Chemotactic activities of vasoactive intestinal peptide, neuropeptide Y and substance P in Leishmania braziliensis.

Chemotactic activities of vasoactive intestinal peptide, neuropeptide Y and substance P in Leishmania braziliensis. Exp Parasitol. 2020 Sep 29;:108009 Authors: Giammarressi M, Vanegas O, Febres A, Silva-López A, López ED, Ponte-Sucre A Abstract Cell-cell interaction and active migration (and invasion) of parasites into skin host-cell(s) are key steps for successful infection by Leishmania. Chemotaxis constitutes a primordial chapter of Leishmania-host cell interaction, potentially modulated by neuropeptides released into the skin due, for example, to the noxious stimuli represented by the insect bite. Herein we have evaluated in vitro the effect of sensory (Substance P, SP) and autonomic (Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, VIP, and Neuropeptide Y, NPY) neuropeptides on parasite taxis, and investigated the potential modulatory effect of SP on Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis-macrophage interaction. We demonstrated that VIP (10-10 M) and NPY (10-9 M) are chemorepellent to the parasites, while SP (10-8 M) produces a chemoattractant response. SP did not affect macrophage viability but seems to impair parasite-macrophage interaction as it decreased promastigote adherence to macrophages. As this effect is blocked by ([D-Pro 2, D-Trp7,9]-Substance P (10-6 M), the observed action may be mediated by neurokinin-1 (NK1) transmembrane receptors. VIP and NPY repellent chemotactic effect is impaired by their corresponding receptor antagonis...
Source: Experimental Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Exp Parasitol Source Type: research