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Islam A, do Prado BR, Dittz D, Rodrigues BL, Silva SMD, do Monte-Neto RL, Shabeer M, Frézard F, Demicheli C. Susceptibility of Leishmania to novel pentavalent organometallics: Investigating impact on DNA and membrane integrity in antimony(III)-sensitive and -resistant strains. Drug Dev Res 2024; 85:e22194. [PMID: 38704828 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.22194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
The aim the present study was to investigate the impact of novel pentavalent organobismuth and organoantimony complexes on membrane integrity and their interaction with DNA, activity against Sb(III)-sensitive and -resistant Leishmania strains and toxicity in mammalian peritoneal macrophages. Ph3M(L)2 type complexes were synthesized, where M = Sb(V) or Bi(V) and L = deprotonated 3-(dimethylamino)benzoic acid or 2-acetylbenzoic acid. Both organobismuth(V) and organoantimony(V) complexes exhibited efficacy at micromolar concentrations against Leishmania amazonensis and L. infantum but only the later ones demonstrated biocompatibility. Ph3Sb(L1)2 and Ph3Bi(L1)2 demonstrated distinct susceptibility profiles compared to inorganic Sb(III)-resistant strains of MRPA-overexpressing L. amazonensis and AQP1-mutated L. guyanensis. These complexes were able to permeate the cell membrane and interact with the Leishmania DNA, suggesting that this effect may contribute to the parasite growth inhibition via apoptosis. Taken altogether, our data substantiate the notion of a distinct mechanism of uptake pathway and action in Leishmania for these organometallic complexes, distinguishing them from the conventional inorganic antimonial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arshad Islam
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Postgraduate Program in Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Department of Pathology, Government Lady Reading Hospital Medical Teaching Institution, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Bruno Rodrigues do Prado
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Dalton Dittz
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI), Av. Universitária, Teresina, Brazil
| | - Bernardo Lages Rodrigues
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Sydnei Magno da Silva
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av Amazonas, s/n, Umuarama, Brazil
| | | | - Muhammad Shabeer
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Frédéric Frézard
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Postgraduate Program in Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Cynthia Demicheli
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Demicheli C, Vallejos VMR, Lanza JS, Ramos GS, Do Prado BR, Pomel S, Loiseau PM, Frézard F. Supramolecular assemblies from antimony(V) complexes for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Biophys Rev 2023; 15:751-765. [PMID: 37681109 PMCID: PMC10480371 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-023-01073-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The pentavalent meglumine antimoniate (MA) is still a first-line drug in the treatment of leishmaniasis in several countries. As an attempt to elucidate its mechanism of action and develop new antimonial drugs with improved therapeutic profile, Sb(V) complexes with different ligands, including β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), nucleosides and non-ionic surfactants, have been studied. Interestingly, Sb(V) oxide, MA, its complex with β-CD, Sb(V)-guanosine complex and amphiphilic Sb(V) complexes with N-alkyl-N-methylglucamide, have shown marked tendency to self-assemble in aqueous solutions, forming nanoaggregates, hydrogel or micelle-like nanoparticles. Surprisingly, the resulting assemblies presented in most cases slow dissociation kinetics upon dilution and a strong influence of pH, which impacted on their pharmacokinetic and therapeutic properties against leishmaniasis. To explain this unique property, we raised the hypothesis that multiple pnictogen bonds could contribute to the formation of these assemblies and their kinetic of dissociation. The present article reviews our current knowledge on the structural organization and physicochemical characteristics of Sb-based supramolecular assemblies, as well as their pharmacological properties and potential for treatment of leishmaniasis. This review supports the feasibility of the rational design of new Sb(V) complexes with supramolecular assemblies for the safe and effective treatment of leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Demicheli
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 Brazil
| | - Virgínia M. R. Vallejos
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 Brazil
| | | | - Guilherme S. Ramos
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 Brazil
| | - Bruno R. Do Prado
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 Brazil
| | - Sébastien Pomel
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Antiparasite Chemotherapy (PARACHEM), UMR 8076 CNRS BioCIS, University Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Philippe M. Loiseau
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Antiparasite Chemotherapy (PARACHEM), UMR 8076 CNRS BioCIS, University Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Frédéric Frézard
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901 Brazil
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3
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Singh R, Kashif M, Srivastava P, Manna PP. Recent Advances in Chemotherapeutics for Leishmaniasis: Importance of the Cellular Biochemistry of the Parasite and Its Molecular Interaction with the Host. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12050706. [PMID: 37242374 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12050706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, a category 1 neglected protozoan disease caused by a kinetoplastid pathogen called Leishmania, is transmitted through dipteran insect vectors (phlebotomine, sand flies) in three main clinical forms: fatal visceral leishmaniasis, self-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis, and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Generic pentavalent antimonials have long been the drug of choice against leishmaniasis; however, their success is plagued with limitations such as drug resistance and severe side effects, which makes them redundant as frontline therapy for endemic visceral leishmaniasis. Alternative therapeutic regimens based on amphotericin B, miltefosine, and paromomycin have also been approved. Due to the unavailability of human vaccines, first-line chemotherapies such as pentavalent antimonials, pentamidine, and amphotericin B are the only options to treat infected individuals. The higher toxicity, adverse effects, and perceived cost of these pharmaceutics, coupled with the emergence of parasite resistance and disease relapse, makes it urgent to identify new, rationalized drug targets for the improvement in disease management and palliative care for patients. This has become an emergent need and more relevant due to the lack of information on validated molecular resistance markers for the monitoring and surveillance of changes in drug sensitivity and resistance. The present study reviewed the recent advances in chemotherapeutic regimens by targeting novel drugs using several strategies including bioinformatics to gain new insight into leishmaniasis. Leishmania has unique enzymes and biochemical pathways that are distinct from those of its mammalian hosts. In light of the limited number of available antileishmanial drugs, the identification of novel drug targets and studying the molecular and cellular aspects of these drugs in the parasite and its host is critical to design specific inhibitors targeting and controlling the parasite. The biochemical characterization of unique Leishmania-specific enzymes can be used as tools to read through possible drug targets. In this review, we discuss relevant metabolic pathways and novel drugs that are unique, essential, and linked to the survival of the parasite based on bioinformatics and cellular and biochemical analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ranjeet Singh
- Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
| | - Mohammad Kashif
- Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Prateek Srivastava
- Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Partha Pratim Manna
- Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
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Gutierrez Guarnizo SA, Tikhonova EB, Karamyshev AL, Muskus CE, Karamysheva ZN. Translational reprogramming as a driver of antimony-drug resistance in Leishmania. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2605. [PMID: 37147291 PMCID: PMC10163012 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38221-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania is a unicellular protozoan that has a limited transcriptional control and mostly uses post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, although the molecular mechanisms of the process are still poorly understood. Treatments of leishmaniasis, pathologies associated with Leishmania infections, are limited due to drug resistance. Here, we report dramatic differences in mRNA translation in antimony drug-resistant and sensitive strains at the full translatome level. The major differences (2431 differentially translated transcripts) were demonstrated in the absence of the drug pressure supporting that complex preemptive adaptations are needed to efficiently compensate for the loss of biological fitness once they are exposed to the antimony. In contrast, drug-resistant parasites exposed to antimony activated a highly selective translation of only 156 transcripts. This selective mRNA translation is associated with surface protein rearrangement, optimized energy metabolism, amastins upregulation, and improved antioxidant response. We propose a novel model that establishes translational control as a major driver of antimony-resistant phenotypes in Leishmania.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneider Alexander Gutierrez Guarnizo
- Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, 79430, USA
- Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín, Medellín, 050010, Colombia
| | - Elena B Tikhonova
- Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, 79430, USA
| | - Andrey L Karamyshev
- Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, 79430, USA.
| | - Carlos E Muskus
- Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín, Medellín, 050010, Colombia.
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Kamran M, Bhattacharjee R, Das S, Mukherjee S, Ali N. The paradigm of intracellular parasite survival and drug resistance in leishmanial parasite through genome plasticity and epigenetics: Perception and future perspective. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1001973. [PMID: 36814446 PMCID: PMC9939536 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1001973] [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: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania is an intracellular, zoonotic, kinetoplastid eukaryote with more than 1.2 million cases all over the world. The leishmanial chromosomes are divided into polymorphic chromosomal ends, conserved central domains, and antigen-encoding genes found in telomere-proximal regions. The genome flexibility of chromosomal ends of the leishmanial parasite is known to cause drug resistance and intracellular survival through the evasion of host defense mechanisms. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the plasticity of Leishmania genome organization which is the primary cause of drug resistance and parasite survival. Moreover, we have not only elucidated the causes of such genome plasticity which includes aneuploidy, epigenetic factors, copy number variation (CNV), and post-translation modification (PTM) but also highlighted their impact on drug resistance and parasite survival.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sonali Das
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Sohitri Mukherjee
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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Zabala-Peñafiel A, Dias-Lopes G, Souza-Silva F, Miranda LFC, Conceição-Silva F, Alves CR. Assessing the effect of antimony pressure on trypanothione reductase activity in Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Biochimie 2022; 208:86-92. [PMID: 36586564 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2022.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania parasites have an oxidative and chemical defense mechanism called trypanothione system (T[SH]2), the most abundant thiol system in trypanosomatids. This system has a central role in processing pentavalent antimony and resistance has been related to a better capacity to metabolize it through the activation of T[SH]2 enzymatic cascade. A biochemical approach was applied to assess the effect of trivalent (SbIII) and pentavalent antimony (SbV) on Trypanothione Reductase (TR) activity of two Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis clinical isolates, which were labeled as responder (R) and non-responder (NR) after patient treatment with Glucantime®. Both isolates were characterized based on in vitro susceptibility to SbIII and SbV and trypanothione reductase (TR) activity. SbIII and SbV discriminated susceptibility profiles in all parasite forms, since isolate NR had significantly higher EC50 values than isolate R. Differences were observed in TR activity between promastigotes, axenic amastigotes and intracellular amastigotes: R (0.439 ± 0.009, 0.103 ± 0.01 and 0.185 ± 0.01AU.min-1.μg of protein-1) and NR (1.083 ± 0.04, 0.914 ± 0.04 and 0.343 ± 0.04 AU. min-1.μg of protein-1), respectively. Incubation with SbIII and SbV using each form EC50 value caused a time-dependent differential effect on TR activity suggesting that oxidative defense is related to the antimony susceptibility phenotype. Data gathered here shows a biochemical approach able to discriminate two L. (V.) braziliensis clinical isolates measurements TR activity of promastigotes, axenic amastigotes and intracellular amastigotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Zabala-Peñafiel
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Doenças Endêmicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av Brasil, 4365, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - G Dias-Lopes
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Doenças Endêmicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av Brasil, 4365, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - F Souza-Silva
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Universidade Iguaçu, Dom Rodrigo, Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - L F C Miranda
- Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica e Vigilância em Leishmanioses, Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - F Conceição-Silva
- Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - C R Alves
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Doenças Endêmicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av Brasil, 4365, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
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Validating Immunomodulatory Responses of r- LdODC Protein and Its Derived HLA-DRB1 Restricted Epitopes against Visceral Leishmaniasis in BALB/c Mice. Pathogens 2022; 12:pathogens12010016. [PMID: 36678364 PMCID: PMC9867430 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12010016] [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: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccination is considered the most appropriate way to control visceral leishmaniasis (VL). With this background, the r-LdODC protein as well as its derived HLA-DRB1-restricted synthetic peptides (P1: RLMPSAHAI, P2: LLDQYQIHL, P3: GLYHSFNCI, P4: AVLEVLSAL, and P5: RLPASPAAL) were validated in BALB/c mice against visceral leishmaniasis. The study was initiated by immunization of the r-LdODC protein as well as its derived peptides cocktail with adjuvants (r-CD2 and MPL-A) in different mice groups, separately. Splenocytes isolated from the challenged and differentially immunized mice group exhibited significantly higher IFN-γ secretion, which was evidenced by the increase in the expression profile of intracellular CD4+IFN-γ T cells. However, the IL-10 secretion did not show a significant increase against the protein and peptide cocktail. Subsequently, the study confirmed the ability of peptides as immunoprophylactic agents, as the IE-I/AD-I molecule overexpressed on monocytes and macrophages of the challenged mice group. The parasitic load in macrophages of the protein and peptides cocktail immunized mice groups, and T cell proliferation rate, further established immunoprophylactic efficacy of the r-LdODC protein and peptide cocktail. This study suggests that the r-LdODC protein, as well as its derived HLA-DRB1-restricted synthetic peptides, have immunoprophylactic potential and can activate other immune cells' functions towards protection against visceral leishmaniasis. However, a detailed study in a humanized mice model can explore its potential as a vaccine candidate.
