In Bihar state, India, the cure rate of antimonial compounds in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has declined from over 85% to less than 50%. This has been attributed to prolonged, widespread misuse of antimonials within the Indian private healthcare system. An alternative resistance hypothesis is that exposure to arsenic in drinking water in this region has resulted in antimony-resistant Leishmania parasites. Leishmania donovani were serially passaged in mice exposed to environmentally-relevant levels of arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic accumulation in organs of these mice was proportional to exposure. After five passages, isolated parasites were refractory to SbV in drug sensitivity assays. Treatment of infected mice with SbV confirmed that these parasites retained resistance in vivo, supporting this hypothesis. A retrospective field study on a cohort of antimony treated VL patients was performed in an arsenic contaminated area of Bihar to evaluate the presence of an increased risk of treatment failure and death in those exposed to arsenic. It demonstrated a significant increased risk of death from VL in arsenic exposed patients but did not indicate a significant relationship between arsenic exposure and antimonial treatment failure. Collectively these data suggest that it is biochemically possible that arsenic contamination may have contributed to the development of antimonial resistance in Bihar although issues of underpower and the retrospective nature of our epidemiological study made it difficult to conclusively demonstrate this. Further research in to the relationships between arsenic exposure and antimonial treatment failure and death in the leishmaniases is warranted.

A capacidade de sobrevivência da Leishmânia no interior de células especializadas na destruição de patógenos deve-se à capacidade do parasito de burlar a propriedade microbicida pela produção de moléculas denominadas fatores de virulência. Dentre as proteínas diferencialmente expressas em um estudo prévio de nosso laboratório, encontramos isoformas da OPB, uma serino peptidase e da CPX, proteína antioxidante. De fato, promastigotas de L. (L.) major deficientes em OPB apresentaram significante redução na infecção e sobrevivência em macrófagos in vitro e lesões de evolução mais lenta no modelo murino de infecção na pata. De forma análoga, promastigotas de L. (L.) donovani superexpressoras de CPX apresentaram maior carga parasitária em macrófagos in vitro. Considerando essas informações e a importância da L. (L.) amazonensis na epidemiologia da leishmaniose no Brasil, nosso objetivo é analisar a importância da OPB e CPX na virulência desta espécie utilizando parasitas superexpressores e proteínas solúveis em modelos murinos de infecção in vitro e in vivo. / The survivability of Leishmania within specialized cells in the destruction of pathogens due to the parasite\'s ability to circumvent the microbicidal property for the production of molecules called virulence factors. Among the proteins differentially expressed in a previous study from our laboratory, we found isoforms of OPB, a peptidase serine and CPX, antioxidant protein. Indeed, promastigotes of L. (L.) Major disabled in OPB showed a significant reduction in infection and survival in macrophages in vitro and slower evolution of lesions in a murine model of infection in the leg. Similarly, promastigotes of L. (L.) Donovani overexpressors CPX showed higher parasite load in macrophages in vitro. Given this information and the importance of L. (L.) amazonensis in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in Brazil, our goal is to analyze the importance of OPB and CPX virulence of this species using overexpressors parasites and soluble proteins in murine models of infection in vitro and in alive.

