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In vitro infectivity of species of Leishmania (Viannia) responsible for American cutaneous leishmaniasis

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Abstract

There is little available information regarding the infectivity of New World Leishmania species, particularly those from the Amazonian Brazil, where there are six species of the subgenus Viannia causing American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). The aim of this study was to compare, in vitro, the potential infectivity of the following Leishmania (Viannia) spp.: L. (V.) braziliensis from localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL) patients, L. (V.) guyanensis, L. (V.) shawi, L. (V.) lainsoni and L. (V.) naiffi from LCL patients only, in cultured BALB/c mice peritoneal macrophage, as well as the production of NO by the infected cells. The infectivity of parasites was expressed by the infection index and, the nitric oxide (NO) production in the macrophage culture supernatant was measured by the Griess method. It was found that L. (V.) braziliensis from MCL, the more severe form of disease, showed the highest (p ≤ 0.05) infection index (397), as well as the lowest NO production (2.15 μM) compared with those of other species. In contrast, L. (V.) naiffi which is less pathogenic for the human showed the lowest infection index (301) and the highest NO production (4.11 μM). These results demonstrated a negative correlation between the infectivity and the ability of these parasites to escape from the microbicidal activity of the host cell.

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Acknowledgments

This work received financial support from the Instituto Evandro Chagas (Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brazil), Instituto de Medicina Tropical (Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil) Wellcome Trust (London) and Laboratório de Investigação Médica (LIM)-50 (Hospital de Clínicas (HC)-Faculdade de Medicina (FM)-Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evandro Chagas Institute (Surveillance Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health), Belém, Pará State, Brazil

    Marliane Batista Campos, Adelson Alcimar Almeida de Souza, Ralph Lainson & Fernando Tobias Silveira

  2. Pathology Department, Medical School of São Paulo University, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cláudia Maria De Castro Gomes & Carlos Eduardo Pereira Corbett

  3. Tropical Medicine Institute, Pará Federal University, Belém, Pará State, Brazil

    Fernando Tobias Silveira

  4. Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas—(SVS, MS), Avenida Almirante Barrosos, no 492, Belém, 66.090-000, Pará (PA), Brazil

    Fernando Tobias Silveira

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  1. Marliane Batista Campos
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  2. Cláudia Maria De Castro Gomes
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  3. Adelson Alcimar Almeida de Souza
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  4. Ralph Lainson
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  5. Carlos Eduardo Pereira Corbett
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  6. Fernando Tobias Silveira
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Correspondence to Fernando Tobias Silveira.

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Campos, M.B., De Castro Gomes, C.M., de Souza, A.A.A. et al. In vitro infectivity of species of Leishmania (Viannia) responsible for American cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasitol Res 103, 771–776 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1039-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1039-8

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