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Boy RL, Hong A, Aoki JI, Floeter-Winter LM, Laranjeira-Silva MF. Reporter gene systems: a powerful tool for Leishmania studies. CURRENT RESEARCH IN MICROBIAL SCIENCES 2022; 3:100165. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2022.100165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
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Salari S, Bamorovat M, Sharifi I, Almani PGN. Global distribution of treatment resistance gene markers for leishmaniasis. J Clin Lab Anal 2022; 36:e24599. [PMID: 35808933 PMCID: PMC9396204 DOI: 10.1002/jcla.24599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Pentavalent antimonials (Sb(V)) such as meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime®) and sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam®) are used as first‐line treatments for leishmaniasis, either alone or in combination with second‐line drugs such as amphotericin B (Amp B), miltefosine (MIL), methotrexate (MTX), or cryotherapy. Therapeutic aspects of these drugs are now challenged because of clinical resistance worldwide. Methods We reviewedthe recent original studies were assessed by searching in electronic databases such as Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science. Results Studies on molecular biomarkers involved in drug resistance are essential for monitoring the disease. We reviewed genes and mechanisms of resistance to leishmaniasis, and the geographical distribution of these biomarkers in each country has also been thoroughly investigated. Conclusion Due to the emergence of resistant genes mainly in anthroponotic Leishmania species such as L. donovani and L. tropica, as the causative agents of ACL and AVL, respectively, selection of an appropriate treatment modality is essential. Physicians should be aware of the presence of such resistance for the selection of proper treatment modalities in endemic countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samira Salari
- Medical Mycology and Bacteriology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mehdi Bamorovat
- Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Iraj Sharifi
- Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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Transcriptome Analysis of Intracellular Amastigotes of Clinical Leishmania infantum Lines from Therapeutic Failure Patients after Infection of Human Macrophages. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10071304. [PMID: 35889023 PMCID: PMC9324091 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10071304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is considered to be one of the most neglected tropical diseases affecting humans and animals around the world. Due to the absence of an effective vaccine, current treatment is based on chemotherapy. However, the continuous appearance of drug resistance and therapeutic failure (TF) lead to an early obsolescence of treatments. Identification of the factors that contribute to TF and drug resistance in leishmaniasis will constitute a useful tool for establishing future strategies to control this disease. In this manuscript, we evaluated the transcriptomic changes in the intracellular amastigotes of the Leishmania infantum parasites isolated from patients with leishmaniasis and TF at 96 h post-infection of THP-1 cells. The adaptation of the parasites to their new environment leads to expression alterations in the genes involved mainly in the transport through cell membranes, energy and redox metabolism, and detoxification. Specifically, the gene that codes for the prostaglandin f2α synthase seems to be relevant in the pathogenicity and TF since it appears substantially upregulated in all the L. infantum lines. Overall, our results show that at the late infection timepoint, the transcriptome of the parasites undergoes significant changes that probably improve the survival of the Leishmania lines in the host cells, contributing to the TF phenotype as well as drug therapy evasion.
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11
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Boozhmehrani MJ, Eslami G, Khamesipour A, Jafari AA, Vakili M, Hosseini SS, Askari V. The role of ATP-binding cassette transporter genes expression in treatment failure cutaneous leishmaniasis. AMB Express 2022; 12:78. [PMID: 35710996 PMCID: PMC9203622 DOI: 10.1186/s13568-022-01419-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the common diseases transmitted by sand flies in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Currently, antimonial derivatives are the first line of treatment. Some of the members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of Leishmania are shown to be associated with no response to treatment. In this study, we evaluated ABCI4, ABCG2, ABCC7, ABCB4, and ABCC3 genes expression in Leishmania isolated from patients with non-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis and treatment response isolates. We selected 17 clinical isolates including 8 treatment failure and 9 treatment response samples from September 2020 to March 2021. The isolates were obtained from patients of Health Center Laboratory of Varzaneh, Isfahan, Iran with cutaneous leishmaniasis. The diagnosis was performed using microscopic observation. The samples were directly collected from the lesions. The expression profiling of genes was assessed using SYBR Green real-time PCR that was analyzed with delta-delta Ct. All treatment failure clinical isolates were L. major. Gene expression analysis in treatment failure isolates showed that the ABC transported genes had a different pattern in each isolate. Treatment failure has been reported for cutaneous leishmaniasis worldwide. Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of treatment failure could solve this problem. ABC transporter genes are considered controversial over the mechanisms of treatment failure outcomes. In this study, we showed that ABC transporter genes could be considered one of the important mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Javad Boozhmehrani
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.,Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Gilda Eslami
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
| | - Ali Khamesipour
- Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abbas Ali Jafari
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mahmood Vakili
- Health Monitoring Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Saeedeh Sadat Hosseini
- Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Vahideh Askari
- Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
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Wijnant GJ, Dumetz F, Dirkx L, Bulté D, Cuypers B, Van Bocxlaer K, Hendrickx S. Tackling Drug Resistance and Other Causes of Treatment Failure in Leishmaniasis. FRONTIERS IN TROPICAL DISEASES 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2022.837460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a tropical infectious disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania parasite. The disease is transmitted by female sand flies and, depending on the infecting parasite species, causes either cutaneous (stigmatizing skin lesions), mucocutaneous (destruction of mucous membranes of nose, mouth and throat) or visceral disease (a potentially fatal infection of liver, spleen and bone marrow). Although more than 1 million new cases occur annually, chemotherapeutic options are limited and their efficacy is jeopardized by increasing treatment failure rates and growing drug resistance. To delay the emergence of resistance to existing and new drugs, elucidating the currently unknown causes of variable drug efficacy (related to parasite susceptibility, host immunity and drug pharmacokinetics) and improved use of genotypic and phenotypic tools to define, measure and monitor resistance in the field are critical. This review highlights recent progress in our understanding of drug action and resistance in Leishmania, ongoing challenges (including setbacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic) and provides an overview of possible strategies to tackle this public health challenge.
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Santi AMM, Murta SMF. Impact of Genetic Diversity and Genome Plasticity of Leishmania spp. in Treatment and the Search for Novel Chemotherapeutic Targets. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:826287. [PMID: 35141175 PMCID: PMC8819175 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.826287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the major public health concerns in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The absence of vaccines for human use and the lack of effective vector control programs make chemotherapy the main strategy to control all forms of the disease. However, the high toxicity of available drugs, limited choice of therapeutic agents, and occurrence of drug-resistant parasite strains are the main challenges related to chemotherapy. Currently, only a small number of drugs are available for leishmaniasis treatment, including pentavalent antimonials (SbV), amphotericin B and its formulations, miltefosine, paromomycin sulphate, and pentamidine isethionate. In addition to drug toxicity, therapeutic failure of leishmaniasis is a serious concern. The occurrence of drug-resistant parasites is one of the causes of therapeutic failure and is closely related to the diversity of parasites in this genus. Owing to the enormous plasticity of the genome, resistance can occur by altering different metabolic pathways, demonstrating that resistance mechanisms are multifactorial and extremely complex. Genetic variability and genome plasticity cause not only the available drugs to have limitations, but also make the search for new drugs challenging. Here, we examined the biological characteristics of parasites that hinder drug discovery.
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Olías-Molero AI, de la Fuente C, Cuquerella M, Torrado JJ, Alunda JM. Antileishmanial Drug Discovery and Development: Time to Reset the Model? Microorganisms 2021; 9:2500. [PMID: 34946102 PMCID: PMC8703564 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Leishmania species. The disease affects humans and animals, particularly dogs, provoking cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral processes depending on the Leishmania sp. and the host immune response. No vaccine for humans is available, and the control relies mainly on chemotherapy. However, currently used drugs are old, some are toxic, and the safer presentations are largely unaffordable by the most severely affected human populations. Moreover, its efficacy has shortcomings, and it has been challenged by the growing reports of resistance and therapeutic failure. This manuscript presents an overview of the currently used drugs, the prevailing model to develop new antileishmanial drugs and its low efficiency, and the impact of deconstruction of the drug pipeline on the high failure rate of potential drugs. To improve the predictive value of preclinical research in the chemotherapy of leishmaniasis, several proposals are presented to circumvent critical hurdles-namely, lack of common goals of collaborative research, particularly in public-private partnership; fragmented efforts; use of inadequate surrogate models, especially for in vivo trials; shortcomings of target product profile (TPP) guides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Isabel Olías-Molero
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.I.O.-M.); (C.d.l.F.); (M.C.)
| | - Concepción de la Fuente
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.I.O.-M.); (C.d.l.F.); (M.C.)
| | - Montserrat Cuquerella
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.I.O.-M.); (C.d.l.F.); (M.C.)
| | - Juan J. Torrado
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - José M. Alunda
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.I.O.-M.); (C.d.l.F.); (M.C.)
