Figure 8. Effect of myriocin on RAW264.7 macrophage phagocytosis of L. donovani amastigotes and promastigotes.

RAW264.7 macrophages were pre-treated with 10 µM myriocin or 0.5% methanol (diluent) for 24 hr to inhibit de novo sphingolipid biogenesis. They were then incubated with L. donovani parasites (at a MOI of 10∶1) for 2 hr, external parasites removed and the infected macrophages fixed or incubated with medium containing myriocin or methanol for the periods indicated. A. Infection with L. donovani amastigotes; B. Infection with L. donovani promastigotes. (i) Percentage of cells infected at the timepoints indicated; (ii) Mean number of parasites per infected cell. Infections rate compared by two way unpaired Student’s t-test * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001. Error bars indicate one standard error of the mean.