In this report an experimental model of Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) infection in dogs is described. The data presented are derived from an overall and comparative analysis of the clinical outcomes of three groups of dogs intravenously infected with 500,000 promastigotes on different dates (2003, 2006 and 2008). The parasites used for challenge were isolated from a dog having a patent form of leishmaniosis, classified as MCAN/ES/1996/BCN150 zymodeme MON-1. Late-log-phase promastigote forms derived from cultured amastigotes obtained from the spleen of the heavily infected hamsters were used for infection. Only one single infective dose was administered to each dog. After challenge, the animals were monitored for 12 months. To analyze the disease outcome, several biopathological, immunological and parasitological end-points were considered. The analysis of the infected dogs indicated that the development of the clinical disease was very similar in the three experimental challenges, as shown by the immune response, the parasite load and the clinical and histopathological lesions detected at necropsy. A high similarity was also observed between the disease development after the experimental challenge and the one reported to occur in endemic natural infection areas, as various degrees of susceptibility to the disease and even resistance were observed in the experimentally infected animals. We believe that this challenge model faithfully reproduces and mimics the course of a natural infection and that it could be used as a suitable tool for analyzing the efficacy of anti-Leishmania drugs and vaccines.
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