title: Distribution of parasite cysteine proteinases in lesions of mice infected with Leishmania mexicana amastigotes.
abstract: It is well established that Leishmania mexicana amastigotes contain large amounts of cysteine proteinases in their extended lysosomes. In this study it is shown that the cell-free supernatant of homogenized lesion tissue from infected mice contains large amounts of acid proteinases. The majority of this enzymatic activity also corresponds to cysteine proteinases from L. mexicana amastigotes. Immunoelectron microscopy of mouse lesion sections suggests, that frequently amastigotes lyse and release lysosomal cysteine proteinases into the parasitophorous vacuole of infected macrophages. The cysteine proteinases are also found extracellularly in the tissue presumably as a result of macrophage rupture and appear to persist in the lesion tissue, where they may damage host cells and the extracellular matrix.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Abteilung Membranbiochemie, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ilg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gnau
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolfram
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harbecke
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Overath
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D002474:Cell-Free System / Q000201:enzymology; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007894:Leishmania mexicana / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000469:parasitology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008264:Macrophages / Q000469:parasitology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases