Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0ACS Omega2 Nov 2026

Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles from Attenuated and Virulent Leishmania amazonensis Promastigotes Reveals Distinct Proteomic Signatures

A. S. Vidal¹
E. da S. Duenha¹
Paula Meneghetti²
Rogéria Cristina Zauli¹
Elizabeth Cristina Pérez³
Ana Claudia Torrecilhas²
A. F. A. Chaves⁴
Solange M. T. Serrano⁴
Wagner Luiz Batista²
Patrícia Xander^1,2

4 affiliations

¹Universidade Federal de São Paulo campus Diadema , , ,
²Universidade Federal de São Paulo , , , ,
³Universidade Paulista , , ,
⁴Instituto Butantan , , ,

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a group of endemic diseases caused by different species of Leishmania. Virulence factors produced by Leishmania can be found in extracellular vesicles (EVs), a heterogeneous group of particles released by cells that are involved in cell-to-cell communication. Herein, we demonstrated that Leishmania amazonensis subjected to three in vivo passages exhibited exacerbated virulence, while prolonged culture resulted in an attenuated profile. The morphological characterization of EVs released by these parasites showed no significant differences. However, proteomic analysis revealed enrichment of proteins associated with proteolysis in EVs released by virulent parasites. In addition, these EVs showed significantly higher proteasome activity compared to EVs from attenuated L. amazonensis promastigotes. Attenuated and virulent parasites incorporated EVs. However, we observed a significant increase in murine macrophage infectivity by virulent parasites following uptake of autologous EVs. Thus, our findings show that L. amazonensis parasites with distinct virulence profiles release EVs with differences in the relative abundance of their protein cargo, which may contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of parasite infectivity.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{vidal2026characterization,
  title = {{Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles from Attenuated and Virulent Leishmania amazonensis Promastigotes Reveals Distinct Proteomic Signatures}},
  author = {A. S. Vidal and E. da S. Duenha and Paula Meneghetti and Rogéria Cristina Zauli and Elizabeth Cristina Pérez and Ana Claudia Torrecilhas and A. F. A. Chaves and Solange M. T. Serrano and Wagner Luiz Batista and Patrícia Xander},
  journal = {ACS Omega},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c07695},
  url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c07695/5462402/Characterization-of-Extracellular-Vesicles-from},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles from Attenuated and Virulent Leishmania amazonensis Promastigotes Reveals Distinct Proteomic Signatures
AU  - A. S. Vidal
AU  - E. da S. Duenha
AU  - Paula Meneghetti
AU  - Rogéria Cristina Zauli
AU  - Elizabeth Cristina Pérez
AU  - Ana Claudia Torrecilhas
AU  - A. F. A. Chaves
AU  - Solange M. T. Serrano
AU  - Wagner Luiz Batista
AU  - Patrícia Xander
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/02
JO  - ACS Omega
DO  - 10.1021/acsomega.6c07695
UR  - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c07695/5462402/Characterization-of-Extracellular-Vesicles-from
AB  - Leishmaniasis is a group of endemic diseases caused by different species of Leishmania. Virulence factors produced by Leishmania can be found in extracellular vesicles (EVs), a heterogeneous group of particles released by cells that are involved in cell-to-cell communication. Herein, we demonstrated that Leishmania amazonensis subjected to three in vivo passages exhibited exacerbated virulence, while prolonged culture resulted in an attenuated profile. The morphological characterization of EVs released by these parasites showed no significant differences. However, proteomic analysis revealed enrichment of proteins associated with proteolysis in EVs released by virulent parasites. In addition, these EVs showed significantly higher proteasome activity compared to EVs from attenuated L. amazonensis promastigotes. Attenuated and virulent parasites incorporated EVs. However, we observed a significant increase in murine macrophage infectivity by virulent parasites following uptake of autologous EVs. Thus, our findings show that L. amazonensis parasites with distinct virulence profiles release EVs with differences in the relative abundance of their protein cargo, which may contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of parasite infectivity.
SN  - 2470-1343
ER  -

Abstract

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