Name: quantification of intracellular growth inside macrophages is a fast and reliable method for assessing the virulence of leishmania parasites
Uploaded: 2018-03-16T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Quantification of Intracellular Growth Inside Macrophages is a Fast and Reliable Method for Assessing the Virulence of Leishmania Parasites at JoVE.com

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant RO1 AI067979 to NWA. 
YK is recipient of undergraduate fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/University of Maryland College Park.

All experimental procedures were conducted in accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals by the National Institutes of Health and were approved by University of Maryland&#39;s IACUC. All steps described in sections 1 through 4 should be carried out aseptically inside biological laminar flow cabinets. Personal protection should be used, and caution should be exercised during handling of live Leishmania parasites throughout all stages of experimentation.
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The quantitative data produced by the BMM infection assay described above, allows investigators to obtain rates of infection and a reliable determination of changes in virulence properties in a relatively shorter time period (maximum 2 weeks, compared to the 2 months required for in vivo experiments). This method relies on the DNA specific dye DAPI, which specifically stains macrophage and parasite nuclei, and allows rapid identification and quantification of infected cells. In comparison, other stains such as G...

Leishmaniasis refers to a broad spectrum of human diseases caused by protozoan parasite species of the genus Leishmania. Approximately 12 million people are currently infected with Leishmania worldwide, and more than 350 million are at risk. The disease pathology depends on the Leishmania species and on host factors, and symptoms vary from innocuous self-healing skin lesions to lethal visceralizing forms. If untreated, visceral leishmaniasis is fatal, ranking only after malaria as the deadliest human disease caused by infection with a protozoan parasite1. In spite of the wide-ranging differences in disease pathology and symptoms, all Leishmania species have a digenic life-cycle alternating between promastigote and amastigote stages inside insect and vertebrate hosts, respectively. Inside vertebrates, Leishmania target host macrophages for invasion and induce the formation of parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs), acidic compartments with properties of phagolysosomes where the highly virulent amastigote forms replicate. Amastigotes persist in host tissues during chronic infections and can be passed forward to uninfected sandflies, completing the transmission cycle. Therefore, in the context of human disease development, amastigotes are the most important Leishmania lifecycle form2. Investigating how amastigotes replicate inside macrophage PVs is critical for understanding Leishmania virulence3,4,5,6,7 and for the development of novel efficacious therapies.
We describe here a method regularly used by our laboratory to study Leishmania infection and replication in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs), which involves quantitative assessment of the number of intracellular Leishmania over time. The process involves harvesting of monocytes from mouse bone marrow and differentiation to macrophages in culture, in vitro infection with infective forms (metacyclic promastigotes or amastigotes) of Leishmania and quantification of the number of intracellular parasites at every 24 h interval for a period of 72 - 96 h following infection. This assay has been used in our laboratory to determine the impact of several environmental factors and parasite genes, including identification of the critical role of iron in promoting L. amazonensis virulence that was further validated by footpad lesion development studies in mice6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Since all pathogenic Leishmania species establish their replicative niche inside host macrophages, this assay can be used universally for virulence determinations in all Leishmania species.
Performing BMM infections allows analysis of host-parasite interactions at the single cell level, and thus a more extensive understanding of how Leishmania parasites interact with their preferred host microenvironment, the PVs of macrophages. Macrophage infection assays have been successfully used by multiple groups16,17,18,19,20,21,22 to explore functions of both the host macrophage and Leishmania specific genes, and their potential involvement in the complex interplay that characterizes intracellular infection. BMM infections allow quantification of parasite growth as a read-out of the impact of host factors that influence intracellular survival, such as microbicidal nitric oxide production, generation of reactive oxygen species and other adverse conditions encountered inside the lysosome-like PVs23. Macrophage infection assays have also been utilized to identify potential anti-leishmanial drug leads for therapeutic development13,24.
The in vitro nature of BMM infections provides several advantages over other methods to assess Leishmania virulence. However, several previous studies examining mechanisms of intracellular parasite survival over time did not quantify infection as a rate20,21,24. Furthermore, many studies focused on following in vivo infections over time did so by measuring cutaneous lesion size and other physiological symptoms that are only indirectly related to parasite replication25,26,27. In vivo infection is a stringent approach to assess parasite virulence, but lesion size measurements based on footpad swelling alone are often inadequate, as they reflect the inflammatory response in infected tissues and not the absolute number of parasites. For this reason, footpad lesion development assays have to be followed by quantification of the parasite load in infected tissues, a procedure that requires lengthy limiting dilution assays28. Additionally, in vivo studies often involve sacrificing multiple animals at different points in time to extract tissues of interest6,8,9,10,11,13. In contrast, large numbers of BMMs can be obtained from just one animal, and these cells can be plated under conditions that allow assessment of infection at various points in time. Furthermore, compared to in vivo studies, performing in vitro BMM infections allows greater control over experimental conditions. Quantifying the macrophages to be infected along with the parasites themselves allows precise control of the multiplicity of infection (MOI) and of culture conditions. Fine control over these factors can be key in identifying characteristics of discrete cellular pathways and in understanding their impact on the course of infection.
Given these advantages, it is somewhat surprising that very few groups studying Leishmania virulence have so far taken full advantage of quantitative assessment of intracellular replication in macrophages. In this article, we discuss common pitfalls that may be hampering the more extensive utilization of this assay, and provide a step-by-step protocol to facilitate its proper implementation. Considering its precision and versatility, the BMM infection assay we describe here can not only be utilized to explore host-pathogen interactions influencing Leishmania virulence, but also to study other microorganisms that replicate inside macrophages29. Importantly, this assay can also be developed as a rapid and economical pre-clinical screening method for anti-leishmanial drug development.

