A study was carried out using macrophages cultured from the peritoneal exudate of
dogs infected
in vitro with three species of
Leishmania: L. (L.) chagasi, L.
(Viannia) braziliensis and
L. (L.) amazonensis with the aim of investigating the
growth kinetics and infectivity of these species in the host cell.
Results were expressed as the percentage of macrophages infected measured
at 24 hr intervals over six days in RPMI - 1640 culture medium at a temperature of
34-35°C.
The findings open the possibility of using canine peritoneal cells as a model for the
screenning of leishmanicide drugs and to study the pathogenesis of these species.
