Leishmania spp. parasite isolation through inoculation of patient biopsy macerates in interferon gamma knockout mice

Isolation of Leishmania parasite and species identification are important for confirmation and to help define the epidemiology of the leishmaniasis. Mice are often used to isolate pathogens, but the most common mouse strains are resistant to infection with parasites from the Leishmania (Viannia) subgenus. In this study we tested the inoculation of interferon gamma knockout (IFNγ KO) mice with biopsy macerates from Leishmania-infected patients to increase the possibility of isolating parasites. Biopsies from twenty five patients with clinical signs of leishmaniasis were taken and tested for the presence of parasites. Immunohistochemical assay (IHC) and conventional histopathology detected the parasite in 88% and 83% of the patients, respectively. Leishmania sp. were isolated in biopsy macerates from 52% of the patients by culture in Grace's insect medium, but 13% of isolates were lost due to contamination. Inoculation of macerates in IFNγ KO mice provides isolation of parasites in 31.8% of the biopsies. Most isolates belong to L. (Viannia) subgenus, as confirmed by PCR, except one that belongs to L. (Leishmania) subgenus. Our preliminary results support the use of IFNγ KO mice to improve the possibility to isolate New World Leishmania species.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oliveira,Milton Adriano Pelli de, Pires,Alause da Silva, Bastos,Rosidete Pereira de, Lima,Glória Maria Collet de Araujo, Pinto,Sebastião Alves, Pereira,Ledice Inácia de Araujo, Pereira,Ana Joaquina Cohen Serique, Abrahamsohn,Ises de Almeida, Dorta,Miriam Leandro, Ribeiro-Dias,Fátima
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 2010
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46652010000200004
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