Evidence of Subpopulations with Distinct Biological Features Within a Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Strain

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2017 Source:Protist Author(s): Léa Cysne-Finkelstein, Mariana Silva-Almeida, Bernardo Acácio Santini Pereira, Karen dos Santos Charret, Álvaro Luiz Bertho, Leonardo Soares Bastos, Luzia de Oliveira Pinto, Francisco Odêncio Rodrigues de Oliveira, Mirian Cláudia da Souza Pereira, Carlos Roberto Alves The present study demonstrates that the Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis strain MCAN/BR/1998/R619 is composed of multiple subpopulations with measurable distinctions. Single parasites were separated from a culture of promastigotes in stationary phase by cell sorting and then cultivated as subpopulations. Subsequently, these subpopulations were evaluated for features of in vitro growth, infectivity to murine macrophages and proteinase gene expression. The first evidence of distinct characteristics was observed during the in vitro cultivation of isolated subpopulations, as distinct clusters of patterns were formed among the cultures, indicating the existence of quantifiable fluctuations in metrics. Further, when infecting murine macrophages, the subpopulations induced distinct patterns of production of immune response mediators. While some subpopulations mainly induced the production of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, others induced the production of IL-12p70 and nitric oxide. Finally, amastigotes of these subpopulations had higher expression of proteinase genes than promastigotes. Additionally, cysteine proteinase, serine prot...
Source: Protist - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research