Study of the stress proteins secreted by Leishmania donovani after treatment with edelfosine, mitelfosine and ilmofosine, and morphological alterations analyzed by electronic microscopy.

We studied the stress proteins induced in protozoa Leishmania donovani after treatment with edelfosine, miltefosine and ilmofosine. We studied the morphological and structural modifications caused in the promastigote forms of the parasite after treatment with the three alkyl-lysophospholipids (ALPs). A resistant strain of L. donovani to miltefosine was obtained and the morphological modifications were observed. The stress proteins induction was studied in promastigote forms and also in amastigote-like forms obtained in vitro. The proteins synthesized with the three alkyl-lysophospholipids were compared to those obtained by heat shock. The axenic amastigote forms synthesized a pattern of different proteins for those observed in the promastigote forms. The morphological alterations were observed under electronic microscopy. The membrane and mitochondria were the organs most affected by the three ALPs. We noted an apparition of vacuoles and vesicles in the treated promastigotes. In the resistant strain, we noted myelin bodies in the treated and untreated parasites.

Effect of alkyl-lysophospholipids on some aspects of the metabolism of Leishmania donovani.

Alkyl-lysophospholipids (ALPs), developed initially to be antitumor agents, have proved highly effective in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis, a disease caused by the species making up the protozoan complex Leishmania donovani. Although their effectiveness is known, the mode of action against this parasite is not completely understood. In the present work, we have studied the effect of 3 derivatives, edelfosine, miltefosine, and ilmofosine. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ('H-NMR), we have examined the excreted catabolites from glucose metabolism in the promastigote forms treated with these compounds. The ALPs at concentrations of 19 and 38 microM inhibit the excretion of acetate, succinate, and pyruvate. The effect of edelfosine, miltefosine, and ilmofosine on the activity of the enzymes hexokinase, glycerolkinase 3-PD, phosphoglucose isomerase, superoxide dismutase, and phospholipase C were also examined. Glycerolkinase 3-PD and phosphoglucose isomerase are generally insensitive to the compounds, whereas hexokinase and superoxide dismutase are inhibited by miltefosine and ilmofosine. The ALPs exhibited an activated effect against the phospholipase C activity. Alkyl-lysophospholipids were shown to have a significant effect on several enzymes in important biochemical pathways indispensable for the survival of L. donovani promasigotes.

Aspects of the cytological activity of edelfosine, miltefosine, and ilmofosine in Leishmania donovani.

To discover the mode of action of alkyl-lysophospholipids in Leishmania donovani, we studied the effects of edelfosine, miltefosine, and ilmofosine on intracellular pH, the parasite's cell cycle, and the induction of apoptosis. The effect of the alkyl-lysophospholipids was combined with that of inhibitors of some pumps and exchange regulators of intracellular pH (Na+/ H+; Cl-/CO- 3; and the Na+/K+ ATPase). The effect of the 3 alkyl-lysophospholipids on intracellular pH was indirect; the primary action occurred in the parasite's cell membrane. To determine intracellular pH, we used flow cytometry for the macrophages and axenic amastigotes and spectrofluorometry for the promastigote forms. Apoptosis and the cell cycle were studied by flow cytometry. Treatment of the extracellular promastigote form of L. donovani with the 3 alkyl-lysophospholipids induced death by apoptosis, whereas in the infected cell they caused necrosis rather than apoptosis. Miltefosine and ilmofosine at doses of 38 microM caused G2/M cell cycle inhibition in L. donovani promastigotes.

Binding properties and immunolocalization of a fatty acid-binding protein in Giardia lamblia.

We describe here a fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) isolated and purified from the parasitic protozoon Giardia lamblia. The protein has a molecular mass of 8 kDa and an isoelectric point of 4.96. A Scatchard analysis of the data at equilibrium revealed a dissociation constant of 3.12 x 10(-8) M when the labeled oleic acid was displaced by a 10-fold greater concentration of unlabeled oleic acid. Testosterone, sodium desoxycholate, taurocholate, metronidazol, and alpha-tocopherol, together with butyric, arachidonic, palmitic, retinoic, and glycocholic acids, were also bound to the protein. Assays with polyclonal antibodies revealed that the protein is located in the ventral disk and also appears in the dorsal membrane, the cytoplasm, and in the vicinity of the lipid vacuoles.

Host humoral immune response to Leishmania lipid-binding protein.

SUMMARY We report on the use of Leishmania donovani lipid-binding proteins (LBPs) as antigens capable of being recognized by serum from immunocompetent patients from southern Spain suffering from visceral leishmaniasis and from Peruvian patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania braziliensis. The absorbance found by immunoenzymatic techniques gave significantly different results for the serum samples from patients with and without leishmaniasis. Specificity by ELISA testing was 93.2% and sensibility 100%. Dot blots from human patient serum samples or naturally infected dogs from Spain gave similarly significant results. All the human serum samples from individuals with visceral leishmaniasis and the Leishmania-positive canine samples recognized two bands, with molecular weights of 8 and 57 kDa. The serum from individuals with cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. braziliensis recognized an additional band of 16 kDa. We discuss the role of Leishmania FABP and compare the immunological reactions found with serum samples from other protozoan infections such as toxoplasma and Chagas as well as bacterial infections such as tuberculosis and syphilis.