Different isolates of Leishmania aethiopica elicit distinct effector functions in primary human monocytes

In Ethiopia, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by Leishmania ( L .) aethiopica and presents as a spectrum of clinical forms ranging from self-healing to persistent, disfiguring lesions.

Monocytes are some of the first cells to encounter Leishmania parasites in the host. Despite this, their role in L. aethiopica infection has not been investigated. In this study, primary human monocytes were co-incubated with different L. aethiopica isolates – three isolates recently collected from CL patients and one long-term cultured isolate – and their main effector functions were evaluated.

After 2 hours of co-incubation, over 30% of monocytes associated with all four L. aethiopica isolates, with significantly higher association with recently isolated L. aethiopica than with the long-term cultured parasites. Phagocytosis of L. aethiopica parasites by monocytes was confirmed by confocal microscopy.

Co-incubation of monocytes with all L. aethiopica isolates resulted in upregulation of reactive oxygen species in monocytes.

Following incubation of monocytes with all L. aethiopica , five chemokines – monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, MCP-4, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, and interleukin (IL-8) – and four cytokines – tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 – were detected.

Our results show that the interaction of monocytes with the long-term cultured L. aethiopica differ as compared to those recently collected from CL patients. Furthermore, we define an in vitro model for the investigation of monocyte effector functions that may be useful to elucidate the role that parasites and their interactions with monocytes play in the different presentations of lesions caused by L. aethiopica .