title: Experimental infection of Phlebotomus perniciosus by bioluminescent Leishmania infantum using murine model and artificial feeder.
abstract: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted by sandflies and caused by obligate intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania. In the present study, we carried out a screening on the experimental infection of Phlebotomus pernioucus by bioluminescent Leishmania infantum using murine model and artificial feeder. We developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based method to determine individually the number of Leishmania promastigotes fed by infected flies. Among 1840 new emerged female sand flies, 428 were fed on the infected mice. After their death, they were analysed individually by RT-PCR. Our results demonstrated just a single Leishmania positive female at sixth day post meal. A total of 1070 female sand flies were exposed in contact with artificial feeder containing the human blood with two different quantities of Leishmania parasites: 2.106/mL and 1.107/mL. A blood meal including 1.107/mL LUC-promastigotes was proposed to 270 females and 75 (28%) flies were engorged. Among them, 44 (59%) were positive by RT-PCR analysis, with a relative average of 50551 Leishmania parasites. In case of blood feeding of females with 2.106/mL promastigotes, 57 out of 800 (7%) females succeed to feed from artificial feeder which 22 (39%) were positive with a relative average of 6487 parasites.
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cannet
authors.affiliation: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital de l'Archet, Service de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akhoundi
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, Nice, France.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital de l'Archet, Service de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, Nice, France.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital de l'Archet, Service de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delaunay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction