title: A study of cutaneous lesions caused by Leishmania mexicana in plasminogen-deficient mice.
abstract: The role of plasminogen, the zymogenic form of the serine protease plasmin, was investigated in the infection of Leishmania mexicana in plasminogen-deficient (plg(-/-)) and Plg wild-type (plg(+/+)) mice. Differences in the lesion size were observed between male plg(+/+) and plg(-/-) mice. However, these differences were not observed in female mice. In both genders, examination of the lesion tissues at 8 weeks post-infection showed differences in the immunoreactivity pattern with anti-Leishmania antibodies. The parasites were limited to isolated foci in the plg(-/-) mice lesion, in contrast to the scattered pattern observed in plg(+/+) mice. These results support the hypothesis that the interaction of the parasite with the host plasminogen-plasmin system might contribute to the virulence of L. mexicana.
authors.affiliation: Decanato de Ciencias Veterinarias, Núcleo Héctor Ochoa Zuleta, Universidad Centrooccidental Lisandro Alvarado, Apartado 400, Barquisimeto, Estado Lara, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Calcagno
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marina
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puig
authors.forename: Zulay
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Maizo
authors.forename: Luisana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Avilan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007894:Leishmania mexicana / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010958:Plasminogen / Q000172:deficiency*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D010958:Plasminogen