Cytokine Gene Expression Alterations in Human Macrophages Infected by Leishmania major

Kalavi, Khodaberdi; Jorjani, Ogholniaz; Faghihi, Mohammad Ali; Mowla, Seyed Javad

doi:10.22074/cellj.2021.6524

Cytokine Gene Expression Alterations in Human Macrophages Infected by Leishmania major

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran;Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

² Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

³ Department of Medical Genetics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Miami, FL, USA

⁴ Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

10.22074/cellj.2021.6524

Abstract

Objective
Leishmaniasis is caused by members of the Leishmania species and constitute a group of infective diseases that range from cutaneous lesions to lethal visceral forms. In infected persons, macrophages recognize and eliminate the parasites via phagocytosis. In order to change a hostile environment into an environment adequate for survival and reproduction, the engulfed Leishmania species needs to modulate the function of its host macrophage. The expression patterns of cytokine genes such as interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-1, and interferon-gamma (IFNγ) represent the immune response. In this study, we employed an RNA-seq approach for human monocyte-derived macrophages infected with Leishmania major (L. major) to decipher cytokine gene expression alterations in host macrophages.
Materials and Methods
In this descriptive study, human monocytes were isolated by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and cultured in the presence of monocyte colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) to obtain the macrophages. Monocyte-derived macrophages were then co-cultured with metacyclic promastigotes of L. major for 4 hours. RNA isolation was performed using TRIzol reagent. RNA sequencing was performed using the Illumina sequencing platforms. Gene expression analysis was performed using a Bioconductor DESeq2 package.
Results
Our data revealed significant changes in immune response gene expressions in macrophages infected with L. major, with an up-regulation of cytokines and mostly down-regulation of their receptors.
Conclusion
The obtained data could shed more light on the biology of L. major and how the host cell responds to leishmaniasis.

Keywords