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15
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Medina J, Cruz-Saavedra L, Patiño LH, Muñoz M, Ramírez JD. Comparative analysis of the transcriptional responses of five Leishmania species to trivalent antimony. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:419. [PMID: 34419127 PMCID: PMC8380399 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04915-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by several species of Leishmania. The resistance phenotype of these parasites depends on the characteristics of each species, which contributes to increased therapeutic failures. Understanding the mechanism used by the parasite to survive under treatment pressure in order to identify potential common and specific therapeutic targets is essential for the control of leishmaniasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles and potential shared and specific resistance markers of the main Leishmania species of medical importance [subgenus L. (Leishmania): L. donovani, L. infantum and L. amazonensis; subgenus L. (Viannia): L. panamensis and L. braziliensis)] resistant and sensitive to trivalent stibogluconate (SbIII). METHODS We conducted comparative analysis of the transcriptomic profiles (only coding sequences) of lines with experimentally induced resistance to SbIII from biological replicates of five Leishmania species available in the databases of four articles based on ortholog attribution. Simultaneously, we carried out functional analysis of ontology and reconstruction of metabolic pathways of the resulting differentially expressed genes (DEGs). RESULTS Resistant lines for each species had differential responses in metabolic processes, compound binding, and membrane components concerning their sensitive counterpart. One hundred and thirty-nine metabolic pathways were found, with the three main pathways comprising cysteine and methionine metabolism, glycolysis, and the ribosome. Differentially expressed orthologous genes assigned to species-specific responses predominated, with 899 self-genes. No differentially expressed genes were found in common among the five species. Two common upregulated orthologous genes were found among four species (L. donovani, L. braziliensis, L. amazonensis, and L. panamensis) related to an RNA-binding protein and the NAD(P)H cytochrome-B5-oxidoreductase complex, associated with transcriptional control and de novo synthesis of linoleic acid, critical mechanisms in resistance to antimonials. CONCLUSION Herein, we identified potential species-specific genes related to resistance to SbIII. Therefore, we suggest that future studies consider a treatment scheme that is species-specific. Despite the limitations of our study, this is the first approach toward unraveling the pan-genus genetic mechanisms of resistance in leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julián Medina
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología- UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Lissa Cruz-Saavedra
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología- UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Luz Helena Patiño
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología- UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Marina Muñoz
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología- UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Juan David Ramírez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología- UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
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16
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Abadi MFS, Moradabadi A, Vahidi R, Shojaeepour S, Rostami S, Rad I, Dabiri S. High resolution melting analysis and detection of Leishmania resistance: the role of multi drug resistance 1 gene. Genes Environ 2021; 43:36. [PMID: 34380574 PMCID: PMC8356459 DOI: 10.1186/s41021-021-00210-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pentavalent antimonial compounds are currently used to treat leishmaniasis and resistance to these drugs is a serious problem. Multidrug resistance protein is an efflux pump of the cell membrane that expels foreign compounds. This study designed to evaluate the mutations in the multi-drug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene, in biopsy specimens of Leishmania tropica, with high resolution melting (HRM) method. In this experimental study, genomic DNA was extracted from 130 patients with skin leishmaniasis. Then, nucleotide changes were investigated throughout the gene using HRM and sequencing methods. The samples categorized in 5 groups by differences in the melting temperature (Tm). Result The nucleotide changes analysis showed that 61% of the samples of different groups that were unresponsive to drug had mutations in the MDR1 gene, which were also confirmed by the sequencing method. These mutations can be one of the factors responsible for non-responsiveness to the treatment. Conclusion According to the findings, it seems that mutation in MDR1 gene could be responsible for drug resistance to pentavalent antimonial compounds. Furthermore, HRM method can be used to diagnose drug resistance in leishmaniasis. It is also recommended that further studies be done regarding the importance of drug resistance in the leishmania affected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Fekri Soofi Abadi
- Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Pathology, Afzalipour Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 22 Bahman Blvd, Kerman, Iran
| | - Alireza Moradabadi
- Department of medical laboratory science, Khomein university of medical science, Khomein, Iran
| | - Reza Vahidi
- Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Pathology, Afzalipour Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 22 Bahman Blvd, Kerman, Iran
| | - Saeedeh Shojaeepour
- Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Pathology, Afzalipour Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 22 Bahman Blvd, Kerman, Iran
| | - Sara Rostami
- Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Iman Rad
- Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Pathology, Afzalipour Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 22 Bahman Blvd, Kerman, Iran
| | - Shahriar Dabiri
- Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Pathology, Afzalipour Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 22 Bahman Blvd, Kerman, Iran.
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17
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Potvin JE, Leprohon P, Queffeulou M, Sundar S, Ouellette M. Mutations in an Aquaglyceroporin as a Proven Marker of Antimony Clinical Resistance in the Parasite Leishmania donovani. Clin Infect Dis 2021; 72:e526-e532. [PMID: 32827255 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antimonial drugs have long been the mainstay to treat visceral leishmaniasis. Their use has been discontinued in the Indian subcontinent because of drug resistance, but they are still clinically useful elsewhere. The goal of this study was to find markers of antimony resistance in Leishmania donovani clinical isolates and validate experimentally their role in resistance. METHODS The genomes of sensitive and antimony-resistant clinical isolates were sequenced. The role of a specific gene in contributing to resistance was studied by CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing and intracellular drug sensitivity assays. RESULTS Both gene copy number variations and single nucleotide variants were associated with antimony resistance. A homozygous insertion of 2 nucleotides was found in the gene coding for the aquaglyceroporin AQP1 in both resistant isolates. Restoring the wild-type AQP1 open reading frame re-sensitized the 2 independent resistant isolates to antimonials. Alternatively, editing the genome of a sensitive isolate by incorporating the 2-nucleotide insertion in its AQP1 gene led to antimony-resistant parasites. CONCLUSIONS Through genomic analysis and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing we have proven the role of the AQP1 mutations in antimony clinical resistance in L. donovani.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade-Eva Potvin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marine Queffeulou
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Shyam Sundar
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
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18
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Pearson SA, Cowan JA. Glutathione-coordinated metal complexes as substrates for cellular transporters. Metallomics 2021; 13:mfab015. [PMID: 33770183 PMCID: PMC8086996 DOI: 10.1093/mtomcs/mfab015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Glutathione is the major thiol-containing species in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and plays a wide variety of roles, including detoxification of metals by sequestration, reduction, and efflux. ABC transporters such as MRP1 and MRP2 detoxify the cell from certain metals by exporting the cations as a metal-glutathione complex. The ability of the bacterial Atm1 protein to efflux metal-glutathione complexes appears to have evolved over time to become the ABCB7 transporter in mammals, located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. No longer needed for the role of cellular detoxification, ABCB7 appears to be used to transport glutathione-coordinated iron-sulfur clusters from mitochondria to the cytosol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen A Pearson
- The Ohio State University Biophysics Program, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - J A Cowan
- The Ohio State University Biophysics Program, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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19
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Eslami G, Hatefi S, Ramezani V, Tohidfar M, Churkina TV, Orlov YL, Hosseini SS, Boozhmehrani MJ, Vakili M. Molecular characteristic of treatment failure clinical isolates of Leishmania major. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10969. [PMID: 33763300 PMCID: PMC7956003 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Leishmaniasis is a prevalent tropical disease caused by more than 20 Leishmania species (Protozoa, Kinetoplastida and Trypanosomatidae). Among different clinical forms of the disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis is the most common form, with an annual 0.6–1 million new cases reported worldwide. This disease’s standard treatment is pentavalent antimonial (SbV) that have been used successfully since the first half of the 20th century as a first-line drug. However, treatment failure is an increasing problem that is persistently reported from endemic areas. It is important to define and standardize tests for drug resistance in cutaneous leishmaniasis. SbV must be reduced to its trivalent active form (SbIII). This reduction occurs within the host macrophage, and the resultant SbIIIenters amastigotes via the aquaglyceroporin1 (AQP1) membrane carrier. Overexpression of AQP1 results in hypersensitivity of the parasites to SbIII, but resistant phenotypes accompany reduced expression, inactivation mutations, or deletion of AQP1. Hence, in this study, a phylogenetic analysis using barcode gene COXII and kDNA minicircle and expression analysis of AQP1 were performed in treatment failure isolates to assess the isolates’ molecular characteristics and to verify possible association with drug response. Methods Samples in this study were collected from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis referred to the Diagnosis Laboratory Center in Isfahan Province, Iran, from October 2017 to December 2019. Among them, five isolates (code numbers 1–5) were categorized as treatment failures. The PCR amplification of barcode gene COXII and kDNA minicircle were done and subsequently analyzed using MEGA (10.0.5) to perform phylogenetics analysis of Treatment failures (TF) and Treatment response (TR) samples. Relative quantification of the AQP1 gene expression of TF and TR samples was assessed by real-time PCR. Results All samples were classified as L. major. No amplification failure was observed in the cases of barcode gene COXII and kDNA minicircle amplification. Having excluded the sequences with complete homology using maximum parsimony with the Bootstrap 500 method, four major groups were detected to perform phylogenetic analysis using COXII. The phylogenetic analysis using the barcode target of minicircle showed that all five treatment failure isolates were grouped in a separate sub-clade. Conclusions We concluded that the barcode gene COXII and the minicircle kDNA were suitable for identification, differentiation and phylogenetic analysis in treatment failure clinical isolates of Leishmania major. Also, AQP1 gene expression analyses showed that treatment failure isolates had less expression than TR isolates. The isolate with TF and overexpression of the AQP1 gene of other molecular mechanisms such as overexpression of ATP-binding cassette may be involved in the TR, such as overexpression of ATP-binding cassette which requires further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilda Eslami
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Samira Hatefi
- Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Vahid Ramezani
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.,Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Masoud Tohidfar
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Tatyana V Churkina
- Insitute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Yuriy L Orlov
- Insitute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia.,The Digital Health Institute, I.M.Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia
| | - Saeedeh Sadat Hosseini
- Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mohammad Javad Boozhmehrani
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mahmood Vakili
- Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Health Monitoring Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
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20
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González M, Alcolea PJ, Álvarez R, Medarde M, Larraga V, Peláez R. New diarylsulfonamide inhibitors of Leishmania infantum amastigotes. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2021; 16:45-64. [PMID: 34015753 PMCID: PMC8142021 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2021.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
