Redox metabolism as a key driver of metacyclic promastigote to amastigote transition in Leishmania infantum.

Redox metabolism as a key driver of metacyclic promastigote to amastigote transition in Leishmania infantum. | 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 Redox metabolism as a key driver of metacyclic promastigote to amastigote transition in Leishmania infantum. Alexis Valentin, Maëlle Monier, Juan Pablo Cerapio, Lucie Paloque, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6980941/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Leishmania is a protozoan parasite causing leishmaniasis, a disease affecting millions globally. It is transmitted through bites from infected sand-flies, primarily of the Phlebotomus spp. or Lutzomyia spp. The parasite has two main life stages: the promastigote, found in the insect vector, and the amastigote, residing in the macrophages of the host. The mechanisms behind stage differentiation are not well understood. This study shows that redox metabolism modulations are crucial for the life cycle of Leishmania infantum, influencing stage transitions. Inhibiting redox metabolism caused significant morphological changes, from flagellated promastigotes to amastigote-like forms. These changes were evidenced by transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. RNA sequencing indicated that redox inhibition affected several genes, including one for an iron transporter, LINF_310039600. Using CRISPR-Cas9, knockout mutants of this gene were created, revealing upregulation of amastin, a marker of the amastigote form, underscoring the role of redox metabolism in stage differentiation. Biological sciences/Microbiology/Parasitology/Parasite biology Biological sciences/Microbiology/Parasitology/Parasite development Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Suppdata20250520.pdf Supplementary data Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted 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. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6980941","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":476716041,"identity":"9552fe11-63a4-444e-ab31-5eb39c4bf16f","order_by":0,"name":"Alexis 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