Treatment of experimental visceral leishmaniasis in a T-cell-deficient host: response to amphotericin B and pentamidine.
In experimental visceral leishmaniasis, euthymic but not athymic (nude) BALB/c mice respond to conventional treatment with pentavalent antimony, indicating that the in vivo efficacy of antimony is T cell dependent. This finding correlates with frequent antimony treatment failures for T-cell-deficient patients with visceral leishmaniasis. To determine whether the in vivo efficacies of alternative antileishmanial agents also require T cells, Leishmania donovani-infected euthymic and nude BALB/c mice were treated with pentamidine or amphotericin B. Pentamidine induced leishmanistatic activity in euthymic mice but had little effect in nude mice. In contrast, amphotericin B exerted potent leishmanicidal activities in both euthymic and nude animals. These results suggest that amphotericin B may be of particular use for T-cell-deficient patients with visceral leishmaniasis.
Murray
H W
HW
Division of Infectious Diseases, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York 10021.
Hariprashad
J
J
Fichtl
R E
RE
D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D007893:Leishmania donovani; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010419:Pentamidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*
D010419:Pentamidine; D000666:Amphotericin B