Sub-optimal dose of Sodium Antimony Gluconate (SAG)-diperoxovanadate combination clears organ parasites from BALB/c mice infected with antimony resistant Leishmania donovani by expanding antileishmanial T-cell repertoire and increasing IFN-γ to IL-10 rati

We demonstrate that the combination of sub-optimal doses of Sodium Antimony Gluconate (SAG) and the diperoxovanadate compound K[VO(O2)2(H2O)], also designated as PV6, is highly effective in combating experimental infection of BALB/c mice with antimony resistant (SbR) Leishmania donovani (LD) as evident from the significant reduction in organ parasite burden where SAG is essentially ineffective. Interestingly, such treatment also allowed clonal expansion of antileishmanial T-cells coupled with robust surge of IFN-γ and concomitant decrease in IL-10 production. The splenocytes from the treated animals generated significantly higher amounts of IFN-γ inducible parasiticidal effector molecules like superoxide and nitric oxide as compared to the infected group. Our study indicates that the combination of sub-optimal doses of SAG and PV6 may be beneficial for the treatment of SAG resistant visceral leishmaniasis patients.