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[43] Intracellular parasitism of macrophages in Leishmaniasis: In Vitro systems and their applications

1986; Academic Press; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0076-6879(86)32045-7

1557-7988

Kwang Poo Chang, Carol A. Nacy, Richard D. Pearson,

Hemophilia Treatment and Research

Publisher Summary This chapter describes various Leishmania –macrophage in vitro systems and their applications. The trypanosomatid protozoa of the genus Leishmania cause leishmaniases. The clinical manifestations of leishmaniases often vary with the individual hosts and with the leishmanial species involved. The diseases may be manifested as self-healing simple cutaneous lesions, disseminating cutaneous nodules, facial disfiguring mucocutaneous infection, and the potentially fatal visceral form. Most species of Leishmania can be passaged as amastigotes in laboratory animals. Leishmania mexicana amazonensis cause simple cutaneous, diffuse cutaneous, or, on rare occasion, the mucocutaneous leishmaniasis of humans in South and Central America. The species Leishmania donovani is the agent of kala azar or human visceral leishmaniasis. Amastigotes are isolated from spleens of animals infected 6–8 weeks previously. Hamsters are anesthetized and exsanguinated before splenectomy. Promastigotes have also been used after one or two passages into fresh growth medium, minimal essential medium (MEM), at 7 to 10 day intervals. The outcome of leishmanial infection of macrophages in vitro varies not only with the parasite stage, species, and strain but also with the tissue source and culture condition of the host cell.