title: Construction of Two mCherry Plasmids (pXG-mCherry) for TransgenicLeishmania: Valuable Tools for Future Molecular Analysis.
abstract: Leishmaniais the causative agent of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease that affects more than 12 million people around the world. Current treatments are toxic and poorly effective due to the acquisition of resistance withinLeishmaniapopulations. Thus, the pursuit for new antileishmanial drugs is a priority. The available methods for drug screening based on colorimetric assays using vital dyes are time-consuming. Currently, the use of fluorescent reporter proteins is replacing the use of viability indicator dyes. We have constructed two plasmids expressing the red fluorescent protein mCherry with multiple cloning sites (MCS), adequate for N- and C-terminal fusion protein constructs. Our results also show that the improved pXG-mCherry plasmid can be employed for drug screeningin vitro. The use of the red fluorescent protein, mCherry, is an easier tool for numerous assays, not only to test pharmacological compounds, but also to determine the subcellular localization of proteins.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8784-8295
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vacas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Conor
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sugden
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Óscar
authors.initials: Ó
authors.lastname: Velasco-Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Algarabel-Olona
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9183-6369
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peña-Guerrero
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Larrea
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-Rubio
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Tropical (ISTUN), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2193-7316
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Nguewa