Expression profile in Leishmania major exposed to Staphylococcus aureus and group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus

Background & objectives: The interaction of Leishmania spp. with microbiota inside the midgut vector has significant output in pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify the profile of Leishmania majorgene expression of LACK, gp63, and hsp70after exposure to Staphylococcus aureusand group A beta-hemolytic Streptococci (GABHS). Methods: Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) promastigotes were exposed with S. aureus, with GABHS, and with both GABHS and S. aureus at 25°C for 72 h. The gene expression analysis of Lmgp63, Lmhsp70,and LmLACKwas assessed using SYBR Green real-time PCR by ΔΔCt. All experiments were repeated in triplicate. Statistical analysis was done using two-way ANOVA. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Lmgp63 was expressed in the group exposed to GABHS with 1.75-fold lower than the control group (p=0.000). The LmLACK had expression in both groups exposed with GABHS and GABHS with S. aureus with 2.8 and 1.33-fold more than the control group, respectively (p=0.000). The Lmhsp70 gene expression was reported in the group exposed with GABHS with relative quantification of 5.7-fold more than the control group. Interpretation & conclusion: This study showed that the important genes encoding LACK, gp63, and hsp70 changed their expression after exposure to the S. aureus and GABHS.