Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesAnimal StudyEurope PMCOpen access

Identification of adipocytes as target cells for Leishmania infantum parasites

Schwing A., Pisani DF., Pomares C., Majoor A., Lacas-Gervais S., Jager J.

Animal Study, published in Sci Rep (2021) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

Open my reading list
Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

  • Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
  • Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
  • Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
  • Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
  • Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
Read the A–D evidence level guide

This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Animal Study
Journal
Sci Rep (2021)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
34711872
PMCID
PMC8553825
DOI
10.1038/s41598-021-00443-y
Citations
15

Abstract (original English)

Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis transmitted by the bite of female sand flies. According to the WHO, the estimated annual incidence of leishmaniasis is one million new cases, resulting in 30,000 deaths per year. The recommended drugs for treating leishmaniasis include Amphotericin B. But over the course of the years, several cases of relapses have been documented. These relapses cast doubt on the efficiency of actual treatments and raise the question of potential persistence sites. Indeed, Leishmania has the ability to persist in humans for long periods of time and even after successful treatment. Several potential persistence sites have already been identified and named as safe targets. As adipose tissue has been proposed as a sanctuary of persistence for several pathogens, we investigated whether Leishmania infantum could be found in this tissue. We demonstrated both in cell cultures and in vivo that Leishmania infantum was able to infect adipocytes. Altogether our results suggest adipocytes as a 'safe target' for Leishmania infantum parasites.

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

How we grade evidence
Adipose Tissue3T3-L1 CellsAdipocytesAnimalsMicePsychodidaeLeishmania infantumLeishmaniasis, VisceralDisease Models, AnimalDisease Susceptibility

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.