New drugs against visceral leishmaniasis with mechanisms of action differing from existing treatments and with adequate cost, stability, and properties are urgently needed. No antitubulin drug is currently in the clinic against Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean area. We have designed and synthesized a focused library of 350 compounds against the Leishmania tubulin based on the structure-activity relationship (SAR) and sequence differences between host and parasite. The compounds synthesized are accessible, stable, and appropriately soluble in water. We assayed the library against Leishmania promastigotes, axenic, and intracellular amastigotes and found 0, 8, and 16 active compounds, respectively, with a high success rate against intracellular amastigotes of over 10%, not including the cytotoxic compounds. Five compounds have a similar or better potency than the clinically used miltefosine. 14 compounds showed a host-dependent mechanism of action that might be advantageous as it may render them less susceptible to the development of drug resistance. The active compounds cluster in five chemical classes that provide structure-activity relationships for further hit improvement and facilitate series development. Molecular docking is consistent with the proposed mechanism of action, supported by the observed structure-activity relationships, and suggests a potential extension to other Leishmania species due to sequence similarities. A new family of diarylsulfonamides designed against the parasite tubulins is active against Leishmania infantum and represents a new class of potential drugs with favorable cost, stability, and aqueous solubility for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). These results could be extended to other clinically relevant species of Leishmania spp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam González
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Pedro José Alcolea
- Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raquel Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Manuel Medarde
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Vicente Larraga
- Laboratorio de Parasitología Molecular, Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael Peláez
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Farmacéutica, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Centro de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales de la Universidad de Salamanca (CIETUS), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
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21
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Matha K, Calvignac B, Gangneux JP, Benoit JP. The advantages of nanomedicine in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis: between sound arguments and wishful thinking. Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2020; 18:471-487. [PMID: 33217254 DOI: 10.1080/17425247.2021.1853701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Although life-threatening if left untreated, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still a neglected endemic disease in 98 countries worldwide. The number of drugs available is low and few are in clinical trials. In the last decades, efforts have been made on the development of nanocarriers as drug delivery systems to treat VL. Given the preferential intracellular location of the parasite in the liver and spleen macrophages, the rationale is sturdy. In a clinical setting, liposomal amphotericin B displays astonishing cure rates.Areas covered: A literature search was performed through PubMed and Google Scholar. We critically reviewed the main literature highlighting the success of nanomedicine in VL. We also reviewed the hurdles and yet unfulfilled promises rising awareness of potential drawbacks of nanomedicine in VL.Expert opinion: VL is a disease where nanomedicines successes shine through. However, there are a lot of obstacles on the road to developing more efficient strategies such as targeting functionalization, oral formulations, or combined therapies. And those strategies raise many questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Matha
- MINT, Univ Angers, INSERM 1066, CNRS 6021, Université Bretagne Loire, 4 Rue Larrey 49933 Angers cedex 9, France.,CHU Angers, département Pharmacie,4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers cedex 9, France
| | - Brice Calvignac
- MINT, Univ Angers, INSERM 1066, CNRS 6021, Université Bretagne Loire, 4 Rue Larrey 49933 Angers cedex 9, France
| | - Jean-Pierre Gangneux
- Univ Rennes, CHU Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset , (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail) - UMR_S 1085, F-35000 Rennes, France.,Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHU de Rennes, 2 rue Henri Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France
| | - Jean-Pierre Benoit
- MINT, Univ Angers, INSERM 1066, CNRS 6021, Université Bretagne Loire, 4 Rue Larrey 49933 Angers cedex 9, France.,CHU Angers, département Pharmacie,4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers cedex 9, France
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22
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Andrade JM, Gonçalves LO, Liarte DB, Lima DA, Guimarães FG, de Melo Resende D, Santi AMM, de Oliveira LM, Velloso JPL, Delfino RG, Pescher P, Späth GF, Ruiz JC, Murta SMF. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of antimony resistant and susceptible Leishmania infantum lines. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:600. [PMID: 33256787 PMCID: PMC7706067 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04486-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background One of the major challenges to leishmaniasis treatment is the emergence of parasites resistant to antimony. To study differentially expressed genes associated with drug resistance, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis between wild-type and potassium antimonyl tartrate (SbIII)-resistant Leishmania infantum lines using high-throughput RNA sequencing. Methods All the cDNA libraries were constructed from promastigote forms of each line, sequenced and analyzed using STAR for mapping the reads against the reference genome (L. infantum JPCM5) and DESeq2 for differential expression statistical analyses. All the genes were functionally annotated using sequence similarity search. Results The analytical pipeline considering an adjusted p-value < 0.05 and fold change > 2.0 identified 933 transcripts differentially expressed (DE) between wild-type and SbIII-resistant L. infantum lines. Out of 933 DE transcripts, 504 presented functional annotation and 429 were assigned as hypothetical proteins. A total of 837 transcripts were upregulated and 96 were downregulated in the SbIII-resistant L. infantum line. Using this DE dataset, the proteins were further grouped in functional classes according to the gene ontology database. The functional enrichment analysis for biological processes showed that the upregulated transcripts in the SbIII-resistant line are associated with protein phosphorylation, microtubule-based movement, ubiquitination, host–parasite interaction, cellular process and other categories. The downregulated transcripts in the SbIII-resistant line are assigned in the GO categories: ribonucleoprotein complex, ribosome biogenesis, rRNA processing, nucleosome assembly and translation. Conclusions The transcriptomic profile of L. infantum showed a robust set of genes from different metabolic pathways associated with the antimony resistance phenotype in this parasite. Our results address the complex and multifactorial antimony resistance mechanisms in Leishmania, identifying several candidate genes that may be further evaluated as molecular targets for chemotherapy of leishmaniasis.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Juvana Moreira Andrade
- Genômica Funcional de Parasitos, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Leilane Oliveira Gonçalves
- Grupo Informática de Biossistemas, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | | | - Davi Alvarenga Lima
- Genômica Funcional de Parasitos, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.,Grupo Informática de Biossistemas, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Daniela de Melo Resende
- Genômica Funcional de Parasitos, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.,Grupo Informática de Biossistemas, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Ana Maria Murta Santi
- Genômica Funcional de Parasitos, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Luciana Marcia de Oliveira
- Unité Biologie des ARN des Pathogènes Fongiques, Département de Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | | | - Renato Guimarães Delfino
- Grupo Informática de Biossistemas, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Pascale Pescher
- Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Département de Parasitologie et Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Gerald F Späth
- Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Département de Parasitologie et Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Jeronimo Conceição Ruiz
- Grupo Informática de Biossistemas, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. .,Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
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Antileishmanial Aminopyrazoles: Studies into Mechanisms and Stability of Experimental Drug Resistance. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020; 64:AAC.00152-20. [PMID: 32601168 PMCID: PMC7449183 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00152-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Current antileishmanial treatment is hampered by limitations, such as drug toxicity and the risk of treatment failure, which may be related to parasitic drug resistance. Given the urgent need for novel drugs, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has undertaken a drug discovery program, which has resulted in the identification of aminopyrazoles, a highly promising antileishmanial chemical series. Multiple experiments have been performed to anticipate the propensity for resistance development. Current antileishmanial treatment is hampered by limitations, such as drug toxicity and the risk of treatment failure, which may be related to parasitic drug resistance. Given the urgent need for novel drugs, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has undertaken a drug discovery program, which has resulted in the identification of aminopyrazoles, a highly promising antileishmanial chemical series. Multiple experiments have been performed to anticipate the propensity for resistance development. Resistance selection was performed by successive exposure of Leishmania infantum promastigotes (in vitro) and intracellular amastigotes (both in vitro and in golden Syrian hamsters). The stability of the resistant phenotypes was assessed after passage in mice and Lutzomyia longipalpis sandflies. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed to identify mutated genes, copy number variations (CNVs), and somy changes. The potential role of efflux pumps (the MDR and MRP efflux pumps) in the development of resistance was assessed by coincubation of aminopyrazoles with specific efflux pump inhibitors (verapamil, cyclosporine, and probenecid). Repeated drug exposure of amastigotes did not result in the emergence of drug resistance either in vitro or in vivo. Selection at the promastigote stage, however, was able to select for parasites with reduced susceptibility (resistance index, 5.8 to 24.5). This phenotype proved to be unstable after in vivo passage in mice and sandflies, suggesting that nonfixed alterations are responsible for the elevated resistance. In line with this, single nucleotide polymorphisms and indels identified by whole-genome sequencing could not be directly linked to the decreased drug susceptibility. Copy number variations were absent, whereas somy changes were detected, which may have accounted for the transient acquisition of resistance. Finally, aminopyrazole activity was not influenced by the MDR and MRP efflux pump inhibitors tested. The selection performed does not suggest the rapid development of resistance against aminopyrazoles in the field. Karyotype changes may confer elevated levels of resistance, but these do not seem to be stable in the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. MDR/MRP efflux pumps are not likely to significantly impact the activity of the aminopyrazole leads.
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Environmental Conditions May Shape the Patterns of Genomic Variations in Leishmania panamensis. Genes (Basel) 2019; 10:genes10110838. [PMID: 31652919 PMCID: PMC6896075 DOI: 10.3390/genes10110838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the absence of transcriptional regulation of gene expression in Leishmania parasites, it is now well accepted that several forms of genomic variations modulate the levels of critical proteins through changes in gene dosage. We previously observed many of these variations in our reference laboratory strain of L. panamensis (PSC-1 strain), including chromosomes with an increased somy and the presence of a putative linear minichromosome derived from chromosome 34. Here, we compared the previously described genomic variations with those occurring after exposure of this strain to increasing concentrations of trivalent antimony (SbIII), as well as those present in two geographically unrelated clinical isolates of L. panamensis. We observed changes in the somy of several chromosomes, amplifications of several chromosomal regions, and copy number variations in gene arrays after exposure to SbIII. Occurrence of amplifications potentially beneficial for the Sb-resistant phenotype appears to be associated with the loss of other forms of amplification, such as the linear minichromosome. In contrast, we found no evidence of changes in somy or amplification of relatively large chromosomal regions in the clinical isolates. In these isolates, the predominant amplifications appear to be those that generate genes arrays; however, in many cases, the amplified arrays have a notably higher number of copies than those from the untreated and Sb-treated laboratory samples.
