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Bernardo L, Ibarra-Meneses AV, Douanne N, Corbeil A, Solana JC, Beaudry F, Carrillo E, Moreno J, Fernandez-Prada C. Potential selection of antimony and methotrexate cross-resistance in Leishmania infantum circulating strains. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012015. [PMID: 38422164 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) resolution depends on a wide range of factors, including the instauration of an effective treatment coupled to a functional host immune system. Patients with a depressed immune system, like the ones receiving methotrexate (MTX), are at higher risk of developing VL and refusing antileishmanial drugs. Moreover, the alarmingly growing levels of antimicrobial resistance, especially in endemic areas, contribute to the increasing the burden of this complex zoonotic disease. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To understand the potential links between immunosuppressants and antileishmanial drugs, we have studied the interaction of antimony (Sb) and MTX in a Leishmania infantum reference strain (LiWT) and in two L. infantum clinical strains (LiFS-A and LiFS-B) naturally circulating in non-treated VL dogs in Spain. The LiFS-A strain was isolated before Sb treatment in a case that responded positively to the treatment, while the LiFS-B strain was recovered from a dog before Sb treatment, with the dog later relapsing after the treatment. Our results show that, exposure to Sb or MTX leads to an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LiWT which correlates with a sensitive phenotype against both drugs in promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. LiFS-A was sensitive against Sb but resistant against MTX, displaying high levels of protection against ROS when exposed to MTX. LiFS-B was resistant to both drugs. Evaluation of the melting proteomes of the two LiFS, in the presence and absence of Sb and MTX, showed a differential enrichment of direct and indirect targets for both drugs, including common and unique pathways. CONCLUSION Our results show the potential selection of Sb-MTX cross-resistant parasites in the field, pointing to the possibility to undermine antileishmanial treatment of those patients being treated with immunosuppressant drugs in Leishmania endemic areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Bernardo
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Spanish National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Victoria Ibarra-Meneses
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- The Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Production Animals (GREMIP), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
| | - Noelie Douanne
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- The Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Production Animals (GREMIP), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
| | - Audrey Corbeil
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- The Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Production Animals (GREMIP), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jose Carlos Solana
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Spanish National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francis Beaudry
- Département de Biomédecine, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Eugenia Carrillo
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Spanish National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Moreno
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Spanish National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
- The Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Production Animals (GREMIP), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
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Omics Approaches in Drug Development against Leishmaniasis: Current Scenario and Future Prospects. Pathogens 2022; 12:pathogens12010039. [PMID: 36678387 PMCID: PMC9866966 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12010039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease transmitted in humans by the bite of Leishmania-infected phlebotomine sandflies. Each year approximately 58,500 cases of leishmaniasis are diagnosed across the globe, with a mortality rate of nearly seven percent. There are over 20 parasitic strains of Leishmania which are known to cause distinct types of leishmaniasis and pose an endemic threat to humans worldwide. Therefore, it is crucial to develop potential medications and vaccines to combat leishmaniasis. However, the task of developing therapeutic solutions is challenging due to Leishmania's digenetic lifecycle. The challenge is further intensified by cases of resistance against the available drugs. Owing to these challenges, the conventional drug development regimen is further limited by target discovery and ligand suitability for the targets. On the other hand, as an added advantage, the emergence of omics-based tools, such as high-end proteomics, transcriptomics and genomics, has hastened the pace of target discovery and target-based drug development. It is now becoming apparent that multi-omics convergence and an inter-connected systems approach is less time-consuming and more cost-effective for any drug-development process. This comprehensive review is an attempt to summarize the current knowledge on the muti-omics approach in drug development against leishmaniasis. In particular, it elaborates the potential target identification from secreted proteins in various stages of Leishmania infection and also illustrates the convergence of transcriptomic and genomic data towards the collective goal of drug discovery. This review also provides an understanding of the potential parasite's drug targets and drug resistance characteristics of the parasite, which can be used in designing effective and specific therapeutics.
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Oliveira IH, Kjeldsen F, Melo-Braga MN, Verano-Braga T, de Andrade HM. Assessing the effects of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum and L. (L.) amazonensis infections in macrophages using a quantitative proteome approach. Exp Parasitol 2022; 243:108413. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Esteves BB, Melo-Braga MN, Gorshkov V, Verano-Braga T, Larsen MR, Gontijo CMF, Quaresma PF, Andrade HM. Characterization of Differentially Abundant Proteins Among Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Strains Isolated From Atypical or Typical Lesions. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:824968. [PMID: 35242720 PMCID: PMC8886221 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.824968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the main etiological agent of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Latin America. Non-ulcerated atypical tegumentary leishmaniasis cases caused by L. braziliensis have been reported in several regions of the American continent, including the Xacriabá indigenous reserve in São João das Missões/Minas Gerais, Brazil. Parasites isolated from these atypical clinical lesions are resistant to antimony-based therapeutics. In the present study, proteins displaying differential abundance in two strains of L. braziliensis isolated from patients with atypical lesions compared with four strains isolated from patients with typical lesions were identified using a quantitative proteomics approach based on tandem mass tag labeling (TMT) and mass spectrometry. A total of 532 (P<0.05) differentially abundant proteins were identified (298 upregulated and 234 downregulated) in strains from atypical lesions compared to strains from typical lesions. Prominent positively regulated proteins in atypical strains included those that may confer greater survival inside macrophages, proteins related to antimony resistance, and proteins associated with higher peroxidase activity. Additionally, we identified proteins showing potential as new drug and vaccine targets. Our findings contribute to the characterization of these intriguing L. braziliensis strains and provide a novel perspective on Atypical Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) cases that have been associated with therapeutic failures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara B. Esteves
