Cell differentiation and infectivity of Leishmania mexicana are inhibited in an ABC-transporter blocker resistant strain

Abstract

We analysed whether markers of cell differentiation and infectivity differed when compared to the parental sensitive strain [NR(Gs)] in an in vitro selected Leishmania strain [NR(Gr)] resistant to Glibenclamide1, an ATP-binding-cassette (ABC)-transporter blocker. The data show that the cell body area was larger in NR(Gr) compared to NR(Gs) and that functional characters associated with an infective metacyclic phenotype, such as resistance to the lytic effect of the alternative complement pathway and expression of the Meta-1 protein, were reduced. The infectivity of NR(Gr) to J774.1 macrophages was also significantly reduced. These results suggest that resistance in Leishmania against Glibenclamide, a general blocker of P-glycoproteins, could produce functional modifications that may be relevant for Leishmania differentiation, infectivity and survival