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Rugani JN, Gontijo CMF, Frézard F, Soares RP, do Monte-Neto RL. Antimony resistance in Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis clinical isolates from atypical lesions associates with increased ARM56/ARM58 transcripts and reduced drug uptake. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2019; 114:e190111. [PMID: 31433006 PMCID: PMC6697410 DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760190111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In addition to the limited therapeutic arsenal and the side effects of antileishmanial agents, drug resistance hinders disease control. In Brazil, Leishmania braziliensis causes atypical (AT) tegumentary leishmaniasis lesions, frequently refractory to treatment. OBJECTIVES The main goal of this study was to characterise antimony (Sb)-resistant (SbR) L. braziliensis strains obtained from patients living in Xakriabá indigenous community, Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS The aquaglyceroporin 1-encoding gene (AQP1) from L. braziliensis clinical isolates was sequenced, and its function was evaluated by hypo-osmotic shock. mRNA levels of genes associated with Sb resistance were measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Atomic absorption was used to measure Sb uptake. FINDINGS Although clinical isolates presented delayed recovery time in hypo-osmotic shock, AQP1 function was maintained. Isolate 340 accumulated less Sb than all other isolates, supporting the 65-fold downregulation of AQP1 mRNA levels. Both 330 and 340 isolates upregulated antimony resistance marker (ARM) 56/ARM58 and multidrug resistant protein A (MRPA); however, only ARM58 upregulation was an exclusive feature of SbR field isolates. CA7AE seemed to increase drug uptake in L. braziliensis and represented a tool to study the role of glycoconjugates in Sb transport. MAIN CONCLUSIONS There is a clear correlation between ARM56/58 upregulation and Sb resistance in AT-harbouring patients, suggesting the use of these markers as potential indicators to help the treatment choice and outcome, preventing therapeutic failure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Frédéric Frézard
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências
Biológicas, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
| | - Rodrigo Pedro Soares
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto René Rachou, Belo
Horizonte, MG, Brasil
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Patino LH, Muskus C, Ramírez JD. Transcriptional responses of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis in the presence of trivalent sodium stibogluconate. Parasit Vectors 2019; 12:348. [PMID: 31300064 PMCID: PMC6626383 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-019-3603-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In the last decade, resistance to antimonials has become a serious problem due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms used by Leishmania parasites to survive under drug pressure is essential, particularly for species of medical-veterinary importance such as L. amazonensis. Methods Here, we used RNA-seq technology to analyse transcriptome profiles and identify global changes in gene expression between antimony-resistant and -sensitive L. amazonensis promastigotes. Results A total of 723 differentially expressed genes were identified between resistant and sensitive lines. Comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed that genes encoding proteins involved in metabolism (fatty acids) and stress response, as well as those associated with antimony resistance in other Leishmania species, were upregulated in the antimony-resistant line. Most importantly, we observed upregulation of genes encoding autophagy proteins, suggesting that in the presence of trivalent stibogluconate (SbIII) L. amazonensis can activate these genes either as a survival strategy or to induce cell death, as has been observed in other parasites. Conclusions This work identified global transcriptomic changes in an in vitro-adapted strain in response to SbIII. Our results provide relevant information to continue understanding the mechanism used by parasites of the subgenus Leishmania (L. amazonensis) to generate an antimony-resistant phenotype. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3603-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz H Patino
- Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas-UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Carlos Muskus
- Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales (PECET), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Juan David Ramírez
- Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas-UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
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Modulation of the immune response and infection pattern to Leishmania donovani in visceral leishmaniasis due to arsenic exposure: An in vitro study. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210737. [PMID: 30721235 PMCID: PMC6363178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The arsenic contamination of ground water in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) endemic areas in Bihar, India leads to human exposure through drinking water. Possibly, the consumed arsenic (As) accumulates in the tissues of VL patients, who subsequently internalize intracellular amastigotes to confer resistance against chemotherapy to the parasite, leading to modulation in the host’s immune response. This hypothesis appears to be consistent with the in vitro findings that in arsenic-exposed parasites, the mitochondrial membrane potential became depolarized, whereas the reduced thiol and lactate production was overexpressed with enhanced glucose consumption; therefore, the reduced thiol possibly supports an immunosuppressive state in the host cells. This observation was well supported by the down-regulated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) with a suppressed anti-leishmanial function of macrophage (NO, ROS). In contrast, the pathophysiological mechanism of VL has received ample support by the promotion of Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) in the presence of arsenic-exposed Leishmania parasites (LdAS). Dysfunction of mitochondria and the overexpression of lactate production raise the possibility of the Warburg effect being operative through the up-regulation of glucose consumption by parasites to enhance the energy production, possibly augmenting virulence. Therefore, we surmise from our data that arsenic exposure to Leishmania donovani modulates the immune response and infection pattern by impairing parasite function, which may affect the anti-leishmanial effect in VL.
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Mohebali M, Kazemirad E, Hajjaran H, Kazemirad E, Oshaghi MA, Raoofian R, Teimouri A. Gene expression analysis of antimony resistance in Leishmania tropica using quantitative real-time PCR focused on genes involved in trypanothione metabolism and drug transport. Arch Dermatol Res 2018; 311:9-17. [PMID: 30390113 DOI: 10.1007/s00403-018-1872-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Pentavalent antimonials remain the treatment of choice for all the clinical forms of leishmaniasis. The increasing rates of antimony resistance are becoming a serious health problem in treatment of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). Accordingly, unraveling molecular markers is crucial for improving medication strategies and monitoring of drug-resistant parasites. Different studies have suggested the importance of genes involved in trypanothione metabolism and drug transport. In this regard, present study was designed to investigate the RNA expression level of five genes including γ-GCS, ODC, TRYR (involved in trypanothione metabolism), AQP1 (acts in drug uptake) and MRPA (involved in sequestration of drug) in sensitive and resistant Leishmania tropica isolates. Seven antimony-resistant and seven antimony-sensitive L. tropica clinical isolates were collected from ACL patients. Drug sensitivity test was performed on the samples as well as reference strains; afterwards, gene expression analysis was performed on clinical isolates by quantitative real-time PCR. The results revealed that the average expression level of AQP1 gene was decreased (0.47-fold) in resistant isolates compared to sensitive ones whereas MRPA (2.45), γ-GCS (2.1) and TRYR (1.97) was upregulated in resistant isolates. The average expression of ODC (1.24-fold) gene was not different significantly between sensitive and resistant isolates. Our findings suggest that AQP1, MRPA, GSH1 and TRYR can be considered as potential molecular markers for screening of antimony resistance in some L. tropica clinical isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Mohebali
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elham Kazemirad
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. .,Department of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Homa Hajjaran
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elaheh Kazemirad
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Oshaghi
- Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Raoofian
- Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran
| | - Aref Teimouri
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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29
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Kumar A, Dikhit MR, Amit A, Zaidi A, Pandey RK, Singh AK, Suman SS, Ali V, Das VNR, Pandey K, kumar V, Singh SK, Narayan S, Chourasia HK, Das P, Bimal S. Immunomodulation induced through ornithine decarboxylase DNA immunization in Balb/c mice infected with Leishmania donovani. Mol Immunol 2018; 97:33-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Rastrojo A, García-Hernández R, Vargas P, Camacho E, Corvo L, Imamura H, Dujardin JC, Castanys S, Aguado B, Gamarro F, Requena JM. Genomic and transcriptomic alterations in Leishmania donovani lines experimentally resistant to antileishmanial drugs. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2018; 8:246-264. [PMID: 29689531 PMCID: PMC6039315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a serious medical issue in many countries around the World, but it remains largely neglected in terms of research investment for developing new control and treatment measures. No vaccines exist for human use, and the chemotherapeutic agents currently used are scanty. Furthermore, for some drugs, resistance and treatment failure are increasing to alarming levels. The aim of this work was to identify genomic and trancriptomic alterations associated with experimental resistance against the common drugs used against VL: trivalent antimony (SbIII, S line), amphotericin B (AmB, A line), miltefosine (MIL, M line) and paromomycin (PMM, P line). A total of 1006 differentially expressed transcripts were identified in the S line, 379 in the A line, 146 in the M line, and 129 in the P line. Also, changes in ploidy of chromosomes and amplification/deletion of particular regions were observed in the resistant lines regarding the parental one. A series of genes were identified as possible drivers of the resistance phenotype and were validated in both promastigotes and amastigotes from Leishmania donovani, Leishmania infantum and Leishmania major species. Remarkably, a deletion of the gene LinJ.36.2510 (coding for 24-sterol methyltransferase, SMT) was found to be associated with AmB-resistance in the A line. In the P line, a dramatic overexpression of the transcripts LinJ.27.T1940 and LinJ.27.T1950 that results from a massive amplification of the collinear genes was suggested as one of the mechanisms of PMM resistance. This conclusion was reinforced after transfection experiments in which significant PMM-resistance was generated in WT parasites over-expressing either gene LinJ.27.1940 (coding for a D-lactate dehydrogenase-like protein, D-LDH) or gene LinJ.27.1950 (coding for an aminotransferase of branched-chain amino acids, BCAT). This work allowed to identify new drivers, like SMT, the deletion of which being associated with resistance to AmB, and the tandem D-LDH-BCAT, the amplification of which being related to PMM resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Rastrojo
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Paola Vargas
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina ''López-Neyra'' (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Esther Camacho
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Corvo
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hideo Imamura
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jean-Claude Dujardin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Santiago Castanys
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina ''López-Neyra'' (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Begoña Aguado
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina ''López-Neyra'' (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain.
| | - Jose M Requena
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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da Costa KM, Valente RC, Salustiano EJ, Gentile LB, Freire-de-Lima L, Mendonça-Previato L, Previato JO. Functional Characterization of ABCC Proteins from Trypanosoma cruzi and Their Involvement with Thiol Transport. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:205. [PMID: 29491856 PMCID: PMC5817095 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a neglected disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and affects 8 million people worldwide. The main chemotherapy is based on benznidazole. The efficacy in the treatment depends on factors such as the parasite strain, which may present different sensitivity to treatment. In this context, the expression of ABC transporters has been related to chemotherapy failure. ABC transporters share a well-conserved ABC domain, responsible for ATP binding and hydrolysis, whose the energy released is coupled to transport of molecules through membranes. The most known ABC transporters are ABCB1 and ABCC1, involved in the multidrug resistance phenotype in cancer, given their participation in cellular detoxification. In T. cruzi, 27 ABC genes were identified in the genome. Nonetheless, only four ABC genes were characterized: ABCA3, involved in vesicular trafficking; ABCG1, overexpressed in strains naturally resistant to benznidazole, and P-glycoprotein 1 and 2, whose participation in drug resistance is controversial. Considering P-glycoprotein genes are related to ABCC subfamily in T. cruzi according to the demonstration using BLASTP alignment, we evaluated both ABCB1-like and ABCC-like activities in epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of the Y strain. The transport activities were evaluated by the efflux of the fluorescent dyes Rhodamine 123 and Carboxyfluorescein in a flow cytometer. Results indicated that there was no ABCB1-like activity in both T. cruzi forms. Conversely, results demonstrated ABCC-like activity in both epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi. This activity was inhibited by ABCC transport modulators (probenecid, indomethacin, and MK-571), by ATP-depleting agents (sodium azide and iodoacetic acid) and by the thiol-depleting agent N-ethylmaleimide. Additionally, the presence of ABCC-like activity was supported by direct inhibition of the thiol-conjugated compound efflux with indomethacin, characteristic of ABCC subfamily members. Taken together, the results provide the first description of native ABCC-like activity in T. cruzi epimastigote and trypomastigote forms, indicating that the study of the biological role for that thiol transporter is crucial to reveal new molecular mechanisms for therapeutic approaches in the Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelli Monteiro da Costa
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Raphael C Valente
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Eduardo J Salustiano
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Luciana B Gentile
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Freire-de-Lima
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Lucia Mendonça-Previato
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - José O Previato
- Laboratório de Glicobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Plumbagin, a plant-derived naphthoquinone metabolite induces mitochondria mediated apoptosis-like cell death in Leishmania donovani: an ultrastructural and physiological study. Apoptosis 2018; 21:941-53. [PMID: 27315817 DOI: 10.1007/s10495-016-1259-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Naphthoquinones are known to exhibit a broad range of biological activities against microbes, cancer and parasitic diseases and have been widely used in Indian traditional medicine. Plumbagin is a plant-derived naphthoquinone metabolite (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) reported to inhibit trypanothione reductase, the principal enzyme and a validated drug target involved in detoxification of oxidative stress in Leishmania. Here, we report the mechanistic aspects of cell death induced by plumbagin including physiological effects in the promastigote form and ultrastructural alterations in both promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania donovani which till now remained largely unknown. Our observations show that oxidative stress induced by plumbagin resulted in depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, depletion in ATP levels, elevation of cytosolic calcium, increase in caspase 3/7-like protease activity and lipid peroxidation in promastigotes. Apoptosis-like cell death induction post plumbagin treatment was confirmed by biochemical assays like Annexin V/FITC staining, TUNEL as well as morphological and ultrastructural studies. These findings collectively highlight the mode of action and importance of oxidative stress inducing agents in effectively killing both forms of the Leishmania parasite and opens up the possibility of exploring plumbagin and its derivatives as promising candidates in the chemotherapy of Leishmaniasis.
