Macrophage metallothioneins participate in the antileishmanial activity of antimonials.

ABSTRACT: Host cell functions that participate in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of drugs against intracellular pathogen infections are critical for drug efficacy. In this study, we investigated whether macrophage mechanisms of xenobiotic detoxification contribute to the elimination of intracellular Leishmania upon exposure to pentavalent antimonials (Sb^V). Primary macrophages from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) (n=6) were exposed ex vivo to L. V. panamensis infection and Sb^V, and transcriptomes were generated. Seven metallothionein (MT) genes, potent scavengers of heavy metals and central elements of the mammalian cell machinery for xenobiotic detoxification, were within the top 20 up-regulated genes. To functionally validate

SUBMITTER: Vargas DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10795579 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature