Identification and Biological Characterization ofLeishmania (Viannia) guyanensisIsolated from a Patient with Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in Goiás, a Nonendemic Area for This Species in Brazil
The aim of this study was to characterize clinical field isolates ofLeishmaniaspp. obtained from patients with American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) who live in Goiás state, Brazil. The presumed areas of infection were in Goiás, Tocantins, and Pará states. Three isolates of parasites were identified asL. (Viannia) braziliensisand one asL. (V.) guyanensis. Thein vitrogrowth profiles were found to be similar for all parasites. Nevertheless, in C57BL/6 mice,L. (V.) guyanensisinfection was better controlled thanL. (V.) braziliensis. Yet in C57BL/6 mice deficient in interferon gamma,L. (V.) guyanensislesions developed faster than those caused byL. (V.) braziliensisisolates. In BALB/c mice, the development of lesions was similar for isolates from both species; however, on the 11th week of infection, amastigotes could not be observed in macrophages fromL. (V.) guyanensis-infected mice. Thus,L. (V.) guyanensiscan be circulating in Goiás, a state where autochthonous cases of this species had not yet been reported. Considering the difficulties to differentiateL. (V.) guyanensisfromL. (V.) braziliensisat the molecular, morphological, and clinical (human and murine models) levels, the presence ofL. (V.) guyanensisinfections is possibly underestimated in several regions of Brazil.