Análise de proteínas do plasma de pacientes com leishmaniose cutânea por eletroforese bidimensional

Abstract

The American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases with clinical, immunological and pathological distinct, whose expression depends on factors related to the host and the parasite, including the nature of the infecting Leishmania species and host genetic factors. The state of Amazonas is an endemic region for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). In this study, we analyzed the clinical and epidemiological aspects of 90 patients with CL in Rio Preto da Eva, third in number of cases in the state, which were identified three species circulating by isoenzyme electrophoresis: Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis (89 %), L. (V.) naiffi (3.33%) and L. (Leishmania) amazonensis (7.77%). 12 new cases were also described as L. (V.) naiffi, especially the cases occurred in experimental stations of the National Institute for Amazon Research. By combining the technique of two-dimensional electrophoresis with ESI-QTof mass spectrometry, we analyzed the differentially expressed proteins in plasma of patients infected by L. (V.) guyanensis before and after treatment with pentavalent antimony, volunteer donors not infected by this pathogen that is prevalent in the region. It was found that patients infected by this species showed higher expression in the disease of acute phase proteins of infection, such as Factor B and H of the alternative Complement pathway, Haptoglobin protein related (HPR), Fibrinogen alpha chain and a lower expression of Serotrasferrina. These proteins are involved in the inflammatory process of the disease, being necessary to the body's homeostasis. The involvement of these proteins in infection by L. (V.) guyanensis needs to be further investigated.