Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.

In Brazil, Leishmania amazonensis is the etiological agent of cutaneous and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. The state of Maranhão in the Northeast of Brazil is prevalent for these clinical forms of the disease and also has high rates of HIV infection. Here, we characterized the drug susceptibility...

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Main Authors: Bianca A Ferreira, Elizabeth M Coser, Stephane de la Roca, Juliana I Aoki, Nilson Branco, Gustavo H C Soares, Mayara I S Lima, Adriano C Coelho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-05-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012175&type=printable
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author Bianca A Ferreira
Elizabeth M Coser
Stephane de la Roca
Juliana I Aoki
Nilson Branco
Gustavo H C Soares
Mayara I S Lima
Adriano C Coelho
author_facet Bianca A Ferreira
Elizabeth M Coser
Stephane de la Roca
Juliana I Aoki
Nilson Branco
Gustavo H C Soares
Mayara I S Lima
Adriano C Coelho
author_sort Bianca A Ferreira
collection DOAJ
description In Brazil, Leishmania amazonensis is the etiological agent of cutaneous and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. The state of Maranhão in the Northeast of Brazil is prevalent for these clinical forms of the disease and also has high rates of HIV infection. Here, we characterized the drug susceptibility of a L. amazonensis clinical isolate from a 46-year-old man with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis coinfected with HIV from this endemic area. This patient underwent several therapeutic regimens with meglumine antimoniate, liposomal amphotericin B, and pentamidine, without success. In vitro susceptibility assays against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes demonstrated that this isolate had low susceptibility to amphotericin B, when compared with the reference strain of this species that is considered susceptible to antileishmanial drugs. Additionally, we investigated whether the low in vitro susceptibility would affect the in vivo response to amphotericin B treatment. The drug was effective in reducing the lesion size and parasite burden in mice infected with the reference strain, whereas those infected with the clinical isolate and a resistant line (generated experimentally by stepwise selection) were refractory to amphotericin B treatment. To evaluate whether the isolate was intrinsically resistant to amphotericin B in animals, infected mice were treated with other drugs that had not been used in the treatment of the patient (miltefosine, paromomycin, and a combination of both). Our findings demonstrated that all drug schemes were able to reduce lesion size and parasite burden in animals infected with the clinical isolate, confirming the amphotericin B-resistance phenotype. These findings indicate that the treatment failure observed in the patient may be associated with amphotericin B resistance, and demonstrate the potential emergence of amphotericin B-resistant L. amazonensis isolates in an area of Brazil endemic for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
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spelling doaj-art-2d46fcd420784ebaa31a975aafe67bec2025-08-20T03:25:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352024-05-01185e001217510.1371/journal.pntd.0012175Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.Bianca A FerreiraElizabeth M CoserStephane de la RocaJuliana I AokiNilson BrancoGustavo H C SoaresMayara I S LimaAdriano C CoelhoIn Brazil, Leishmania amazonensis is the etiological agent of cutaneous and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. The state of Maranhão in the Northeast of Brazil is prevalent for these clinical forms of the disease and also has high rates of HIV infection. Here, we characterized the drug susceptibility of a L. amazonensis clinical isolate from a 46-year-old man with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis coinfected with HIV from this endemic area. This patient underwent several therapeutic regimens with meglumine antimoniate, liposomal amphotericin B, and pentamidine, without success. In vitro susceptibility assays against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes demonstrated that this isolate had low susceptibility to amphotericin B, when compared with the reference strain of this species that is considered susceptible to antileishmanial drugs. Additionally, we investigated whether the low in vitro susceptibility would affect the in vivo response to amphotericin B treatment. The drug was effective in reducing the lesion size and parasite burden in mice infected with the reference strain, whereas those infected with the clinical isolate and a resistant line (generated experimentally by stepwise selection) were refractory to amphotericin B treatment. To evaluate whether the isolate was intrinsically resistant to amphotericin B in animals, infected mice were treated with other drugs that had not been used in the treatment of the patient (miltefosine, paromomycin, and a combination of both). Our findings demonstrated that all drug schemes were able to reduce lesion size and parasite burden in animals infected with the clinical isolate, confirming the amphotericin B-resistance phenotype. These findings indicate that the treatment failure observed in the patient may be associated with amphotericin B resistance, and demonstrate the potential emergence of amphotericin B-resistant L. amazonensis isolates in an area of Brazil endemic for cutaneous leishmaniasis.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012175&type=printable
spellingShingle Bianca A Ferreira
Elizabeth M Coser
Stephane de la Roca
Juliana I Aoki
Nilson Branco
Gustavo H C Soares
Mayara I S Lima
Adriano C Coelho
Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
title_full Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
title_fullStr Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
title_full_unstemmed Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
title_short Amphotericin B resistance in Leishmania amazonensis: In vitro and in vivo characterization of a Brazilian clinical isolate.
title_sort amphotericin b resistance in leishmania amazonensis in vitro and in vivo characterization of a brazilian clinical isolate
url https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012175&type=printable
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