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Leishmania LABCG2 transporter is involved in ATP-dependent transport of thiols. Biochem J 2018; 475:87-97. [PMID: 29162656 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20170685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The Leishmania LABCG2 transporter has a key role in the redox metabolism of these protozoan parasites. Recently, the involvement of LABCG2 in virulence, autophagy and oxidative stress has been described. Null mutant parasites for LABCG2 present an increase in the intracellular levels of glutathione (GSH) and trypanothione [T(SH)2]. On the other hand, parasites overexpressing LABCG2 transporter export non-protein thiols to the extracellular medium. To explore if LABCG2 may mediate an active transport of non-protein thiols, the effect of these molecules on ATPase activity of LABCG2 as well as the ability of LABCG2 to transport them was determined using a baculovirus-Sf9 insect cell system. Our results indicate that all thiols tested [GSH, T(SH)2] as well as their oxidized forms GSSG and TS2 (trypanothione disulfide) stimulate LABCG2-ATPase basal activity. We have measured the transport of [3H]-GSH in inside-out Sf9 cell membrane vesicles expressing LABCG2-GFP (green fluorescence protein), finding that LABCG2 was able to mediate a rapid and concentration-dependent uptake of [3H]-GSH in the presence of ATP. Finally, we have analyzed the ability of different thiol species to compete for this uptake, T(SH)2 and TS2 being the best competitors. The IC50 value for [3H]-GSH uptake in the presence of increasing concentrations of T(SH)2 was less than 100 μM, highlighting the affinity of this thiol for LABCG2. These results provide the first direct evidence that LABCG2 is an ABC transporter of reduced and oxidized non-protein thiols in Leishmania, suggesting that this transporter can play a role in the redox metabolism and related processes in this protozoan parasite.
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Ponte-Sucre A, Gamarro F, Dujardin JC, Barrett MP, López-Vélez R, García-Hernández R, Pountain AW, Mwenechanya R, Papadopoulou B. Drug resistance and treatment failure in leishmaniasis: A 21st century challenge. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0006052. [PMID: 29240765 PMCID: PMC5730103 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 521] [Impact Index Per Article: 74.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Reevaluation of treatment guidelines for Old and New World leishmaniasis is urgently needed on a global basis because treatment failure is an increasing problem. Drug resistance is a fundamental determinant of treatment failure, although other factors also contribute to this phenomenon, including the global HIV/AIDS epidemic with its accompanying impact on the immune system. Pentavalent antimonials have been used successfully worldwide for the treatment of leishmaniasis since the first half of the 20th century, but the last 10 to 20 years have witnessed an increase in clinical resistance, e.g., in North Bihar in India. In this review, we discuss the meaning of “resistance” related to leishmaniasis and discuss its molecular epidemiology, particularly for Leishmania donovani that causes visceral leishmaniasis. We also discuss how resistance can affect drug combination therapies. Molecular mechanisms known to contribute to resistance to antimonials, amphotericin B, and miltefosine are also outlined. Chemotherapy is central to the control and management of leishmaniasis. Antimonials remain the primary drugs against different forms of leishmaniasis in several regions. However, resistance to antimony has necessitated the use of alternative medications, especially in the Indian subcontinent (ISC). Compounds, notably the orally available miltefosine (MIL), parenteral paromomycin, and amphotericin B (AmB), are increasingly used to treat leishmaniasis. Although treatment failure (TF) has been observed in patients treated with most anti-leishmanials, its frequency of appearance may be important in patients treated with MIL, which has replaced antimonials within the kala-azar elimination program in the ISC. AmB is highly efficacious, and the associated toxic effects—when administered in its free deoxycholate form—are somewhat ameliorated in its liposomal formulation. Regrettably, laboratory experimentation has demonstrated a risk of resistance towards AmB as well. The rise of drug resistance impacts treatment outcome, and understanding its causes, spread, and impact will help us manage the risks it imposes. Here, we review the problem of TF in leishmaniasis and the contribution of drug resistance to the problem. Molecular mechanisms causing resistance to anti-leishmanials are discussed along with the appropriate use of additional available drugs, as well as the urgent need to consolidate strategies to monitor drug efficacy, epidemiological surveillance, and local policies. Coordination of these activities in national and international programs against leishmaniasis might represent a successful guide to further research and prevention activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Ponte-Sucre
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Luis Razetti School of Medicine, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
- * E-mail: (BP); (APS)
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López-Neyra, Spanish National Research Council (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Jean-Claude Dujardin
- Molecular Parasitology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Michael P. Barrett
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Rogelio López-Vélez
- Department of Infectious Diseases, National Referral Unit for Tropical Diseases, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raquel García-Hernández
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López-Neyra, Spanish National Research Council (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Andrew W. Pountain
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Roy Mwenechanya
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Barbara Papadopoulou
- Research Center in Infectious Diseases, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology-Infectious Disease and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
- * E-mail: (BP); (APS)
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Profiling gene expression of antimony response genes in Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis and infected macrophages and its relationship with drug susceptibility. Acta Trop 2017; 176:355-363. [PMID: 28843396 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The mechanisms of Leishmania resistance to antimonials have been primarily determined in experimentally derived Leishmania strains. However, their participation in the susceptibility phenotype in field isolates has not been conclusively established. Being an intracellular parasite, the activity of antileishmanials is dependent on internalization of drugs into host cells and effective delivery to the intracellular compartments inhabited by the parasite. In this study we quantified and comparatively analyzed the gene expression of nine molecules involved in mechanisms of xenobiotic detoxification and Leishmania resistance to antimonial drugs in resistant and susceptible laboratory derived and clinical L.(Viannia) panamensis strains(n=19). In addition, we explored the impact of Leishmania susceptibility to antimonials on the expression of macrophage gene products having putative functions in transport, accumulation and metabolism of antimonials. As previously shown for other Leishmania species, a trend of increased abcc3 and lower aqp-1 expression was observed in the laboratory derived Sb-resistant L.(V.) panamensis line. However, this was not found in clinical strains, in which the expression of abca2 was significantly higher in resistant strains as both, promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. The effect of drug susceptibility on host cell gene expression was evaluated on primary human macrophages from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (n=17) infected ex-vivo with the matched L.(V.) panamensis strains isolated at diagnosis, and in THP-1 cells infected with clinical strains (n=6) and laboratory adapted L.(V.) panamensis lines. Four molecules, abcb1 (p-gp), abcb6, aqp-9 and mt2a were differentially modulated by drug resistant and susceptible parasites, and among these, a consistent and significantly increased expression of the xenobiotic scavenging molecule mt2a was observed in macrophages infected with Sb-susceptible L. (V.) panamensis. Our results substantiate that different mechanisms of drug resistance operate in laboratory adapted and clinical Leishmania strains, and provide evidence that parasite-mediated modulation of host cell gene expression of molecules involved in drug transport and metabolism could contribute to the mechanisms of drug resistance and susceptibility in Leishmania.
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ABCI3 Is a New Mitochondrial ABC Transporter from Leishmania major Involved in Susceptibility to Antimonials and Infectivity. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2017; 61:AAC.01115-17. [PMID: 28971869 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01115-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We have identified and characterized ABCI3 as a new mitochondrial ABC transporter from Leishmania major Localization studies using confocal microscopy, a surface biotinylation assay, and trypsin digestion after digitonin permeabilization suggested that ABCI3 presents a dual localization in both mitochondria and the plasma membrane. From studies using parasites with a single knockout of ABCI3 (ABCI3+/-), we provide evidence that ABCI3 is directly involved in susceptibility to the trivalent form of antimony (SbIII) and metal ions. Attempts to obtain parasites with a double knockout of ABCI3 were unsuccessful, suggesting that ABCI3 could be an essential gene in L. majorABCI3+/- promastigotes were 5-fold more resistant to SbIII than the wild type, while ABCI3+/- amastigotes were approximately 2-fold more resistant to pentavalent antimony (SbV). This resistance phenotype was associated with decreased SbIII accumulation due to decreased SbIII uptake. ABCI3+/- parasites presented higher ATP levels and generated less mitochondrial superoxide after SbIII incubation. Finally, we observed that ABCI3+/- parasites showed a slightly higher infection capacity than wild-type and add-back ABCI3+/-::3×FABCI3 parasites; however, after 72 h the number of ABCI3+/- intracellular parasites per macrophage increased significantly. Our results show that ABCI3 is responsible for SbIII transport inside mitochondria, where it contributes to enhancement of the general toxic effects caused by SbIII To our knowledge, ABCI3 is the first ABC transporter which is involved in susceptibility toward antimony, conferring SbIII resistance to parasites when it is partially deleted.
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Dos Reis PG, do Monte-Neto RL, Melo MN, Frézard F. Biophysical and Pharmacological Characterization of Energy-Dependent Efflux of Sb in Laboratory-Selected Resistant Strains of Leishmania ( Viannia) Subgenus. Front Cell Dev Biol 2017; 5:24. [PMID: 28393067 PMCID: PMC5364148 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2017.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The growing resistance of leishmaniasis to first-line drugs like antimonials in some regions limits the control of this parasitic disease. The precise mechanisms involved in Leishmania antimony resistance are still subject to debate. The reduction of intracellular SbIII accumulation is a common change observed in both laboratory-selected and field isolated resistant Leishmania strains, but the exact transport pathways involved in antimony resistance have not yet been elucidated. In order to functionally characterize the antimony transport routes responsible for resistance, we performed systematic transport studies of SbIII in wild-type and resistant strains of L. (Viannia) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis. Those include influx and efflux assays and the influence of ABC transporters and metabolism inhibitors: prochlorperazine, probenecid, verapamil, BSO, and sodium azide. The mRNA levels of genes associated with antimony resistance (MRPA, GSH1, ODC, AQP1, ABCI4, and ARM58) were also investigated in addition to intracellular thiol levels. A strong reduction of Sb influx was observed in L. guyanensis resistant mutant (LgSbR), but not in L. braziliensis (LbSbR). Both mutants showed increased energy-dependent efflux of SbIII, when compared to their respective parental strains. In LgSbR, BSO and prochlorperazine inhibited antimony efflux and resistance was associated with increased MRPA and GSH1 mRNA levels, while in LbSbR antimony efflux was inhibited by probenicid and prochlorperazine in absence of resistance-associated gene modulation. Intracellular thiol levels were increased in both Sb-resistant mutants. An energy-dependent SbIII efflux pathway sensitive to prochlorperazine was clearly evidenced in both Sb-resistant mutants. In conclusion, the present study allowed the biophysical and pharmacological characterization of energy-dependent Sb efflux pathway apparently independent of MRPA, ABCI4, and ARM58 upregulation, in Leishmania (Vianna) mutant selected in vitro for resistance to SbIII. Prochlorperazine has also been identified as an effective chemosensitizer in both Sb resistant mutants, which acts through inhibition of the active efflux of Sb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila G Dos Reis
- Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas GeraisBelo Horizonte, Brazil; Departamento de Farmácia/Ensino e Pesquisa, Hospital João XXIII - Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas GeraisBelo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Rubens L do Monte-Neto
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou - CPqRR/FIOCRUZ Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Maria N Melo
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Frédéric Frézard
- Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Abstract
Cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis are amongst the most devastating infectious diseases of our time, affecting millions of people worldwide. The treatment of these serious diseases rely on a few chemotherapeutic agents, most of which are of parenteral use and induce severe side-effects. Furthermore, rates of treatment failure are high and have been linked to drug resistance in some areas. Here, we reviewed data on current chemotherapy practice in leishmaniasis. Drug resistance and mechanisms of resistance are described as well as the prospects for applying drug combinations for leishmaniasis chemotherapy. It is clear that efforts for discovering new drugs applicable to leishmaniasis chemotherapy are essential. The main aspects on the various steps of drug discovery in the field are discussed.
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Moreira DS, Murta SMF. Involvement of nucleoside diphosphate kinase b and elongation factor 2 in Leishmania braziliensis antimony resistance phenotype. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:641. [PMID: 27964761 PMCID: PMC5155413 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1930-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Nucleoside diphosphate kinase b (NDKb) is responsible for nucleoside triphosphates synthesis and it has key role in the purine metabolism in trypanosomatid protozoans. Elongation factor 2 (EF2) is an important factor for protein synthesis. Recently, our phosphoproteomic analysis demonstrated that NDKb and EF2 proteins were phosphorylated and dephosphorylated in antimony (SbIII)-resistant L. braziliensis line compared to its SbIII-susceptible pair, respectively. Methods In this study, the overexpression of NDKb and EF2 genes in L. braziliensis and L. infantum was performed to investigate the contribution of these proteins in the SbIII-resistance phenotype. Furthermore, we examined the role of lamivudine on SbIII susceptibility in clones that overexpress the NDKb gene, and the effect of EF2 kinase (EF2K) inhibitor on the growth of EF2-overexpressing parasites. Results Western blot analysis demonstrated that NDKb and EF2 proteins are more and less expressed, respectively, in SbIII-resistant line of L. braziliensis than its wild-type (WTS) counterpart, corroborating our previous phosphoproteomic data. NDKb or EF2-overexpressing L. braziliensis lines were 1.6 to 2.1-fold more resistant to SbIII than the untransfected WTS line. In contrast, no difference in SbIII susceptibility was observed in L. infantum parasites overexpressing NDKb or EF2. Susceptibility assays showed that NDKb-overexpressing L. braziliensis lines presented elevated resistance to lamivudine, an antiviral agent, but it did not alter the leishmanicidal activity in association with SbIII. EF2-overexpressing L. braziliensis clone was slightly more resistant to EF2K inhibitor than the WTS line. Surprisingly, this inhibitor increased the antileishmanial effect of SbIII, suggesting that this association might be a valuable strategy for leishmaniasis chemotherapy. Conclusion Our findings represent the first study of NDKb and EF2 genes overexpression that demonstrates an increase of SbIII resistance in L. braziliensis which can contribute to develop new strategies for leishmaniasis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas S Moreira
- Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou CPqRR, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - FIOCRUZ, Avenida Augusto de Lima 1715, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Silvane M F Murta
- Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou CPqRR, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - FIOCRUZ, Avenida Augusto de Lima 1715, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Laffitte MCN, Leprohon P, Papadopoulou B, Ouellette M. Plasticity of the Leishmania genome leading to gene copy number variations and drug resistance. F1000Res 2016; 5:2350. [PMID: 27703673 PMCID: PMC5031125 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.9218.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania has a plastic genome, and drug pressure can select for gene copy number variation (CNV). CNVs can apply either to whole chromosomes, leading to aneuploidy, or to specific genomic regions. For the latter, the amplification of chromosomal regions occurs at the level of homologous direct or inverted repeated sequences leading to extrachromosomal circular or linear amplified DNAs. This ability of
Leishmania to respond to drug pressure by CNVs has led to the development of genomic screens such as Cos-Seq, which has the potential of expediting the discovery of drug targets for novel promising drug candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Claude N Laffitte
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Barbara Papadopoulou
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
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Gómez Pérez V, García-Hernandez R, Corpas-López V, Tomás AM, Martín-Sanchez J, Castanys S, Gamarro F. Decreased antimony uptake and overexpression of genes of thiol metabolism are associated with drug resistance in a canine isolate of Leishmania infantum. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2016; 6:133-9. [PMID: 27317865 PMCID: PMC4919363 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2016.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, is one of the most important zoonotic diseases affecting dogs and humans in the Mediterranean area. The presence of infected dogs as the main reservoir host of L. infantum is regarded as the most significant risk for potential human infection. We have studied the susceptibility profile to antimony and other anti-leishmania drugs (amphotericin B, miltefosine, paromomycin) in Leishmania infantum isolates extracted from a dog before and after two therapeutic interventions with meglumine antimoniate (subcutaneous Glucantime®, 100 mg/kg/day for 28 days). After the therapeutic intervention, these parasites were significantly less susceptible to antimony than pretreatment isolate, presenting a resistance index of 6-fold to SbIII for promastigotes and >3-fold to SbIII and 3-fold to SbV for intracellular amastigotes. The susceptibility profile of this resistant L. infantum line is related to a decreased antimony uptake due to lower aquaglyceroporin-1 expression levels. Additionally, other mechanisms including an increase in thiols and overexpression of enzymes involved in thiol metabolism, such as ornithine decarboxylase, trypanothione reductase, mitochondrial tryparedoxin and mitochondrial tryparedoxin peroxidase, could contribute to the resistance as antimony detoxification mechanisms. A major contribution of this study in a canine L. infantum isolate is to find an antimony-resistant mechanism similar to that previously described in other human clinical isolates. Antimony resistance in a Leishmania infantum line from a dog is reported. Resistance due to decrease antimony uptake by lower aquaglyceroporin-1 expression. An increase in thiols metabolism contribute to antimony resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Gómez Pérez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", CSIC, (IPBLN-CSIC), Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Raquel García-Hernandez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", CSIC, (IPBLN-CSIC), Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Ana M Tomás
- IBMC - Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Santiago Castanys
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", CSIC, (IPBLN-CSIC), Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", CSIC, (IPBLN-CSIC), Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain.
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The LABCG2 Transporter from the Protozoan Parasite Leishmania Is Involved in Antimony Resistance. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2016; 60:3489-96. [PMID: 27021316 DOI: 10.1128/aac.02813-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment for leishmaniasis, which is caused by Leishmania protozoan parasites, currently relies on a reduced arsenal of drugs. However, the significant increase in the incidence of drug therapeutic failure and the growing resistance to first-line drugs like antimonials in some areas of Northern India and Nepal limit the control of this parasitic disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of resistance in Leishmania is now a matter of urgency to optimize drugs used and to identify novel drug targets to block or reverse resistant mechanisms. Some members of the family of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in Leishmania have been associated with drug resistance. In this study, we have focused our interest to characterize LABCG2's involvement in drug resistance in Leishmania. Leishmania major parasites overexpressing the ABC protein transporter LABCG2 were generated in order to assess how LABCG2 is involved in drug resistance. Assays of susceptibility to different leishmanicidal agents were carried out. Analysis of the drug resistance profile revealed that Leishmania parasites overexpressing LABCG2 were resistant to antimony, as they demonstrated a reduced accumulation of Sb(III) due to an increase in drug efflux. Additionally, LABCG2 was able to transport thiols in the presence of Sb(III) Biotinylation assays using parasites expressing LABCG2 fused with an N-terminal green fluorescent protein tag revealed that LABCG2 is partially localized in the plasma membrane; this supports data from previous studies which suggested that LABCG2 is localized in intracellular vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane during exocytosis. In conclusion, Leishmania LABCG2 probably confers antimony resistance by sequestering metal-thiol conjugates within vesicles and through further exocytosis by means of the parasite's flagellar pocket.
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Cos-Seq for high-throughput identification of drug target and resistance mechanisms in the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E3012-21. [PMID: 27162331 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1520693113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Innovative strategies are needed to accelerate the identification of antimicrobial drug targets and resistance mechanisms. Here we develop a sensitive method, which we term Cosmid Sequencing (or "Cos-Seq"), based on functional cloning coupled to next-generation sequencing. Cos-Seq identified >60 loci in the Leishmania genome that were enriched via drug selection with methotrexate and five major antileishmanials (antimony, miltefosine, paromomycin, amphotericin B, and pentamidine). Functional validation highlighted both known and previously unidentified drug targets and resistance genes, including novel roles for phosphatases in resistance to methotrexate and antimony, for ergosterol and phospholipid metabolism genes in resistance to miltefosine, and for hypothetical proteins in resistance to paromomycin, amphothericin B, and pentamidine. Several genes/loci were also found to confer resistance to two or more antileishmanials. This screening method will expedite the discovery of drug targets and resistance mechanisms and is easily adaptable to other microorganisms.
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No JH. Visceral leishmaniasis: Revisiting current treatments and approaches for future discoveries. Acta Trop 2016; 155:113-23. [PMID: 26748356 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2015] [Revised: 12/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The current treatments for visceral leishmaniasis are old and toxic with limited routes of administration. The emergence of drug-resistant Leishmania threatens the efficacy of the existing reservoir of antileishmanials, leading to an urgent need to develop new treatments. It is particularly important to review and understand how the current treatments act against Leishmania in order to identify valid drug targets or essential pathways for next-generation antileishmanials. It is equally important to adapt newly emerging biotechnologies to facilitate the current research on the development of novel antileishmanials in an efficient fashion. This review covers the basic background of the current visceral leishmaniasis treatments with an emphasis on the modes of action. It briefly discusses the role of the immune system in aiding the chemotherapy of leishmaniasis, describes potential new antileishmanial drug targets and pathways, and introduces recent progress on the utilization of high-throughput phenotypic screening assays to identify novel antileishmanial compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joo Hwan No
- Institut Pasteur Korea, Leishmania Research Laboratory, 696 Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
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Liu H, Zhuang W, Zhang S, Rensing C, Huang J, Li J, Wang G. Global Regulator IscR Positively Contributes to Antimonite Resistance and Oxidation in Comamonas testosteroni S44. Front Mol Biosci 2015; 2:70. [PMID: 26734615 PMCID: PMC4683182 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2015.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2015] [Accepted: 11/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimonial compounds can be found as a toxic contaminant in the environment. Knowledge on mechanisms of microbial Sb oxidation and its role in microbial tolerance are limited. Previously, we found that Comamonas testosteroni S44 was resistant to multiple heavy metals and was able to oxidize the toxic antimonite [Sb(III)] to the much less toxic antimonate [Sb(V)]. In this study, transposon mutagenesis was performed in C. testosteroni S44 to isolate genes responsible for Sb(III) resistance and oxidation. An insertion mutation into iscR, which regulates genes involved in the biosynthesis of Fe-S clusters, generated a strain called iscR-280. This mutant strain was complemented with a plasmid carrying iscR to generate strain iscR-280C. Compared to the wild type S44 and iscR-280C, strain iscR-280 showed lower resistance to Sb(III) and a lower Sb(III) oxidation rate. Strain iscR-280 also showed lower resistance to As(III), Cd(II), Cu(II), and H2O2. In addition, intracellular γ-glutamylcysteine ligase (γ-GCL) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were decreased in the mutated strain iscR-280. Real-time RT-PCR and lacZ fusion expression assay indicated that transcription of iscR and iscS was induced by Sb(III). Results of electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and bacterial one-hybrid (B1H) system demonstrated a positive interaction between IscR and its promoter region. The diverse defective phenotypes and various expression patterns suggest a role for IscR in contributing to multi-metal(loid)s resistance and Sb(III) oxidation via Fe-S cluster biogenesis and oxidative stress protection. Bacterial Sb(III) oxidation is a detoxification reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongliang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China; Shandong Provincial Research Center for Bioinformatic Engineering and Technique, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of TechnologyZibo, China
| | - Weiping Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China
| | - Shengzhe Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China
| | - Christopher Rensing
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Jun Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China
| | - Jie Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China
| | - Gejiao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China
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MAPK1 of Leishmania donovani modulates antimony susceptibility by downregulating P-glycoprotein efflux pumps. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2015; 59:3853-63. [PMID: 25870075 DOI: 10.1128/aac.04816-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Emergence of resistance to pentavalent antimonials has become a severe obstacle in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are well-known mediators of signal transduction of eukaryotes, regulating important processes, like proliferation, differentiation, stress response, and apoptosis. In Leishmania, MAPK1 has been shown to be consistently downregulated in antimony-resistant field isolates, suggesting that it has a role in antimony resistance. The present work investigates the molecular mechanism of MAPK1 in antimony resistance in Leishmania donovani. The L. donovani MAPK1 (LdMAPK1) single-allele replacement mutants exhibited increased resistance to Sb(III) (5.57-fold) compared to wild-type promastigotes, while overexpressing parasites became much more susceptible to antimony. The LdMAPK1-mediated drug sensitivity was directly related to antimony-induced apoptotic death of the parasite, as was evidenced by a 4- to 5-fold decrease in cell death parameters in deletion mutants and a 2- to 3-fold increase in MAPK1-overexpressing cells. LdMAPK1-underexpressing parasites also exhibited increased P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated efflux pump activity, while a significant decrease in pump activity was observed in overexpressing cells. This change in efflux pump activity was directly related to expression levels of P-gp in all cell lines. However, episomal complementation of the gene restored normal growth, drug sensitivity, P-gp expression, and efflux pump activity. The data indicate that LdMAPK1 negatively regulates the expression of P-glycoprotein-type efflux pumps in the parasite. The decrease in efflux pump activity with an increase in LdMAPK1 expression may result in increased antimony accumulation in the parasite, making it more vulnerable to the drug.
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Mandal G, Mandal S, Sharma M, Charret KS, Papadopoulou B, Bhattacharjee H, Mukhopadhyay R. Species-specific antimonial sensitivity in Leishmania is driven by post-transcriptional regulation of AQP1. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2015; 9:e0003500. [PMID: 25714343 PMCID: PMC4340957 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania is a digenetic protozoan parasite causing leishmaniasis in humans. The different clinical forms of leishmaniasis are caused by more than twenty species of Leishmania that are transmitted by nearly thirty species of phlebotomine sand flies. Pentavalent antimonials (such as Pentostam or Glucantime) are the first line drugs for treating leishmaniasis. Recent studies suggest that pentavalent antimony (Sb(V)) acts as a pro-drug, which is converted to the more active trivalent form (Sb(III)). However, sensitivity to trivalent antimony varies among different Leishmania species. In general, Leishmania species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are more sensitive to Sb(III) than the species responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Leishmania aquaglyceroporin (AQP1) facilitates the adventitious passage of antimonite down a concentration gradient. In this study, we show that Leishmania species causing CL accumulate more antimonite, and therefore exhibit higher sensitivity to antimonials, than the species responsible for VL. This species-specific differential sensitivity to antimonite is directly proportional to the expression levels of AQP1 mRNA. We show that the stability of AQP1 mRNA in different Leishmania species is regulated by their respective 3’-untranslated regions. The differential regulation of AQP1 mRNA explains the distinct antimonial sensitivity of each species. The degree of response to antimonial drugs varies widely between species and even among strains of the same species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania. However, the molecular mechanism(s) is unknown. In this study, we show that Leishmania aquaglyceroporin AQP1 drives this species-specific antimonial resistance. Aquaglyceroporins are channel proteins that facilitate the passage of small uncharged molecules, such as glycerol and water, across the biological membranes. AQP1 helps the parasite cope with the osmotic challenges it faces during its life cycle. Additionally, AQP1 is an adventitious facilitator of antimonite, the active form of pentavalent antimonial drugs. We show that AQP1 expression level is species-specific, and less AQP1 in visceral species compared to the cutaneous species results in increased resistance to antimonials. We also demonstrate that the 3’-untranslated regions (3’-UTR) of the AQP1 mRNA is a major determining factor of species-specific regulation of AQP1. Along with water homeostasis, aquaglyceroporins are also involved in directed cell migration. The variable levels of AQP1 in different Leishmania species may enable them to find their appropriate niches in vertebrate hosts and cope with the species-specific osmotic challenges during their life cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goutam Mandal
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida, United States of America
| | - Srotoswati Mandal
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida, United States of America
| | - Mansi Sharma
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida, United States of America
| | - Karen Santos Charret
- CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology-Infectious Disease and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Barbara Papadopoulou
- CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology-Infectious Disease and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Hiranmoy Bhattacharjee
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida, United States of America
| | - Rita Mukhopadhyay
- Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Monte-Neto R, Laffitte MCN, Leprohon P, Reis P, Frézard F, Ouellette M. Intrachromosomal amplification, locus deletion and point mutation in the aquaglyceroporin AQP1 gene in antimony resistant Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2015; 9:e0003476. [PMID: 25679388 PMCID: PMC4332685 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 12/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antimony resistance complicates the treatment of infections caused by the parasite Leishmania. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using next generation sequencing, we sequenced the genome of four independent Leishmania guyanensis antimony-resistant (SbR) mutants and found different chromosomal alterations including aneuploidy, intrachromosomal gene amplification and gene deletion. A segment covering 30 genes on chromosome 19 was amplified intrachromosomally in three of the four mutants. The gene coding for the multidrug resistance associated protein A involved in antimony resistance was also amplified in the four mutants, most likely through chromosomal translocation. All mutants also displayed a reduced accumulation of antimony mainly due to genomic alterations at the level of the subtelomeric region of chromosome 31 harboring the gene coding for the aquaglyceroporin 1 (LgAQP1). Resistance involved the loss of LgAQP1 through subtelomeric deletions in three mutants. Interestingly, the fourth mutant harbored a single G133D point mutation in LgAQP1 whose role in resistance was functionality confirmed through drug sensitivity and antimony accumulation assays. In contrast to the Leishmania subspecies that resort to extrachromosomal amplification, the Viannia strains studied here used intrachromosomal amplification and locus deletion. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This is the first report of a naturally occurred point mutation in AQP1 in antimony resistant parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubens Monte-Neto
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marie-Claude N. Laffitte
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Priscila Reis
- Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Frédéric Frézard
- Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Yadav A, Amit A, Chaudhary R, Chandel AS, Mahantesh V, Suman SS, Singh SK, Dikhit MR, Ali V, Rabidas V, Pandey K, Kumar A, Das P, Bimal S. Leishmania donovani: impairment of the cellular immune response against recombinant ornithine decarboxylase protein as a possible evasion strategy of Leishmania in visceral leishmaniasis. Int J Parasitol 2015; 45:33-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2014.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2014] [Revised: 08/05/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Singh N, Chatterjee M, Sundar S. The overexpression of genes of thiol metabolism contribute to drug resistance in clinical isolates of visceral leishmaniasis (kala azar) in India. Parasit Vectors 2014; 7:596. [PMID: 25515494 PMCID: PMC4280036 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-014-0596-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also called Kala Azar (KA) or black fever in India, claims around 20,000 lives every year. Chemotherapy remains one of the most important tools in the control of VL. Current chemotherapy for Kala Azar in India relies on a rather limited arsenal of drugs including sodium antimony gluconate and amphotericin B in addition to the very expensive drug miltefosine. Pentavalent antimonials have been used for more than half a century in the therapy of leishmaniasis as it is relatively safe and inexpensive, however, the spread of resistance to this drug is forcing clinicians in India to abandon this treatment. Consequently, improvement of antimonial chemotherapy has become a major challenging area of study by leishmaniacs worldwide. The alarming emergence of resistance to the commonly used antleishmanial drug, sodium antimony gluconate, in India, has led us to elucidate the resistance mechanism(s) in clinical isolates. Studies on laboratory mutants have shown that resistance to antimonials is highly dependent on thiol levels. The parasite evades cytotoxic effects of antimonial therapy by enhanced efflux of drug upon conjugation with thiols, through overexpressed membrane proteins belonging to the superfamily of ABC transporters. Methods We have carried out functional studies to determine the activity of the efflux pumps in antimonial resistant clinical isolates collected from disease endemic areas in India and also carried out molecular characterization of thiol levels in these parasites. Results Overexpression of the gene coding for γ glutamylcysteine synthetase was observed in these resistant clinical isolates thereby establishing that thiols represent the key determinants of antimonial resistance. The SbIII/thiol conjugates can be sequestered by ABC transporter multidrug resistance protein A (MRPA) into intracellular organelles or can be directly pumped out by an uncharacterized transporter. Conclusions Our studies investigating antimonial resistance in different L. donovani clinical isolates suggest that over functioning of MRP plays a role in generation of antimony resistance phenotype in some L. donovani clinical isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeloo Singh
- Central Drug Research Institute, Jankipuram Extension, Lucknow, 226031, India.
| | - Mitali Chatterjee
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India.
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