Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 10 3 2015 10 17 366 380 EN Homa HAJJARAN Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Parisa MOUSAVI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Richard BURCHMORE Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Science, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom Mehdi MOHEBALI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Research Center for Endemic Parasites of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mitra MOHAMMADI BAZARGANI Agriculture institute, Iranian Research organization for Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran Ghasem HOSSEINI SALEKDEH Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, (ABRI), Karaj, Iran AND Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACCER, Tehran, Iran Elham KAZEMI-RAD Dept. of Medical Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Reza KHORAMIZADEH Biosensor Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Dept. of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2015 10 17 2015 10 17 Background: Viscerotropic leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica poses a significant prob­lem in the diagnosis and treatment management. Since differential gene expression is more im­portant in outcome of the infection, we employed proteomic approach to identify potential pro­teins involved in visceralization of L. tropica. Methods: The proteomes profiling of L. tropica isolated from cutaneous and visceral tissues of one host were compared by 2-DE/MS proteomics study. Moreover, the transcript level of some identified proteins was confirmed using real-time RT-PCR. Results: Of the 700 protein spots that were detected reproducibly on each gel, 135 were found to be differentially expressed (P≤ 0.05). Most of responsive proteins in visceral isolate changed in less abundant compared to cutaneous isolate. Among differentially expressed proteins, 56 proteins were confidently identified and classified according to the biological process. The larg­est groups consist of proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis. Most of the identified proteins, which implicated in energy metabolism, cell signaling and virulence were down-regulated, whereas some proteins that have a role in protein folding, antioxidant defense and proteolysis were up-regulated in visceral form. Moreover, the transcript level of some identified proteins such as co-chaperon was confirmed using real-time RT-PCR. Conclusion: L. tropica probably uses different mechanisms for survival and multiplication in viscera to establish viscerotropic leishmaniasis. The current study provides some clues into the mechanisms underlying the dissemination of L. tropica. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/537 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/537/293