Leishmania infantum chagasi (Lic) is a pathogenic protozoan parasite and one of the etiological agents of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL). VL is a potentially deadly disease characterized by variable fevers, cachexia, hepatosplenomegaly, and global immune suppression. Many questions regarding the pathogenesis of VL and the mechanisms of host defense during Lic infection remain to be elucidated. The primary focus of this thesis is the relationship between Lic and the mammalian immune system. We studied parasite-host interactions during Lic infection at the molecular, cellular, and organismal level. We generated transgenic parasites that expressed firefly luciferase and/or fluorescent proteins to expand our capacity to detect, observe, and quantify the parasites in a variety of experimental settings with modern analytical methodologies. Using luciferase-expressing Leishmania, we developed an experimental infection model in which parasites were detected and the relative parasite burden in specific anatomical locations could be quantified in a live animal host using bioluminescence imaging. This method allowed the parasite burden to be assessed in the same host throughout the course of infection. Utilizing this model we have made some intriguing observations relating to the kinetics and distribution of the parasite burden over time. The parasite burden was observed primarily in the liver and bone marrow over the first few weeks and then shifts to the spleen and bone marrow. To gain a better understanding of the initial parasite-host immune interactions in vivo, we studied the early inflammatory response after intradermal (i.d.) inoculation. We observed a rapid and abundant influx of neutrophils into the inoculated ears. The neutrophil influx was transient, dose dependent and specific for the local inoculation site. While there was not a significant neutrophil influx into the draining lymph nodes (dLN), there was an increase in the total cellularity and a striking increase in the relative proportion of B cells to T cells over the first week after intradermal parasite challenge. By inoculating transgenic mCherry-Lic we found that neutrophils were the primary parasite-laden host cell in the dermal tissue during the first day, but macrophages harbored most of the parasites by 2 days. Neutrophil depletion using low-dose antibody treatment resulted in a reduced rate of parasite uptake initially at the site of inoculation, but no significant change in the dLN dynamics. We further examined the parasite-host relationship by studying molecular signaling and cellular interactions between Leishmania and human neutrophils. We investigated the nature of the chemotactic activity of Leishmania-conditioned growth medium for human neutrophils by testing physical properties of the activity and ruled out some of the major Leishmania surface molecules as potential candidates. We aim to identify the agent(s) responsible for the activity in on-going studies. To this end, we are collaborating with a group at the NIH and testing biochemical purification/separation samples. We conclude that intradermal Lic challenge induces a rapid innate immune response at the local site of infection, that neutrophils sense Leishmania-derived factors leading to directed migration, and that neutrophils function as a primary site for Leishmania entry into the mammalian host.

Leishmania chagasi is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis in South America. The most abundant glycoprotein on the surface of L. chagasi promastigotes is the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored protease MSP (major surface protease), also called GP63. MSP is encoded by more than 18 tandem MSP genes on a single chromosome. MSP genes are classified according to unique sequences at their 3' ends and distinct expression patterns. The five MSPS genes (MSPS1, MSPS2, etc.) express 3.0 kb RNAs in stationary phase of promastigote growth in vitro in culture. The > twelve MSPL genes express 2.7 kb RNAs in logarithmic phase of promastigote growth, and the single MSPC RNA is constitutively expressed as two RNA species (2.6 and 3.1 kb) throughout promastigote growth. The progression from logarithmic to stationary phase is accompanied by an increase in parasite virulence for a mammalian host, and a 16-fold increase in the total MSP protein associated with the cell. As such, MSP has been called a virulence factor of leishmania. Little is known about the differences between isoforms of MSP proteins encoded by the three MSP gene classes, because they have a very similar amino acid sequences. The purpose of this thesis was to study the protein expression and localization of MSPS, MSPL, and MSPC in the promastigote and amastigote stages of the L. chagasi. We took three approaches to this problem. First, we produced constructs in which the fluorescent marker GFP was flanked by putative targeting sequences of the MSPs. Second, we generated Leishmania transfectants expressing Myc-tagged full-length MSPs and studied their localization in promastigote cells. Third, we generated antibodies to immunogenic peptides in the few regions with unique sequences that allowed us to distinguish between some of the MSP classes. One monoclonal anti-peptide antibody, named C51, recognized only MSPS1 and MSPL1. Data indicated that the product of the MSPC gene runs at a higher molecular size than products of the MSPL and MSPS genes, both of which localize to the promastigote surface. Overall the data set the stage for future studies of the properties and functions of specific MSP gene products.

