Ecto-nucleotidase activity of <i>Leishmania (V.) braziliensis</i> isolates correlates with peak injury in C57BL/6J mice.

<p>Promastigotes were isolated on the 5th day of culture and incubated with ATP (A), ADP (B) and AMP (C) for 1 hr at 30°C. Enzymatic activity was evaluated by the measurement of inorganic phosphate released. C57BL/6J mice were inoculated in the footpad of the left hind leg with 10⁷ promastigotes. Lesion sizes were measured weekly. Data-points represent the mean of the difference between the infected and uninfected contralateral footpad from two independent experiments with four mice per group with the exception of isolates RS, SAP, IMG3 and RPL5 (one experiment each). Correlation coefficient (r) calculated by the Spearman's test.