Diagnostic value of 5' Nucleotidase on kala - Azar patients

5'-Nucleotidase activity was measured in the sera of [67] Kala-azar patients before treatment and at different stages of treatment with pentostam as well as in [30] age matcher normal children. The changes in 5'-NT isoenzyme profile were also followed among the above cases. A change of the activity of the enzyme with the progress of the disease was observed. Our result suggest also that there are changes in the 5'-NT isoenzyme profile with the severity of the disease

Immunogold labeling and cerium cytochemistry of the enzyme ecto-5'-nucleotidase in promastigote forms of Leishmania species

We have applied both enzyme cytochemistry and immunological labeling techniques to characterize the enzyme 5'-nucleotidase (5'-Nase), at the ultrastructural level, in promastigote forms of four Leishmania species: Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania mexicana, Leishmania donovani and Leishmania chagasi. The cerium phosphate staining was localized at the surface of the cell body, the flagellum and the flagellar pocket membranes of all the parasites studied. The immunogold labelling technique confirmed these results. In this report we localized 5'-Nase in L. chagasi and L. amazonensis which have been implicated respectively in visceral and cutaneous forms of leishmaniasis. In addition, we confirmed the localization of this phosphomonoesterase in the other two species studied. The superior quality of the images, obtained with both methodologies, confirms that these parasites possess mechanisms capable of hydrolyzing nucleotide monophosphates, and that the expression of 5'-Nase is associated with the outer surface of the plasma membrane