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14 December 2017 Use of In Vivo Imaging System Technology in Leishmania major BALB/c Mouse Ear Infection Studies
Alicia Cawlfield, Brian Vesely, Franklyn Ngundam, Kirk Butler, Dylan Nugent, Tobin Rowland, Diana Caridha
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Abstract

Novel treatments for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are needed, due to current lack of effective universal treatments, increasing resistance among the parasite, and toxic effects or impracticality of the current therapeutics. Models of direct infection with high number of Leishmania parasites in the current research of CL involving the BALB/c mouse or Golden Syrian Hamster are considered not suitable for the assessment of antileishmanial drug efficacy because of the lack of disease similarities with humans. The saliva of the sand fly vector is known to affect the host response to infection by the Leishmania parasite. Here, we build upon a previous BALB/c model infected with luciferase-expressing Leishmania major parasites. In the present study, we infect the ear dermis instead of the foot pad or base of the tail, and compare multiple methods of infection, using parasites alone or mixed with either bites from uninfected sand flies (Phlebotomus duboscqi Diptera Psychodidae:Neveu-Lemaire) or salivary gland sonicate from sand flies. Our data show a dose–response of bioluminescent signal (which represents the parasite load at the infection site), dermal lesion development, and Leishmania Donovan Units in liver and spleen. This in vivo L. major ear infection model, once optimized, can be used for assessing the efficacy of drug compounds that have been determined as very effective in the other, high inoculum CL models.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
Alicia Cawlfield, Brian Vesely, Franklyn Ngundam, Kirk Butler, Dylan Nugent, Tobin Rowland, and Diana Caridha "Use of In Vivo Imaging System Technology in Leishmania major BALB/c Mouse Ear Infection Studies," Journal of Medical Entomology 55(2), 429-435, (14 December 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjx219
Received: 28 June 2017; Accepted: 25 October 2017; Published: 14 December 2017
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KEYWORDS
BALB/c mouse
bioluminescent signal
cutaneous leishmaniasis
lesion cure
sand fly
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