Evaluation of insulin-like growth factor i and your receptor in mouse bone marrow macrophage infected by Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

• Grant number: 15/24002-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Hiro Goto
• Grantee: Fernanda Narangeira de Araujo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMT). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by protozoans belong to the genus Leishmania. The disease comes in three different clinical manifestations included cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral forms. In Leishmania infection there is the participation of specific and nonspecific immune response in the disease progression. Some growth factors are responsible for promoting the proliferation of parasites inside the host, like as insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). In previous studies by the group of Profª Hiro Goto, was demonstrated that extrinsic IGF-I acts as a promoter of proliferation and growth of Leishmania species and participated in the aggravation of lesions caused by such parasites. However, IGF-I is constitutively present in macrophages and to play its functions, it depends on the connection on a receptor, also present in these cells, called IGF-IR. This project is to evaluate the IGF-I expression during infection by L. (L.) amazonensis and evaluate this IGF-I receptor expression in macrophages during infection with L. (L.) amazonensis. Similar studies on IGF-I expression have been performed with other species such as L. (L.) major, although the expression of the IGF-I receptor was not been studied in any of them. This study with L. (L.) amazonensis will contribute to the understanding of differences in behavior of infections by different species of Leishmania.