Publication Date
6-1-2023
Journal
Experimental Parasitology
DOI
10.1016/j.exppara.2023.108519
PMID
37004860
PMCID
PMC10231665
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
6-1-2024
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, Animals, Female, Leishmania, Leishmania mexicana, Flow Cytometry, Leishmaniasis, Cell Differentiation/, Leishmania Mexicana, parasite differentiation, immunology, flow cytometry, miltefosine
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease caused by the Leishmania spp. Parasite. The disease is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of infected female sandflies during the ingestion of bloodmeal. Because current drug treatments induce toxicity and parasite resistance, there is an urgent need to evaluate new drugs. Most therapeutics target the differentiation of promastigotes to amastigotes, which is necessary to maintain Leishmania infection. However, in vitro assays are laborious, time-consuming, and depend on the experience of the technician. In this study, we aimed to establish a short-term method to assess the differentiation status of Leishmania mexicana (L. mexicana) using flow cytometry. Here, we showed that flow cytometry provides a rapid means to quantify parasite differentiation in cell culture as reliably as light microscopy. Interestingly, we found using flow cytometry that miltefosine reduced promastigote-to-amastigote differentiation of L. mexicana. We conclude that flow cytometry provides a means to rapidly assay the efficacy of small molecules or natural compounds as potential anti-leishmanials.
Graphical Abstract
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