Macrophage response towards infection by the Leishmania-viral endosymbiont duo

Leishmania RNA virus 1 (LRV1) is a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus found in some strains of the human protozoan parasite Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease. Interestingly, the presence of LRV1 inside Leishmania constitutes an important virulence factor which worsens leishmaniasis outcome in a type I interferon (type I IFN) dependent manner and contributes to treatment failure. Understanding how macrophages respond towards Leishmania alone or in combination with LRV1 as well as the role that type I IFNs may play during infection is fundamental to oversee new therapeutic strategies. In order to dissect the macrophage response towards infection, RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed on murine wild-type (WT) bone marrow derived macrophages infected with Leishmania guyanensis (Lgy) devoid or not of LRV1 (LgyLRV1- and LgyLRV1+ respectively) or co-infected with LgyLRV1- and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) for 8 and 24 hours. Additionally, macrophages were treated with type I IFN (IFNα or IFNβ) after 6 hours of infection. Transcriptomic analysis of WT bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) under 5 different conditions and 2 time points. Total number of samples 30, each condition was done in triplicates.