Phosphatidylserine exposure on the surface of Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes modulates in vivo infection and dendritic cell function.

ABSTRACT: Leishmania amazonensis parasites can cause diverse forms of leishmaniasis in humans and persistent lesions in most inbred strains of mice. In both cases, the infection is characterized by a marked immunosuppression of the host. We previously showed that amastigote forms of the parasite make use of surface-exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules to infect host cells and promote alternative macrophage activation, leading to uncontrolled intracellular proliferation of the parasites. In this study, we demonstrated that treatment of infected mice with a PS-targeting monoclonal antibody ameliorated parasite loads and lesion development, which correlated with increased proliferative responses by lymphocytes. In addition, we observed an enhanced dendritic cell (DC) activation and antigen present

SUBMITTER: Wanderley JLM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3565004 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature