RESUMO
Most inbred strains of mice, like the BALB/c strain, are susceptible to Leishmania amazonensis infections and resistant to Leishmania braziliensis infections. This parasite-related difference could result from the activity of an L. amazonensis-specific virulence factor. In agreement with this hypothesis, it is shown here that the intravenous injection of BALB/c mice with L. amazonensis amastigote extract (LaE) but not the L. braziliensis extract confers susceptibility to L. braziliensis infection. This effect was associated with high circulating levels of IgG1 anti-L. amazonensis antibodies and with an increase in interleukin-4 (IL-4) production and a decrease in gamma interferon production by draining lymph node cells. Moreover, the effect was absent in IL-4-knockout mice. The biological activity in the LaE was not mediated by amphiphilic molecules and was inhibited by pretreatment of the extract with irreversible serine protease inhibitors. These findings indicate that the LaE contains a virulence-related factor that (i) enhances the Leishmania infection by promoting Th2-type immune responses, (ii) is not one of the immunomodulatory Leishmania molecules described so far, and (iii) is either a serine protease or has an effect that depends on that protease activity. In addition to being Leishmania species specific, the infection-enhancing activity was also shown to depend on the host genetic makeup, as LaE injections did not affect the susceptibility of C57BL/6 mice to L. braziliensis infection. The identification of Leishmania molecules with infection-enhancing activity could be important for the development of a vaccine, since the up- or downmodulation of the immune response against a virulence factor could well contribute to controlling the infection.