Abstract
The role of plasminogen, the zymogenic form of the serine protease plasmin, was investigated in the infection of Leishmania mexicana in plasminogen-deficient (plg-/- )and Plg wild-type (plg+/+) mice. Differences in the lesion size were observed between male plg+/+ and plg-/- mice. However, these differences were not observed in female mice. In both genders, examination of the lesion tissues at 8 weeks post-infection showed differences in the immunoreactivity pattern with anti-Leishmania antibodies. The parasites were limited to isolated foci in the plg-/- mice lesion, in contrast to the scattered pattern observed in plg+/+ mice. These results support the hypothesis that the interaction of the parasite with the host plasminogen-plasmin system might contribute to the virulence of L. mexicana.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 289-294 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Experimental and Molecular Pathology |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 2 Aug 2005 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2006 |
Keywords
- Animals
- Female
- Host-Parasite Interactions/physiology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Leishmania mexicana/immunology
- Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/immunology
- Male
- Mice
- Plasminogen/deficiency
- Sex Factors