Pucadyil Thomas J, Chattopadhyay Amitabha
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India.
Trends Parasitol. 2007 Feb;23(2):49-53. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2006.12.003. Epub 2006 Dec 20.
Leishmania are obligate intracellular parasites that invade and survive within host macrophages and can result in visceral leishmaniasis, a major public health problem worldwide. The entry of intracellular parasites, in general, involves interaction with the plasma membrane of host cells. Cholesterol in host cell membranes was recently shown to be necessary for binding and internalization of Leishmania and for the efficient presentation of leishmanial antigens in infected macrophages. This article describes the need to explore cyclodextrin-based compounds, which modulate host membrane cholesterol levels, as a possible therapeutic strategy against leishmaniasis in addition to other intracellular parasites.
利什曼原虫是专性细胞内寄生虫，可侵入宿主巨噬细胞并在其中存活，可导致内脏利什曼病，这是全球范围内的一个主要公共卫生问题。一般来说，细胞内寄生虫的进入涉及与宿主细胞质膜的相互作用。最近发现，宿主细胞膜中的胆固醇对于利什曼原虫的结合、内化以及在感染巨噬细胞中有效呈递利什曼原虫抗原是必需的。本文描述了探索基于环糊精的化合物的必要性，这类化合物可调节宿主膜胆固醇水平，作为除其他细胞内寄生虫外对抗利什曼病的一种可能治疗策略。