Aedes aegypti é importante vetor de patógeno causador de doença como dengue, febre amarela, febre Chikungunya e Zika. A fêmea realiza repasto sanguíneo a fim de adquirir nutriente para o desenvolvimento dos ovos. Neste contexto, a saliva possui papel fundamental, representando o elo entre o artrópode hematófago, seu hospedeiro vertebrado e o potencial patógeno a ser transmitido. Nessa saliva encontra-se um coquetel farmacológico com diversas atividades biológicas, como a presença de peptídeos antimicrobianos e moléculas com funções imunomoduladoras sobre células do hospedeiro vertebrado, com especial atenção aos macrófagos. Como os macrófagos também estão envolvidos nos mecanismos efetores da resposta contra protozoários do gênero Leishmania e a leishmaniose apresenta-se como uma doença de caráter zoonótico de grande relevância em saúde pública, o objetivo deste trabalho foi de avaliar o efeito do extrato de glândula salivar (EGS) de A. aegypti em infecções por Leishmania. Nossos resultados mostraram aumento da infecção in vivo e in vitro na presença do EGS, sugerindo fortemente que o EGS de A. aegypti é capaz de aumentar a infecção por Leishmania. / Aedes aegypti is an important vector of disease-causing pathogens such as dengue, yellow fever, Chikungunya and Zika fever. The mosquito female takes a blood meal in order to develop the eggs. In this context, a saliva plays a key role, representing the link between the hematophagous arthropod, its vertebrate host and the potential pathogen to be transmitted. During the evolutionary process, these insects developed a salivary cocktail with an arsenal of molecules presenting several immunomodulatory properties in host cells, such as macrophages. As macrophages are also involved in the mechanisms of response against protozoa of the genus Leishmania and leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease of great relevance in public health, the aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of salivary gland extract (SGE) of A. aegypti in Leishmania infections. Our results showed increased infection, in vivo and in vitro, in the presence of SGE, strongly suggesting that A. aegypti EGS is able to increase infection by Leishmania.

Leishmania is a dimorphic parasitic protozoan which exists as a flagellated promastigote in the sandfly vector and as an intracellular amastigote in the phagolysosomal compartment of mammalian host macrophages. It is the amastigote form that is responsible for the pathology in susceptible vertebrate hosts. Leishmania donovani is responsible for visceral leishmaniasis, the most severe form of the leishmanial diseases. We have investigated the antibody response against an amastigote-specific protein, A2, which is developmentally expressed in L. donovani during promastigote-to-amastigote cytodifferentiation. A2 is conserved in L. donovani and L. mexicana species but not in other Leishmania species tested. We have shown that this characteristic contributes to its potential as a useful specific diagnostic antigen for visceral leishmaniasis. Developmental expression of A2 involves A2 mRNA untranslated regions (UTRs) and we have demonstrated that A2 UTRs can regulate expression of exogenous suicide genes throughout the Leishmania life cycle. We have shown that the A2 gene regulatory system has potential for the generation of developmentally attenuated L. donovani strains. Finally, we have performed a preliminary characterization of a gene, A2rel, that is tandemly associated with A2 genes in the genome. Contrary to A2 genes, the A2rel gene is well conserved in the Leishmania species. Although A2rel does not share sequence similarity with any known leishmanial genes characterized to date, it does appear to share characteristics with membrane-bound glycoproteins.

Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université Laval, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f. 222-267. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Thèse (M.Sc.)--Université Laval, 2005. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 28 novembre 2005). Bibliogr.

Submitted by Pós Imunologia (ppgimicsufba@gmail.com) on 2017-02-07T17:52:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO CANDACE.pdf: 704424 bytes, checksum: f22bcf625694ce2a558b1c47f749c351 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Delba Rosa (delba@ufba.br) on 2017-02-08T16:02:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO CANDACE.pdf: 704424 bytes, checksum: f22bcf625694ce2a558b1c47f749c351 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-08T16:02:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO CANDACE.pdf: 704424 bytes, checksum: f22bcf625694ce2a558b1c47f749c351 (MD5) / CAPES / As leishmanioses se constituem um complexo de doenças causadas por parasitos do gênero Leishmania spp. Esses parasitos infectam preferencialmente os macrófagos, podendo infectar também células dendríticas e neutrófilos. Macrófagos infectados por microrganismos intracelulares