Paromomycin (PMM) has recently been introduced for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in India. Although no clinical resistance has yet been reported, proactive vigilance should be warranted. The present in vitro study compared the outcome and stability of experimental PMM-resistance induction on promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. Cloned antimony-resistant L. donovani field isolates ...

Homogenous metacyclic promastigotes of Leishmania chagasi were isolated by buoyant density from in vitro heterogeneous cultures and used for biochemical characterization of isoforms of the major surface protease (MSP). Compared to stationary phase promastigotes, metacyclic cells had three times more MSP, produced 3-fold higher parasite loads in a mouse model in vivo, and were more resistant to ...

Indian langurs, which were previously reported to be highly susceptible, were infected intradermally using variable numbers of promastigotes along with different doses, 1/2 pair, 5 pairs and 10 pairs respectively of salivary gland lysate (SGL). Although, all the monkeys developed mild infection and remained subclinically infected throughout the observation period, which later resolved, none of ...

BACKGROUND Leishmania uses the amino acid L-arginine as a substrate for arginase, enzyme that produces urea and ornithine, last precursor of polyamine pathway. This pathway is used by the parasite to replicate and it is essential to establish the infection in the mammalian host. L-arginine is not synthesized by the parasite, so its uptake occurs through the amino acid permease 3 (AAP3). AAP3 is...

The 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) is a molecular chaperone that assists the parasite Leishmania in returning to homeostasis after being subjected to different types of stress during its life cycle. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of HSP70 transfection of L. amazonensis promastigotes (pTEX-HSP70) in terms of morphology, resistance, infectivity and mitochondrial bioenergetics. ...

Amphotericin B (AmB)-resistant Leishmania donovani promastigotes were selected by increasing drug pressure, and their biological features were compared with those of the wild-type parent strain. The 50% inhibitory concentration for resistant cells was 20 times higher than that for the wild-type. Resistance was stable after more than 40 passages in drug-free medium, and resistant promastigotes w...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the potential in vitro anti-leishmanial activities of moxifloxacin, linezolid and caspofungin against Leishmania tropica. METHODS In vitro effects of all agents were studied by using the microdilution method. For this purpose, serial dilutions of the aforementioned agents were prepared in concentrations between 4096 μg/mL-0.008 μg/mL. Afterwards, promast...