Back to article: Leishmania guyanensis parasites block the activation of the inflammasome by inhibiting maturation of IL-1β
FIGUER 4: The inflammasome does not contribute to disease pathology in a murine model of Lgy infection, irrespective of its LRV1 status. WT, ASC-/- and Caspase1/11-/- mice were infected with LgyLRV1+ or LgyLRV1- parasites in their hind footpads. (A, B) Weekly lesional swelling was monitored as a proxy for disease progression. (C, D) At the peak of infection (4 weeks), parasite burden was measured by in vivo luminescence, by injecting mice intra-peritoneally with 15mg/kg luciferin. (E) BMDMs derived from C57BL/6 mice deficient in ASC, Caspase-1/11 and IL-1β were infected with either LgyLRV1+ or LgyLRV1- parasites for 24 hours then stained with DAPI and acquired using high-content microscopy. Parasite burden was unbiasedly quantified using computational image analysis. The data shown is representative of a minimum of three independent experiments, using at least 5 mice per condition, and showed as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was quantified by performing Student’s t-test (bar graphs) or one-way Anova (disease score), ns: non-significant.