- Laboratório de Leishmanioses, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Marcella N. Melo-Braga
- Laboratório de Biologia Sintética e Biomiméticos, Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Vladimir Gorshkov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Thiago Verano-Braga
- Núcleo de Proteômica Funcional, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Martin R. Larsen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Célia M. F. Gontijo
- Study Group in Leishmaniosis, Instituto René Rachou (IRR) –Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ/MG) Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Patricia F. Quaresma
- Departamento de Microbiologia Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Helida M. Andrade
- Laboratório de Leishmanioses, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Helida M. Andrade,
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Cohen A, Azas N. Challenges and Tools for In Vitro Leishmania Exploratory Screening in the Drug Development Process: An Updated Review. Pathogens 2021; 10:1608. [PMID: 34959563 PMCID: PMC8703296 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10121608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniases are a group of vector-borne diseases caused by infection with the protozoan parasites Leishmania spp. Some of them, such as Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis, are zoonotic diseases transmitted from vertebrate to vertebrate by a hematophagous insect, the sand fly. As there is an endemic in more than 90 countries worldwide, this complex and major health problem has different clinical forms depending on the parasite species involved, with the visceral form being the most worrying since it is fatal when left untreated. Nevertheless, currently available antileishmanial therapies are significantly limited (low efficacy, toxicity, adverse side effects, drug-resistance, length of treatment, and cost), so there is an urgent need to discover new compounds with antileishmanial activity, which are ideally inexpensive and orally administrable with few side effects and a novel mechanism of action. Therefore, various powerful approaches were recently applied in many interesting antileishmanial drug development programs. The objective of this review is to focus on the very first step in developing a potential drug and to identify the exploratory methods currently used to screen in vitro hit compounds and the challenges involved, particularly in terms of harmonizing the results of work carried out by different research teams. This review also aims to identify innovative screening tools and methods for more extensive use in the drug development process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Cohen
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille University, IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), AP-HM (Assistance Publique—Hôpitaux de Marseille), SSA (Service de Santé des Armées), VITROME (Vecteurs—Infections Tropicales et Méditerranéennes), 13005 Marseille, France;
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Pissarra J, Pagniez J, Petitdidier E, Séveno M, Vigy O, Bras-Gonçalves R, Lemesre JL, Holzmuller P. Proteomic Analysis of the Promastigote Secretome of Seven Leishmania Species. J Proteome Res 2021; 21:30-48. [PMID: 34806897 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.1c00244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the most impactful parasitic diseases worldwide, endangering the lives of 1 billion people every year. There are 20 different species of Leishmania able to infect humans, causing cutaneous (CL), visceral (VL), and/or mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL). Leishmania parasites are known to secrete a plethora of proteins to establish infection and modulate the host's immune system. In this study, we analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry the total protein content of the secretomes produced by promastigote forms from seven Leishmania species grown in serum-free in vitro cultures. The core secretome shared by all seven Leishmania species corresponds to up to one-third of total secreted proteins, suggesting conserved mechanisms of adaptation to the vertebrate host. The relative abundance confirms the importance of known virulence factors and some proteins uniquely present in CL- or VL-causing species and may provide further insight regarding their pathogenesis. Bioinformatic analysis showed that most proteins were secreted via unconventional mechanisms, with an important role for vesicle-based secretion for all species. Gene Ontology annotation and enrichment analyses showed a high level of functional conservation among species. This study contributes to the current knowledge on the biological significance of differently secreted proteins and provides new information on the correlation of Leishmania secretome to clinical outcomes and species-specific pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Pissarra
- UMR 177 INTERTRYP, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Julie Pagniez
- UMR 177 INTERTRYP, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Elodie Petitdidier
- UMR 177 INTERTRYP, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Martial Séveno
- BCM, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Oana Vigy
- IGF, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Rachel Bras-Gonçalves
- UMR 177 INTERTRYP, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Loup Lemesre
- UMR 177 INTERTRYP, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Holzmuller
- UMR ASTRE, CIRAD, INRAE, University of Montpellier (I-MUSE), 34090 Montpellier, France
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Dias-Lopes G, Zabala-Peñafiel A, de Albuquerque-Melo BC, Souza-Silva F, Menaguali do Canto L, Cysne-Finkelstein L, Alves CR. Axenic amastigotes of Leishmania species as a suitable model for in vitro studies. Acta Trop 2021; 220:105956. [PMID: 33979642 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.105956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania spp. are etiological agents of infection diseases, which in some cases can be fatal. The main forms of their biological cycle, promastigotes and amastigotes, can be maintained in vitro. While promastigotes are easier to maintain, amastigotes are more complex and can be obtained through different ways, including infection assays of tissues or in vitro cells, and differentiation from promastigotes to axenic amastigotes. Several protocols have been proposed for in vitro differentiation for at least 12 Leishmania spp. of both subgenera, Leishmania and Viannia. In this review we propose a critical summary of axenic amastigotes induction, as well as the impact of these strategies on metabolic pathways and regulatory networks analyzed by omics approaches. The parameters used by different research groups show considerable variations in temperature, pH and induction stages, as highlighted here for Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Therefore, a consensus on strategies for inducing amastigogenesis is necessary to improve accuracy and even define stage-specific biomarkers. In fact, the axenic amastigote model has contributed to elucidate several aspects of the parasite cycle, however, since it does not reproduce the intracellular environment, its use requires several precautions. In addition, we present a discussion about using axenic amastigotes for drug screening, suggesting the need of a more sensitive methodology to verify cell viability in these tests. Collectively, this review explores the advantages and limitations found in studies with axenic amastigotes, done for more than 30 years, and discuss the gaps that impair their use as a suitable model for in vitro studies.
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