RT Journal Article
T1 UCP2 Deficiency Helps to Restrict the Pathogenesis of Experimental Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmaniosis in Mice
A1 Carrión Herrero, Francisco Javier
A1 Abengozar, M. Angeles
A1 Fernández-Reyes, María
A1 Sánchez-Martín, Carlos
A1 Rial, Eduardo
A1 Domínguez Bernal, Gustavo Ramón
A1 González-Barroso, M. Mar
A2 Alain Debrabant, 
AB Background: Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is a mitochondrial transporter that has been shown to lower the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Intracellular pathogens such as Leishmania upregulate UCP2 and thereby suppress ROS production in infected host tissues, allowing the multiplication of parasites within murine phagocytes. This makes host UCP2 and ROS production potential targets in the development of antileishmanial therapies. Here we explore how UCP2 affects the outcome of cutaneous leishmaniosis (CL) and visceral leishmaniosis (VL) in wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and in C57BL/6 mice lacking the UCP2 gene (UCP2KO). Methodology and Findings: To investigate the effects of host UCP2 deficiency on Leishmania infection, we evaluated parasite loads and cytokine production in target organs. Parasite loads were significantly lower in infected UCP2KO mice than in infected WT mice. We also found that UCP2KO mice produced significantly more interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-17 and IL-13 than WT mice (P<0.05), suggesting that UCP2KO mice are resistant to Leishmania infection. Conclusions: In this way, UCP2KO mice were better able than their WT counterparts to overcome L. major and L. infantum infections. These findings suggest that upregulating host ROS levels, perhaps by inhibiting UPC2, may be an effective approach to preventing leishmaniosis.
PB Public Library of Science (PLOS)
SN 1935-2735
YR 2013
FD 2013-02-21
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94345
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94345
LA eng
NO Carrión J, Abengozar MA, Fernández-Reyes M, Sánchez-Martín C, Rial E, Domínguez-Bernal G, González-Barroso MM. UCP2 deficiency helps to restrict the pathogenesis of experimental cutaneous and visceral leishmaniosis in mice. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7(2):e2077. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002077. Epub 2013 Feb 21. PMID: 23437414; PMCID: PMC3578745.
NO Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC)
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
DS Docta Complutense
RD 14 sept 2025