Identification of adipocytes as target cells for Leishmania infantum parasites

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 21275
• Main Authors: Schwing, Aurélie, Pisani, Didier F., Pomares, Christelle, Majoor, Alissa, Lacas-Gervais, Sandra, Jager, Jennifer, Lemichez, Emmanuel, Marty, Pierre, Boyer, Laurent, Michel, Grégory
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28.10.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 3T3-L1 Cells; 631/250/255/1715; 631/326/417/2547; Adipocytes; Adipocytes - parasitology; Adipose Tissue; Adipose Tissue - immunology; Adipose Tissue - parasitology; Amphotericin B; Animals; Cell Behavior; Cellular Biology; Disease Models, Animal; Disease Susceptibility; Host-Parasite Interactions - immunology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Leishmania infantum; Leishmania infantum - physiology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - parasitology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - transmission; Life Sciences; Mice; Microbiology and Parasitology; multidisciplinary; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Psychodidae; Psychodidae - parasitology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Subcellular Processes; Vector-borne diseases; Visceral leishmaniasis
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00443-y

Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis transmitted by the bite of female sand flies. According to the WHO, the estimated annual incidence of leishmaniasis is one million new cases, resulting in 30,000 deaths per year. The recommended drugs for treating leishmaniasis include Amphotericin B. But over the course of the years, several cases of relapses have been documented. These relapses cast doubt on the efficiency of actual treatments and raise the question of potential persistence sites. Indeed, Leishmania has the ability to persist in humans for long periods of time and even after successful treatment. Several potential persistence sites have already been identified and named as safe targets. As adipose tissue has been proposed as a sanctuary of persistence for several pathogens, we investigated whether Leishmania infantum could be found in this tissue. We demonstrated both in cell cultures and in vivo that Leishmania infantum was able to infect adipocytes. Altogether our results suggest adipocytes as a ‘safe target’ for Leishmania infantum parasites.