Polyunsaturated fatty acids alter the formation of lipid droplets and eicosanoid production in Leishmania promastigotes.

Background: The knowledge about eicosanoid metabolism and lipid droplet (LD) formation in the Leishmania is very limited and new approaches are needed to identify which bioactive molecules are produced of them.

Objectives: Herein, we compared LDs and eicosanoids biogenesis in distinct Leishmania species which are etiologic agents of different clinical forms of leishmaniasis.

Methods: For this, promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis, L.

Lipid droplets of protozoan parasites: survival and pathogenicity.

Lipid droplets (LDs; lipid bodies) are intracellular sites of lipid storage and metabolism present in all cell types. Eukaryotic LDs are involved in eicosanoid production during several inflammatory conditions, including infection by protozoan parasites. In parasites, LDs play a role in the acquisition of cholesterol and other neutral lipids from the host.