%0 Journal Article %A Habibzadeh, Sima %A Doroud, Delaram %A Taheri, Tahereh %A Seyed, Negar %A Rafati, Sima %T Leishmania Parasite: the Impact of New Serum-Free Medium as an Alternative for Fetal Bovine Serum %J Iranian Biomedical Journal %V 25 %N 5 %U http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/article-1-3410-en.html %R 10.52547/ibj.25.5.349 %D 2021 %K Growth rate, L. major, L. tarentolae, Serum-free medium, PpSP15-EGFP protein, %X Background: Flagellated protozoan of the genus Leishmania is the causative agent of vector-borne parasitic diseases of leishmaniasis. Since the production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins requires the cultivation of host cells in a serum-free medium, the elimination of FBS can improve the possibility of large-scale culture of Leishmania parasite. In the current study, we aimed at evaluating a new serum-free medium in Leishmania parasite culture for future live Leishmania vaccine purposes. Methods: Recombinant L. tarentolae secreting PpSP15-EGFP and wild type L. major were cultured in serum-free (complete serum-free medium [CSFM]) and serum-supplemented medium. The growth rate, protein expression, and infectivity of cultured parasites in both conditions was then evaluated and compared. Results: Diff-Quick staining and epi-fluores­cence microscopy examination displayed the typical morphology of L. major and L. tarentolae-PpSP15-EGFP promastigote grown in CSFM medium. The amount of EGFP expression was similar in CSMF medium compared to M199 supplemented with 5% FBS in flow cytometry analysis of L. tarentolae-PpSP15-EGFP parasite. Also, a similar profile of PpSP15-EGFP proteins was recognized in Western blot analysis of L. tarentolae-PpSP15-EGFP cultured in CSMF and the serum-supplemented medium. Footpad swelling and parasite load measurements showed the ability of CSFM medium to support the L. major infectivity in BALB/C mice. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CSFM can be a promising substitute for FBS supplemented medium in parasite culture for live vaccination purposes. %> http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/article-1-3410-en.pdf %P 349-358 %& 349 %! New Serum-Free Medium for the Culture of Leishmania %9 Full Length/Original Article %L A-10-4430-1 %+ Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran %G eng %@ 1028-852X %[ 2021