Leishmanicidal Efficacy of Cold Atmospheric Multiple Plasma Jet against Leishmania major in a Murine Model: Effects on Parasite Burden, Cytokine Profiles, and Wound Healing

Leishmanicidal Efficacy of Cold Atmospheric Multiple Plasma Jet against Leishmania major in a Murine Model: Effects on Parasite Burden, Cytokine Profiles, and Wound Healing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Leishmanicidal Efficacy of Cold Atmospheric Multiple Plasma Jet against Leishmania major in a Murine Model: Effects on Parasite Burden, Cytokine Profiles, and Wound Healing Elham Rezaee, Gholamreza Hatam, Kamiar Zomorodian, Bahador Sarkari, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8397439/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease with limited effective treatments due to drug toxicity, resistance, and complex regimens. The Cold Atmospheric Multiple Plasma Jet (CAMPJ) has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach due to its ability to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which exhibit both antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. This study investigates the therapeutic efficacy of CAMPJ in treating CL in a BALB/c mouse model, focusing on its leishmanicidal, wound-healing, and immunomodulatory effects. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated with Leishmania major promastigotes and, after lesion development, divided into six groups: topical amphotericin B (used as a positive control), CAMPJ-treated groups (for 5, 10, and 15 min), untreated control, and air-treated control. Each treatment was administered twice a week for 21 days, except for the positive control group, which received daily treatment. Lesion sizes were measured weekly using Digitizer software, parasite burden was quantified via Leishman-Donovan Units (LDU), and cytokine profiles (IFN-γ and IL-4) were assessed by ELISA. A significant reduction in lesion sizes was observed in both the CAMPJ-treated groups and the positive control group compared with the negative controls (p < 0.05), with the 15-min CAMPJ-treated group exhibiting the smallest lesion sizes. Splenic parasite burden was significantly reduced in all CAMPJ-treated groups, with the 15-min group showing the lowest LDU. Notably, the 15-min CAMPJ treatment induced a Th1-biased immune response, characterized by elevated IFN-γ and reduced IL-4 levels, in contrast to the Th2-biased response seen in the control group. CAMPJ demonstrates promising leishmanicidal and immunomodulatory effects, suggesting its potential as an alternative or adjunct therapy for CL. Health sciences/Diseases Biological sciences/Drug discovery Biological sciences/Immunology Health sciences/Medical research Biological sciences/Microbiology Cutaneous leishmaniasis Cold atmospheric plasma jet Plasma medicine Plasma treatment Wound healing Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 07 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 26 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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The Cold Atmospheric Multiple Plasma Jet (CAMPJ) has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach due to its ability to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which exhibit both antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. This study investigates the therapeutic efficacy of CAMPJ in treating CL in a BALB/c mouse model, focusing on its leishmanicidal, wound-healing, and immunomodulatory effects. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated with \u003cem\u003eLeishmania major\u003c/em\u003e promastigotes and, after lesion development, divided into six groups: topical amphotericin B (used as a positive control), CAMPJ-treated groups (for 5, 10, and 15 min), untreated control, and air-treated control. Each treatment was administered twice a week for 21 days, except for the positive control group, which received daily treatment. 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