produzem vesículas extracelulares (VEs), que podem modular respostas imunes tanto in vitro quanto in vivo. Essas VEs são consideradas uma das principais vias de comunicação intercelulares, em conjunto com fatores de crescimento, citocinas, nucleotídeos, lipídios, óxido nítrico e moléculas de adesão. Foi demonstrado pelo nosso grupo que vesículas extracelulares secretadas por macrófagos infectados por L. amazonensis são capazes de estimular a produção de IL-12, IL-1β e TNF-α por macrófagos naive. Sendo assim, o objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o efeito dessas vesículas sobre a infecção leishmaniótica tanto in vitro quanto in vivo. Para isso, as vesículas extracelulares foram geradas a partir de macrófagos originados de medula óssea de camundongos BALB/c superinfectados com L. amazonensis, a confirmação da produção dessas vesículas foi obtida pela visualização das mesmas pela técnica de rastreamento de nanopartículas (NTA, do inglês). As vesículas não foram capazes de interferir na infecção por L. amazonensis in vitro, não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa no percentual de macrófagos infectados e nem no número de parasitos por célula. Em modelo murino, a utilização dessas vesículas ocasionou aumento significativo da carga parasitária em relação ao grupo controle salina sem interferir no tamanho de lesão e na produção de anticorpos anti- Leishmania. É possível que essas vesículas exerçam importante papel no processo biológico da doença, sendo responsáveis pelo agravamento da infecção. / Leishmaniases are a complex of diseases caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania spp. These parasites preferentially infect macrophages, which can also infect dendritic cells and neutrophils. Macrophages infected by intracellular microorganisms release extracellular vesicles (EVs), which can modulate immune responses in vitro and in vivo. These EVs have an important part to play in intercellular communication, together with growth factors, cytokines, nucleotides, lipids, nitric oxide and adhesion molecules. Our group showed that extracellular vesicles secreted by macrophages infected with L. amazonensis are able to induces the production of IL-12, IL-1β and TNF-α by macrophages naive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of these vesicles on Leishmania amazonensis infection both in vitro and in vivo. For this, the extracellular vesicles were generated from macrophages derived from bone marrow of BALB/c superinfected with L. amazonensis, confirmation of production of vesicles was obtained by nanoparticle tracking analysis. The vesicles were not able to interfere with infection by L. amazonensis in vitro, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of infected macrophages and in the number of parasites per cell. In a murine model, the vesicles caused a significant increase in parasite burden compared to the saline control group without interfering with the lesion size and production of anti-Leishmania antibodies. It is possible that these vesicles carry important role in the biological process of the disease, being responsible for the worsening the infection.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-06T23:44:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O enfoque do nosso trabalho foi avaliar as respostas linfoproliferativas protetoras desencadeadas em camundongos BALB/c pela imunização com o gene Ldccys1 codificador da cisteína proteinase de 30 kDa de Leishmania (L.) chagasi (p30) e comparar essas respostas com as induzidas pela cisteína proteinase recombinante rLdccys1. O gene Ldccys1, previamente clonado em nosso laboratório, foi subclonado e expresso no vetor bacteriano pHis, originando uma proteína recombinante de 47 kDa, rLdccys1. Essa proteína foi reconhecida, em experimentos de “Western blotting”, pelo anticorpo monoclonal 2E5D3 reativo com a p30 nativa do parasita, mostrando que a rLdccys1 corresponde à cisteína proteinase de 30 kDa de L. (L.) chagasi. A antigenicidade da rLdccys1 foi avaliada pelas respostas linfoproliferativas dos camundongos BALB/c previamente imunizados com a proteína recombinante e Propionibacterium acnes ou BCG como adjuvantes, por via subcutânea ou intraperitoneal, e reestímulo in vitro com a rLdccys1 ou o extrato protéico de amastigotas de L. (L.) chagasi (PAM). O reestímulo com a rLdccys1 resultou em respostas linfoproliferativas superiores às induzidas pelo PAM, independente da via de imunização ou do adjuvante utilizado. Foi demonstrado que P. acnes e BCG representam adjuvantes apropriados para a imunização dos animais com a rLdccys1 pela via subcutânea (índices de estimulação em torno de 4-6), enquanto que os animais imunizados com rLdccys1 + BCG pela via intraperitoneal apresentaram respostas linfoproliferativas muito baixas. Com P. acnes a imunização pela via intraperitoneal induziu respostas significantemente superiores às obtidas com a imunização pela via subcutânea. IFN-γ foi secretado em concentrações