title: Simultaneous multi-parametric analysis of Leishmania and of its hosting mammal cells: A high content imaging-based method enabling sound drug discovery process.
abstract: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease for which only limited therapeutic options are available. The disease is ranked among the six most important tropical infectious diseases and represents the second-largest parasitic killer in the world. The development of new therapies has been hampered by the lack of technologies and methodologies that can be integrated into the complex physiological environment of a cell or organism and adapted to suitable in vitro and in vivo Leishmania models. Recent advances in microscopy imaging offer the possibility to assess the efficacy of potential drug candidates against Leishmania within host cells. This technology allows the simultaneous visualization of relevant phenotypes in parasite and host cells and the quantification of a variety of cellular events. In this review, we present the powerful cellular imaging methodologies that have been developed for drug screening in a biologically relevant context, addressing both high-content and high-throughput needs. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of intra-vital microscopy imaging in the context of the anti-leishmanial drug discovery process.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1095, URMITE-UMR CNRS 7278, Infectiopole Sud, University of Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France. Electronic address: claire-lise.forestier@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Claire-Lise
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Forestier
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur and CNRS URA2581, Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Gerald Frank
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Späth
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur and CNRS URA2581, Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Prina
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1095, URMITE-UMR CNRS 7278, Infectiopole Sud, University of Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sreekanth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dasari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods*; D007891:Leishmania / Q000187:drug effects*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents
keywords: Drug screening; Leishmania; Microscopy imaging