Skip Navigation


JAC Advance Access originally published online on October 26, 2007
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2008 61(1):103-110; doi:10.1093/jac/dkm396
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
61/1/103    most recent
dkm396v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Banerjee, A.
Right arrow Articles by Ali, N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Banerjee, A.
Right arrow Articles by Ali, N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Original research

Stearylamine-bearing cationic liposomes kill Leishmania parasites through surface exposed negatively charged phosphatidylserine

Antara Banerjee{dagger}, Jayeeta Roychoudhury{dagger} and Nahid Ali*

Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India

Received 13 February 2007; returned 20 June 2007; revised 18 July 2007; accepted 24 September 2007

* Corresponding author. Tel: +91-33-2473-3491/6793/0492; Fax: +91-33-2473-0284/5197; E-mail: nali{at}iicb.res.in

Objectives: Lipid-associated formulations of antileishmanial agents have proved to be more effective therapies with reduced toxicities. Previous studies from our group and others revealed that liposomes bearing phosphatidylcholine and stearylamine (SA) themselves kill Leishmania and other protozoan parasites in vitro and in vivo, without causing any adverse effect on host. In the present study, we offer detailed insights into the mechanism of action of these liposomes.

Methods: Mechanism study was carried out using fluorometric, confocal and electron microscopic methods.

Results: Herein, we provide evidence for induction of membrane disruption by specific interaction with surface phosphatidylserine (PS) of Leishmania promastigotes and amastigotes, phospholipids normally not found on mammalian cell surface, with SA-containing liposomes. Cell surface PS on different forms of Leishmania facilitated liposome-induced parasite killing. The target selectivity of the liposomes was further proved through inhibition of antileishmanial activity with annexinV, and strong affinity with anionic PS rather than phosphatidic acid-containing liposomes for leishmanicidal activity.

Conclusions: SA-bearing liposomes specifically kill Leishmania, but are non-toxic to murine peritoneal macrophages and human erythrocytes.

Keywords: promastigotes , amastigotes , membrane , drug

{dagger} Both authors have contributed equally to this work.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.