Human primary macrophages infected with Leishmania and exposed to pentavalent antimonials

In the context of a study aimed at investigating whether macrophage mechanisms of xenobiotic detoxification contribute to drug-dependent elimination of intracellular Leishmania, we have carried out transcriptome profiling (RNA-Seq) of primary macrophages collected from American cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients and subsequently infected with Leishmania and exposed to pentavalent antimonials (SbV) in vitro. The results from this study highlight the participation of macrophage metallothioneins in Sb-dependent parasite killing, revealing novel strategies for host-targeted optimization of antileishmanial drugs.