Protocol to culture Leishmania protozoans for lipophosphoglycan extraction and purification
Lisa Ulrike Teufel1, Jéssica Cristina Dos Santos2
1Department of Internal Medicine and Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Medical BioSciences, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Lipophosphoglycan (LPG) is a macromolecule on the surface of Leishmania spp. parasites. The biochemical structure of LPG varies throughout the parasites' life cycle between proliferative (procyclic) and infective (metacyclic) stages, as well as between species and strains. Here, we outline a protocol for growing Leishmania parasites in vitro to harvest LPG. We describe steps for parasite differentiation and LPG extraction and purification. LPG has applications in medical research, such as in trained immunity and immunotherapy for cancer. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to dos Santos et al.1.
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