Recombinant C-Reactive Protein: A Potential Candidate for the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis of BALB/c Mice Caused by Leishmania major.

Purpose: Leishmaniasis, a widespread parasitic disease, is a public health concern that is endemic in more than 90 countries. Owing to the drug resistance and also undesirable complications, designing new therapeutic methods are essential. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein of plasma with several immune modulatory functions. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of human recombinant CRP (hrCRP) on treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice models.

Methods: hrCRP was expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami and extracted from the SDS-PAGE gel. Male BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously at the base of their tails by 1 × 10 stationary-phase of Leishmania major promastigotes (MHRO/IR/75/ER) suspended in sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Nodules and subsequently, ulcers developed 14 days post-injection. 1.5 µg of the purified protein was administered on lesions of pre-infected mice by Leishmania major in the intervention group for five consecutive days.

Results: The mean area of the lesions was decreased by about seven folds in the intervention group as compared to the control group after two weeks of the treatment (p = 0.024). The results were verified by the real-time polymerase chain reaction so that the parasite burden was determined 2 times in the control group as compared to the intervention group (p = 0.02). Two weeks after treatment, the conversion of the lesions to scars in the intervention group was observed.

Conclusion: The results indicate a potential therapeutic role for hrCRP in improving cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major in mice models. The healing was in a stage-dependent manner.