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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2006, p. 1238-1244, Vol. 50, No. 4
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.50.4.1238-1244.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Nanodisk-Associated Amphotericin B Clears Leishmania major Cutaneous Infection in Susceptible BALB/c Mice

Keith G. Nelson,^1* Jeanette V. Bishop,¹ Robert O. Ryan,² and Richard Titus¹

Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology Department, 1619 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1619,¹ Lipid Biology in Health and Disease Research Group, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, 5700 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, California 94609²

Received 8 November 2005/ Returned for modification 23 December 2005/ Accepted 12 January 2006

Nanometer-scale, apolipoprotein-stabilized phospholipid bilayer disk complexes (nanodisks [ND]) harboring the toxic and poorly soluble antileishmanial agent amphotericin B (AMB) were examined for efficacy in treatment of Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice (Mus musculus). L. major-infected mice were intraperitoneally (i.p.) treated with AMB-ND in 0-, 1-, and 5-mg/kg doses at 24 h, 48 h, and 4, 7, 14, and 21 days postinfection in two experiments. L. major-infected mice were i.p. treated with phosphate-buffered saline, 5 mg/kg AMB-ND, or 5 mg/kg lipid-associated amphotericin B (liposomal amphotericin B, AmBisome) at 24 h, 48 h, and 10, 20, 30, and 40 days postinfection in one experiment. Parasite numbers, footpad lesion size progression, and development of cytokine responses were assayed at days 7, 15, 30, 50, 140, and 250 or at days 14, 30, 50, 95, and 140 postinfection. Mice administered AMB-ND in 1- or 5-mg/kg doses were significantly protected from L. major, displaying decreases in lesion size and parasite burden, particularly at the 5-mg/kg dosage level. In contrast to the i.p. treated AmBisome group, BALB/c mice treated with i.p. AMB-ND completely cleared an L. major infection by 140 to 250 days postinfection, with no lesions remaining and no parasites isolated from infected animals. Restimulated mixed lymphocyte culture cytokine responses (interleukin-4 [IL-4], IL-12, IL-10, NO, and gamma interferon) were unchanged by AMB-ND administration compared to controls. The marked clearance of Leishmania parasites from a susceptible strain of mice without an appreciable change in the cytokine response suggests that AMB-ND represent a potentially useful formulation for treatment of intrahistiocytic organisms.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology Department, 1619 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1619. Phone: (970) 491-7579. Fax: (970) 491-0603. E-mail: kenelson{at}colostate.edu.

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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2006, p. 1238-1244, Vol. 50, No. 4
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.50.4.1238-1244.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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