semelhantes pelos esplenócitos dos animais imunizados com a rLdccys1 + P. acnes por ambas as vias. IFN-γ foi secretado pelos esplenócitos dos animais imunizados com rLdccys1 + BCG em concentrações cerca de cinco vezes maiores às obtidas nos sobrenadantes dos linfonodos desses animais. IL-4 e IL-10 não foram detectadas nos sobrenadantes dos linfócitos de nenhum dos grupos de camundongos imunizados com a rLdccys1. A imunização ativa dos camundongos BALB/c com a rLdccys1 resultou no decréscimo de cerca de 100 vezes da carga parasitária desses animais comparada à dos que receberam PBS ou apenas o adjuvante, como avaliado pelo ensaio da diluição limitante. O grau de proteção conferido pela rLdccys1 foi semelhante quando se utilizou BCG ou P. acnes como adjuvante e levou à secreção de IFN-γ e produção de óxido nítrico nos sobrenadantes das culturas de esplenócitos dos camundongos dois meses e meio após o desafio com amastigotas de L. (L.) chagasi. A imunização com o gene Ldccys1 e reforço com a rLdccys1 induziu forte resposta humoral nos camundongos BALB/c, com produção de anticorpos IgG2a. Os esplenócitos desses animais apresentaram respostas linfoproliferativas em presença da rLdccys1 mediadas por IFN-γ e produção de óxido nítrico. A imunização gênica levou ao decréscimo de 1.000 vezes da carga parasitária dos camundongos imunizados dois meses e meio após a infecção com amastigotas de L. (L.) chagasi comparada à dos controles que receberam PBS ou o plasmídio pcDNA3 vazio. As respostas imunes protetoras com a redução da carga parasitária nos camundongos BALB/c imunizados com a cisteína proteinase recombinante de L. (L.) chagasi e com o gene Ldccys1 abrem perspectivas de estender esses estudos a outros modelos animais como o cão, um importante reservatório da leishmaniose visceral em nosso país. / Our work focuses on the protective immune responses induced in BALB/c mice by the gene Ldccys1 encoding the cysteine proteinase of 30 kDa from Leishmania (L.) chagasi (p30), as well as by the recombinant cysteine proteinase rLdccys1. The Ldccys1 gene was subcloned and expressed in the pHIS vector resulting in a 47 kDa recombinant protein, rLdccys1. This recombinant protein in Western blots was recognized by a monoclonal antibody (MoAb 2E5D3) reactive with the native p30 from L. (L.) chagasi, indicating that the rLdccys1 corresponds to the cysteine proteinase of 30 kDa from L. (L.) chagasi. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously or intraperitoneally with rLdccys1 plus either Propionibacterium acnes or BCG as adjuvants and the in vitro lymphoproliferative responses induced by rLdccys1 and L. (L.) chagasi protein extract (PAM) were evaluated. rLdccys1 induced higher lymphoproliferative responses than PAM, independently of the immunization route or the adjuvant used. P. acnes and BCG were both suitable as adjuvants for immunization by the subcutaneous route (stimulation indexes of 4-6), whereas very low lymphoproliferative responses were exhibited by animals immunized intraperitoneally with rLdccys1 plus BCG. Intraperitoneal immunization with rLdccys1 plus P. acnes induced lymphoproliferative responses significantly higher than those obtained by subcutaneous immunization. Spleen cells from animals immunized with rLdccys1 plus P. acnes by either intraperitoneal or subcutaneous route secreted similar concentrations of IFN-γ. Spleen cells from mice subcutaneously immunized with rLdccys1 plus BCG secreted concentrations of IFN-γ that were 5 times higher than those secreted by their lymph node lymphocytes. IL-4 e IL-10 were not detected in the supernatants from lymphocytes of BALB/c mice immunized with rLdccys1. Active immunization of BALB/c mice with rLdccys1 resulted in a parasite load about 100 times lower than that observed in control animals which received either PBS or adjuvant alone, as evaluated by the limiting dilution technique. Similar degree of protection was conferred by rLdccys1 administrated with either BCG or P. acnes, resulting in secretion of IFN-γ and nitric oxide by spleen cells from immunized mice 75 days after challenge with L. (L.) chagasi amastigotes. Immunization with the Ldccys1 gene and a boost with rLdccys1 induced a strong humoral response with production of IgG2a in BALB/c mice. Spleen cells from these animals developed lymphoproliferative responses in the presence of rLdccys1 mediated by IFN-γ and production of nitric oxide. Gene immunization led to a one thousand fold decrease of the parasite load in the immunized mice 75 days after L. (L.) chagasi infection compared to that shown by control mice which received either PBS or the empty pcDNA3 plasmid. The protective immune responses, with the demonstration of parasite load reduction in mice immunized with the L. (L.) chagasi recombinant cysteine proteinase and the Ldccys1, gene suggested that these studies should be extended to other animal models, particularly the dog, a very important reservoir of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações