Arachidonic Acid Metabolism and HETEs-PGs Imbalance in <i>L. infantum</i> Infection: Implications for Visceral Leishmaniasis Progression
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) alters lipid metabolism, impacting the production of bioactive compounds like eicosanoids, which regulate inflammationa key aspect of the disease. This study investigated eicosanoid production in Golden Syrian hamsters infected with <i>Leishmania infantum</i> for five months. The infected animals developed splenomegaly, increased creatinine, elevated liver transaminases, granulomas, white pulp hypoplasia, and portal infiltrates. Arachidonic acid (AA) mobilization was elevated in the spleen and liver but unchanged in plasma. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed increased hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) in the spleen, while prostaglandin (PG) E<sub>2</sub>, 2-keto-PGE<sub>2</sub>, and PGD<sub>2</sub> were reduced. Notably, splenomegaly, higher HETEs, and lower PGs levels correlated with parasite load, suggesting <i>L. infantum</i> manipulates these mediators to promote inflammation and its persistence. The imbalance between HETEs and PGs seems crucial for VL progression, highlighting the need for further research into the mechanisms driving disease pathogenesis.
Authors
- Bianca Ramos Mesquita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4007-873X)
- Flávio Henrique Jesus-Santos
- Théo Araújo-Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9861-6660)
- Valéria M. Borges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2775-5409)
- Carlos A. Sorgi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7528-9935)
- Yasmin Monara Ferreira de Sousa Andrade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4289-4263)
- Adriana Ferreira Lopes Vilela (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-9866)
- Nicole Regina Capacchi Hlavac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2496-2955)
- Ícaro Bonyek-Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0346-9360)
- Deborah Bittencourt Mothé Fraga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4788-0319)
- Astrid Madeleine Calero Goicochea
- Jonathan Luís Magalhães Fontes
- Manuela da Silva Solcà (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9014-8903)
- Washington L. C. dos‐Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5075-1254)
- Caroline Vilas Boas deMelo
Institutions
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia (BR)
- Faculdades Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Omega
- Published
- 2025-09-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c04179
- Primary Topic
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00