Different mutations in a P-type ATPase transporter in Leishmania parasites are associated with cross-resistance to two leading drugs by distinct mechanisms
Abstract
Leishmania infantum is an etiological agent of the life-threatening visceral form of leishmaniasis. Liposomal amphotericin B (AmB) followed by a short administration of miltefosine (MF) is a drug combination effective for treating visceral leishmaniasis in endemic regions of India. Resistance to MF can be due to point mutations in the miltefosine transporter (MT). Here we show that mutations in MT are also observed in Leishmania AmB-resistant mutants. The MF-induced MT mutations, but not the AmB induced mutations in MT, alter the translocation/uptake of MF. Moreover, mutations in the MT selected by AmB or MF have a major impact on lipid species that is linked to cross-resistance between both drugs. These alterations include changes of specific phospholipids, some of which are enriched with cyclopropanated fatty acids, as well as an increase in inositolphosphoceramide species. Collectively these results provide evidence of the risk of cross-resistance emergence derived from current AmB-MF sequential or co-treatments for visceral leishmaniasis.
Citation
Fernandez-Prada , C , Vincent , I M , Brotherton , M-C , Roberts , M , Roy , G , Rivas , L , Leprohon , P , Smith , T K & Ouellette , M 2016 , ' Different mutations in a P-type ATPase transporter in Leishmania parasites are associated with cross-resistance to two leading drugs by distinct mechanisms ' , PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases , vol. 10 , no. 12 , e0005171 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005171
Publication
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1935-2735Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2016 Fernandez-Prada et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Description
Work in TKS’s lab is supported by the Wellcome Trust grant 093228 and European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 602773 (Project KINDRED).Collections
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