Iron as a critical determinant for survival, oxidative stress, and infectivity of Leishmania parasites

Optimum iron concentrations promote Leishmania donovani proliferation, while higher iron levels induce toxicity marked by DNA fragmentation and caspase-like activity in macrophages.

• Why it matters: Iron availability in host macrophages is linked to parasite survival and oxidative stress control, but how iron shifts redox balance and virulence remained unclear.
• What they did: The study varied iron in macrophage cultures, then measured growth, apoptosis markers, intracellular ROS and total thiols, and protein expression for ROS/thiol/Fe-S cluster pathways, plus menadione challenge.
• The result: Iron supplementation lowered ROS and increased thiols, upregulated Fe-S cluster and thiol metabolism proteins, and enhanced in vitro infectivity, whereas iron depletion increased ROS, reduced thiols, downregulated most targets, and impaired infectivity.

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