FIGURE 2.

Efficacy of oral spironolactone against murine cutaneous leishmaniasis. BALB/c mice were infected subcutaneously in the right ear with 2 × 10⁶ promastigotes of L. amazonensis. All animals were treated five days/week for six weeks. Spironolactone at 8.8 mg/kg/day was diluted in PBS containing 2% DMSO and was given orally; meglumine antimoniate (30 mg/kg/day of the Sb⁵⁺) or PBS containing 2% DMSO was injected intraperitoneally in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. The lesion development was monitored two times a week, measuring the infected ear with a caliper. At the end of the treatment, the animals were euthanized, and the parasite load was estimated by limiting dilution analysis (insert). Data are represented as the means ± standard error of four animals per group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 in treated groups x control group.