A study makes progress in the study of visceral leishmaniasis, an infectious disease that can be fatal

MADRID, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)

Research from the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) reveals that studying extracellular plasma vesicles, structures with genetic and protein material released by cells, could facilitate the identification of prognostic biomarkers in visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected infectious disease that can be fatal if not detected and treated effectively.

Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by protozoa of the Leishmania family and is characterized by chronic fever, enlarged spleen and liver, and pancytopenia. It has an especially high prevalence in immunosuppressed patients, particularly in those coinfected with HIV and in people with immunosuppression induced by biological treatments such as TNF antagonists (anti-TNF). The disease is transmitted mainly through the bite of mosquitoes - sand flies - which act as vectors of the parasite.

The study, published in the journal 'Frontiers in Immunology' and carried out by a team from the ISCIII at the National Center for Microbiology (CNM), has analyzed the impact of anti-TNF immunosuppressive therapy on the progression of visceral leishmaniasis and on the effectiveness of antiparasitic treatment with pentavalent antimonials, using a murine animal model. Two of the main authors of the work are Eugenia Carrillo and Javier Moreno, from the CNM-ISCIII.

To carry out this research, proteomics techniques have been used to study extracellular vesicles from the plasma of mice infected with 'Leishmania infantum'. This work represents a continuation of a line of research by the ISCIII team around the effect of different immunosuppressive drugs on the immune response in this disease and the impact on the effectiveness of its treatment.

The results obtained in the now published study reveal that mice treated with anti-TNF developed a greater parasite load in the liver and a weakened immune response. A significant decrease in various proteins from extracellular plasma vesicles was also observed, whose function is key in processes of liver regeneration, inflammatory response and defense against infections.

After treatment with pentavalent antimonials, only a partial reduction in the parasite load was achieved in the group of immunosuppressed animals, accompanied by an increase in other proteins whose overexpression could favor the persistence of the parasite.

The authors of the research explain that these findings demonstrate that immunosuppression with anti-TNF not only aggravates the disease, but also profoundly alters the protein profile of extracellular vesicles, affecting biological pathways essential for recovery and the effectiveness of the treatment.

As they conclude, "these results remind us of the importance of adapting clinical strategies in immunosuppressed patients to each case, and position extracellular vesicles as a promising tool to identify prognostic biomarkers and optimize the therapeutic management of visceral leishmaniasis."