title: Imaging visceral leishmaniasis in real time with golden hamster model: Monitoring the parasite burden and hamster transcripts to further characterize the immunological responses of the host.
abstract: Characterizing the clinical, immunological and parasitological features associated with visceral leishmaniasis is complex. It involves recording in real time and integrating quantitative multi-parametric data sets from parasite infected host tissues. Although several models have been used, hamsters are considered the bona fide experimental model for Leishmania donovani studies. To study visceral leishmaniasis in hamsters we generated virulent transgenic L. donovani that stably express a reporter luciferase protein. Two complementary methodologies were combined to follow the infectious process: in vivo imaging using luciferase-expressing Leishmania and real time RT-PCR to quantify both Leishmania and host transcripts. This approach allows us: i) to assess the clinical outcome of visceral leishmaniasis by individual monitoring of hamster weight, ii) to follow the parasite load in several organs by real time analysis of the bioluminescence in vivo and through real time quantitative PCR analysis of amastigote parasite transcript abundance ex vivo, iii) to evaluate the immunological responses triggered by the infection by quantifying hamster transcripts on the same samples and iv) to limit the number of hamsters selected for further analysis. The overall data highlight a correlation between the transcriptional cytokine signatures of hamster affected tissues and the amastigote burden fluctuations, thus providing new insights into the immunopathological process driven by L. donovani in the tissues of mammalian hosts. Finally, they suggest organ-specific immune responses.
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France.
authors: Eline
authors: E
authors: Rouault
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France.
authors: Hervé
authors: H
authors: Lecoeur
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France.
authors: Asma Ben
authors: AB
authors: Meriem
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France.
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Minoprio
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France. Electronic address: sophie.goyard@pasteur.fr.
authors: Sophie
authors: S
authors: Goyard
authors: Institut Pasteur, Département d'Infection et d'Epidémiologie, Laboratoire des Processus Infectieux à Trypanosomatidés, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France. Electronic address: thierry.lang@pasteur.fr.
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Lang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D008156:Luciferases; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008647:Mesocricetus; D059208:Parasite Load; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D008156:Luciferases
keywords: Bioluminescence; Hamsters; Luciferase; Virulent transgenic Leishmania donovani; Visceral leishmaniasis