OR, USA
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Heidari-Kharaji M, Fallah-Omrani V, Badirzadeh A, Mohammadi-Ghalehbin B, Nilforoushzadeh MA, Masoori L, Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Zare M. Sambucus ebulus
extract stimulates cellular responses in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasite Immunol 2018; 41:e12605. [DOI: 10.1111/pim.12605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Vahid Fallah-Omrani
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center; Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Alireza Badirzadeh
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology; School of Medicine; Iran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Behnam Mohammadi-Ghalehbin
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology; School of Medicine; Ardabil University of Medical Sciences; Ardabil Iran
| | | | - Leila Masoori
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology; School of Medicine; Iran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Hossein Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Tarbiat Modares University; Tehran Iran
| | - Mehrak Zare
- Skin and Stem Cell Research Center; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
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Terron-Monich MDS, Demarchi IG, da Silva PRF, Ramos-Milaré ÁCFH, Gazim ZC, Silveira TGV, Lonardoni MVC. 6,7-Dehydroroyleanone diterpene derived from Tetradenia riparia essential oil modulates IL-4/IL-12 release by macrophages that are infected with Leishmania amazonensis. Parasitol Res 2018; 118:369-376. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-018-6166-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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