The Gene Expression of Virulence Factor Zinc-Metalloprotease GP63 in Mice Infected with Visceral Leishmaniasis

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is a zoonotic protozoal disease caused by Leishmania donovani in which the pathogen disseminates to visceral organs inside the macrophage that survive within phagolysosome & evade host defense mechanism result in potential fetal infection associated with hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and progressive anemia.The present study was planned and conducted in order to evaluate the role of virulence factor zinc-metalloprotease GP63 in spleen of mice infected with visceral leishmaniasis by both real time PCR techniques. The result detected that the  highest mean gene expression,  in spleen tissue, recorded in passage four which is 7.21, while the lowest mean gene expression,  in spleen tissue, recorded in passage four which is 4.81. (highly significant at P ≤ 0.01).