In Vitro Screening Test Using Leishmania Promastigotes Stably Expressing mCherry Protein

Transgenic Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani axenic promastigotes constitutively expressing mCherry were used for in vitro antileishmanial drug screening. This method requires minimal sample manipulation and can be easily adapted to auto-matic drug tests, allowing primary high-throughput screenings without the need for expensive and sophisticated instruments. Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are the causativeagents of a wide spectrum of human and animal diseases. The clinical manifestations of Leishmania infections range from le-sions of the skin and mucous membranes to lethality, the latter caused by visceral species, including Leishmania donovani (1). Leishmania species cause morbidity and mortality throughout large areas of the Old and NewWorld. Leishmaniasis is an emerg-ing disease with an annual incidence of 2 million cases, and more than 12million people are infected in over 80 countries where the disease is endemic (2), causing 80,000 deaths per year, and 350 million people are at risk of infection and disease. The increased prevalence of Leishmania-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection is the major reason for the recent emergence of leish