Kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 is present in promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and its surface expression increases during metacyclogenesis

Autor: Denise CS Matos, Lanuza AP Faccioli, Léa Cysne-Finkelstein, Paula Mello De Luca, Suzana Corte-Real, Geraldo RG Armôa, Elezer Monte Blanco Lemes, Débora Decote-Ricardo, Sergio CF Mendonça
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol 105, Iss 3, Pp 341-347 (2010)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0074-0276
1678-8060
DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02762010000300018
Popis: Kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (KMP-11), a protein present in all kinetoplastid protozoa, is considered a potential candidate for a leishmaniasis vaccine. A suitable leishmaniasis vaccine candidate molecule must be expressed in amastigotes, the infective stage for mammals. However, the expression of KMP-11 in Leishmania amastigotes has been a subject of controversy. We evaluated the expression of this molecule in logarithmic and stationary growth phase promastigotes, as well as in amastigotes, of Leishmania amazonensis by immunoblotting, flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry, using a monoclonal antibody against KMP-11. We found that KMP-11 is present in promastigotes and amastigotes. In both stages, the protein was found in association with membrane structures (at the cell surface, flagellar pocket and intracellular vesicles). More importantly, its surface expression is higher in amastigotes than in promastigotes and increases during metacyclogenesis. The increased expression of KMP-11 in metacyclic promastigotes, and especially in amastigotes, indicates a role for this molecule in the parasite relationship with the mammalian host. The presence of this molecule in amastigotes is consistent with the previously demonstrated immunoprotective capacity of vaccine prototypes based on the KMP-11-coding gene and the presence of humoral and cellular immune responses to KMP-11 in Leishmania-infected humans and animals.
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