title: Histopathology of Leishmania major infection: revisiting L. major histopathology in the ear dermis infection model.
abstract: We describe the relationship between lesion outcome and histopathological hallmarks in susceptible (BALB/c) and resistant (C57BL/6 and IL-4-deficient BALB/c) mouse strains over the course of a 12-week-infection with Leishmania major in the ear. The infiltration of mononuclear cells and polymorphonuclear cells occurred within 6 h and mononuclear cells predominated one week post-infection. Permissive intracellular growth of the pathogen was associated with non-healing lesions. In contrast, tissue damage and clearance of the parasite was observed in healing lesions and was associated with inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. The identification of the structural components of tissue reaction to the parasite in this study furthers our understanding of subjacent immune effector mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 31270-901.
authors.forename: Silvia Dantas
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Cangussú
authors.forename: Carolina Carvalho de
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Camila França
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Leda Quercia
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Luís Carlos Crocco
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Afonso
authors.forename: Rosa Maria Esteves
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Arantes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004431:Ear, External / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000276:immunology*; D018320:Leishmania major; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015847:Interleukin-4; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II