Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), mainly caused by the Leishmania donovani
parasitic infection, constitutes a potentially fatal disease, for which treatment is primarily dependent on
chemotherapy. The emergence of a resistant parasite towards current antileishmanial agents and increasing reports of relapses are the major concerns. Detailed research on the molecular interaction at the host-parasite interface may provide the identification of the parasite and the host-related factors operating during disease development. Genomic and proteomic studies highlighted several essential secretory and cytosolic
proteins that play vital roles during Leishmania pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to identify
membrane proteins from the Leishmania donovani parasite and the host macrophage that interact with each other using 2-DE/MALDI-TOF/MS. We identified
membrane proteins including activated
protein C kinase,
peroxidoxin, small myristoylated
protein 1 (SMP-1), and
cytochrome C oxidase from the parasite, while identifying
filamin A interacting
protein 1(FILIP1) and β-actin from macrophages. We further investigated parasite replication and persistence within macrophages following the macrophage-amastigote model in the presence or absence of withaferin (WA), an inhibitor of activated C
kinase. WA significantly reduced Leishmania donovani replication within host macrophages. This study sheds light on the important interacting
proteins for parasite proliferation and virulence, and the establishment of
infection within host cells, which can be targeted further to develop a strategy for chemotherapeutic intervention.