title: A new experimental culture medium for cultivation of Leishmania amazonensis: its efficacy for the continuous in vitro growth and differentiation of infective promastigote forms.
abstract: Parasites from the genus Leishmania cause a variety of disease states in humans and other mammals in tropical and subtropical regions, which include cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. The elaboration of a culture medium for the in vitro cultivation of Leishmania spp., which promotes the growth and differentiation of the parasites, is an important tool for diagnosis, biochemical, biological and immunological studies in the genus. Herein, we have reported the development of a rapid, inexpensive and reliable monophasic culture medium. The novel medium, designated PBHIL, promoted an excellent parasite growth, generating high quantities of promastigotes with long-term viability, and was able to induce cellular differentiation of L. amazonensis promastigotes to the amastigote-like forms (93%). Additionally, we reported the influence of this novel medium on the biochemical characteristics of L. amazonensis and on the interaction of this parasite parasites with mammalian macrophages.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Prof. Paulo de Góes (IMPPG), Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Bloco I, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil.
authors.forename: Igor de Almeida
authors.initials: Ide A
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Bianca Alcântara
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: André Luis Souza
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Alane Beatriz
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Vermelho
authors.forename: Celuta Sales
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Alviano
authors.forename: Patrícia Maria Lourenço
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.forename: Maria do Socorro Santos
authors.initials: Mdo S
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D007891:Leishmania / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media