Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a tropical disease that can cause chronic lesions and leave life-long scars, leading to social stigmatization and psychological disorders. Using growth factors and immunomodulatory agents that could accelerate wound healing and reduce the scar is highly demanded. Epid...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012765 |
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| author | Mohammad Saberi Alireza Latifi Majid Golkar Pezhman Fard-Esfahani Sina Mohtasebi Aref Teimouri Mohammad Javad Abbaszadeh Afshar Elham Kazemirad Mehdi Mohebali Mehdi Mohebali |
| author_facet | Mohammad Saberi Alireza Latifi Majid Golkar Pezhman Fard-Esfahani Sina Mohtasebi Aref Teimouri Mohammad Javad Abbaszadeh Afshar Elham Kazemirad Mehdi Mohebali Mehdi Mohebali |
| author_sort | Mohammad Saberi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a tropical disease that can cause chronic lesions and leave life-long scars, leading to social stigmatization and psychological disorders. Using growth factors and immunomodulatory agents that could accelerate wound healing and reduce the scar is highly demanded. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an essential role in wound healing. It stimulates the proliferation of keratocytes and fibroblasts, and promotes re-epithelialization. Here, the effect of EGF in combination with Glucantime and nano-liposomal Amphotericin B (SinaAmpholeish) on the healing process of CL in BALB/c mice was investigated. Seventy-two mice were infected with Leishmania major parasites and randomly divided into eight treatment groups after the appearance of the lesion. The treatment was continued for five weeks, and lesion sizes were measured weekly. Parasite load was determined in the skin biopsies using qPCR. We found that subcutaneous injection of EGF at 4.5 μg/kg, combined with each of the two antileishmanial drugs, significantly reduced the wound size and parasite load; however, EGF at 1.5 μg/kg failed to be effective. Besides, the wound size and parasite loads were significantly lower in the SinaAmfoleish groups compared to the Glucantime groups. Among the treatment groups, EGF 4.5 μg/kg combined with SinaAmpholeish exhibited the most significant reduction in wound size and parasitic load. Our results suggest that EGF can potentiate the wound healing effect of antileishmanial drugs. Further studies are warranted to explore the beneficial effects of combining EGF with antileishmanial drugs in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in order to accelerate wound healing and reduce the scar. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-26136af8e4eb4b05bb89bd51418e533e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1935-2727 1935-2735 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-26136af8e4eb4b05bb89bd51418e533e2025-02-05T05:33:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352025-01-01191e001276510.1371/journal.pntd.0012765Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice.Mohammad SaberiAlireza LatifiMajid GolkarPezhman Fard-EsfahaniSina MohtasebiAref TeimouriMohammad Javad Abbaszadeh AfsharElham KazemiradMehdi MohebaliMehdi MohebaliCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a tropical disease that can cause chronic lesions and leave life-long scars, leading to social stigmatization and psychological disorders. Using growth factors and immunomodulatory agents that could accelerate wound healing and reduce the scar is highly demanded. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an essential role in wound healing. It stimulates the proliferation of keratocytes and fibroblasts, and promotes re-epithelialization. Here, the effect of EGF in combination with Glucantime and nano-liposomal Amphotericin B (SinaAmpholeish) on the healing process of CL in BALB/c mice was investigated. Seventy-two mice were infected with Leishmania major parasites and randomly divided into eight treatment groups after the appearance of the lesion. The treatment was continued for five weeks, and lesion sizes were measured weekly. Parasite load was determined in the skin biopsies using qPCR. We found that subcutaneous injection of EGF at 4.5 μg/kg, combined with each of the two antileishmanial drugs, significantly reduced the wound size and parasite load; however, EGF at 1.5 μg/kg failed to be effective. Besides, the wound size and parasite loads were significantly lower in the SinaAmfoleish groups compared to the Glucantime groups. Among the treatment groups, EGF 4.5 μg/kg combined with SinaAmpholeish exhibited the most significant reduction in wound size and parasitic load. Our results suggest that EGF can potentiate the wound healing effect of antileishmanial drugs. Further studies are warranted to explore the beneficial effects of combining EGF with antileishmanial drugs in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in order to accelerate wound healing and reduce the scar.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012765 |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Saberi Alireza Latifi Majid Golkar Pezhman Fard-Esfahani Sina Mohtasebi Aref Teimouri Mohammad Javad Abbaszadeh Afshar Elham Kazemirad Mehdi Mohebali Mehdi Mohebali Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| title | Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. |
| title_full | Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. |
| title_short | Contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in BALB/c mice. |
| title_sort | contribution of epidermal growth factor egf in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania major in balb c mice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012765 |
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