Differences in enzyme activity and biological behavior of three leishmania promastigotes isolated from patients with zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis [ZCL] is reported to cause a spectrum of clinical manifestations. To unravel some of the mechanisms associated with different disease manifestations, enzyme activities were compared among the promastigotes of leishmania isolated from three clinically different forms of ZCL from Isfahan, central Iran. Specific activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase in the promastigotes isolated from a scaly flat ulcer were 5.5, 2.2, 1.6 and 2.6 folds greater respective to those isolated from a small papular lesion. The activity of these enzymes in the promastigotes isolated from a volcano-shaped lesion was notably higher than those isolated from a papular lesion, but lower than those isolated from a scaly flat ulcer. Significant differences were not observed in alkaline phosphatase activity of different isolates. These results may indicate that differences in the clinical manifestation of the lesions in ZCL might be related to certain metabolic pathways of the parasites, growth kinetics in NNN medium and the course of infection in BALB/C mice