Vector-host-parasite inter relationships in leishmaniasis. Iv-electrophoretic studies on proteins of four vertebrate blood with and without Leishmania infantum or L. Major

ABSTRACT

Fifty-five protein bands with relative mobilities of 8.954 to 245.471 kilo Daltons [kD] were electrophoretically separated from 12 feeding media of blood from 4 natural vertebrate hosts of Phlebotomus langeroni. The feeding media included human, dog [Canis familiaris], rat [Rattus rattus] and turkey [Melagris gallopava] blood with or without Leishmania infantum or L. major promastigotes. Protein bands were identical among the feeding media of one host's blood but varied in number [24 - 28 bands] and relative mobilities among the various hosts' blood. Some protein fractions were common among the various hosts' blood, others were only present in 2 or 3 hosts' blood and some were restricted to one host blood and were unique for each host. This study provided data that may help in understanding that blood from different natural hosts may variably influence the life cycle of Leishmania parasite in the sand fly gut