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quantification of intracellular growth inside macrophages is a fast and reliable method for assessing the virulence of leishmania parasites

The lifecycle of Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, alternates between promastigote and amastigote stages inside the insect and vertebrate hosts, respectively. While pathogenic symptoms of leishmaniasis can vary widely, from benign cutaneous lesions to highly fatal visceral disease forms depending on the infective species, all Leishmania species reside inside host macrophages during the vertebrate stage of their lifecycle. Leishmania infectivity is therefore directly related to its ability to invade, survive and replicate within parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs) inside macrophages. Thus, assessing the parasite&#39;s ability to replicate intracellularly serves as a dependable method for determining virulence. Studying leishmaniasis development using animal models is time-consuming, tedious and often difficult, particularly with the pathogenically important visceral forms. We describe here a methodology to follow the intracellular development of Leishmania in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs). Intracellular parasite numbers are determined at 24 h intervals for 72 - 96 h following infection. This method allows for a reliable determination of the effects of various genetic factors on Leishmania virulence. As an example, we show how a single allele deletion of the Leishmania Mitochondrial Iron Transporter gene (LMIT1) impairs the ability of the Leishmania amazonensis mutant strain LMIT1/&#916;Lmit1 to grow inside BMMs, reflecting a drastic reduction in virulence compared to wild-type. This assay also allows precise control of experimental conditions, which can be individually manipulated to analyze the influence of various factors (nutrients, reactive oxygen species, etc.) on the host-pathogen interaction. Therefore, the appropriate execution and quantification of BMM infection studies provide a non-invasive, rapid, economical, safe and reliable alternative to conventional animal model studies.

Leishmania has two infective forms - metacyclic promastigotes that differentiate from procyclic promastigotes at the stationary phase of culture, and amastigotes, which are the intracellular stages (Figure 1). In some Leishmania species such as L. amazonensis, amastigotes can also be differentiated in axenic culture by shifting the promastigote cells to lower pH (4.5) and elevated temperature (32 &#176;C), conditions similar to thos...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Quantification of Intracellular Growth Inside Macrophages is a Fast and Reliable Method for Assessing the Virulence of Leishmania Parasites at JoVE.com

Quantification of Intracellular Growth Inside Macrophages is a Fast and Reliable Method for Assessing the Virulence of Leishmania Parasites

All pathogenic Leishmania species reside and replicate inside macrophages of their vertebrate hosts. Here, we present a protocol to infect murine bone marrow-derived macrophages in culture with Leishmania, followed by precise quantification of intracellular growth kinetics. This method is useful for studying individual factors influencing host-pathogen interaction and Leishmania virulence.

Quantification of Intracellular Growth Inside Macrophages is a Fast and Reliable Method for Assessing the Virulence of Leishmania Parasites

The lifecycle of Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, alternates between promastigote and amastigote stages inside the insect and vertebrate ...

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