Purpose

Leishmaniasis, a widespread parasitic disease, is a public health concern that is endemic in more than 90 countries. Owing to the drug resistance and also undesirable complications, designing new therapeutic methods are essential. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein of plasma with several immune modulatory functions. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of human recombinant CRP (hrCRP) on treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice models.

Methods

hrCRP was expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami and extracted from the SDS-PAGE gel. Male BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously at the base of their tails by 1 × 10⁵ stationary-phase of Leishmania major promastigotes (MHRO/IR/75/ER) suspended in sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Nodules and subsequently, ulcers developed 14 days post-injection. 1.5 µg of the purified protein was administered on lesions of pre-infected mice by Leishmania major in the intervention group for five consecutive days.

Results

The mean area of the lesions was decreased by about seven folds in the intervention group as compared to the control group after two weeks of the treatment (p = 0.024). The results were verified by the real-time polymerase chain reaction so that the parasite burden was determined 2⁷ times in the control group as compared to the intervention group (p = 0.02). Two weeks after treatment, the conversion of the lesions to scars in the intervention group was observed.

Conclusion

The results indicate a potential therapeutic role for hrCRP in improving cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major in mice models. The healing was in a stage-dependent manner.

中文翻译：

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重组 C 反应蛋白：治疗由大利什曼原虫引起的 BALB/c 小鼠皮肤利什曼病的潜在候选药物。

目的

利什曼病是一种广泛存在的寄生虫病，是一种在 90 多个国家流行的公共卫生问题。由于耐药性和不良并发症，设计新的治疗方法是必不可少的。C 反应蛋白 (CRP) 是一种急性期血浆蛋白，具有多种免疫调节功能。本研究旨在评估人重组 CRP (hrCRP) 治疗小鼠模型皮肤利什曼病的效果。

方法

hrCRP 在大肠杆菌Rosetta-gami 中表达并从 SDS-PAGE 凝胶中提取。雄性BALB/c小鼠在其尾部基部皮下接种悬浮在无菌磷酸盐缓冲盐水(PBS)中的1×10 ⁵固定相的利什曼原虫主要前鞭毛体(MHRO/IR/75/ER)。注射后 14 天出现结节和溃疡。1.5 µg 纯化蛋白连续 5 天用于干预组中主要利什曼原虫预感染小鼠的病变。

结果

治疗两周后，与对照组相比，干预组的平均病灶面积减少了约 7 倍（p  = 0.024）。结果通过实时聚合酶链反应验证，因此与干预组相比，对照组的寄生虫负荷确定为 2 ⁷次（p  = 0.02）。治疗两周后，观察干预组病灶向瘢痕的转化。

结论

结果表明 hrCRP 在改善小鼠模型中由主要利什曼原虫引起的皮肤利什曼病方面的潜在治疗作用。愈合是阶段性的。