INTRACELLULAR-LOCALIZATION OF LRV1 IN INFECTED LEISHMANIA CELLS AND EPITOPE CONSERVATION OF THE COAT PROTEIN

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against a recombinant fragment of th e coat protein of LRV1-1 to determine the epitope conservation of the coat protein among LRV1 isolates, and the intracellular localization o f LRV1 particles in promastigote cells of Leishmania braziliensis. Wes tern blot analysis showed that specific epitopes of the coat protein a re highly conserved among isolates from different geographic areas. Us ing indirect immunofluorescence assays LRV1 viral particles were obser ved as fluorescent granules, limited to the cytoplasm and with no appa rent association to the host organelles or the cell membrane, characte ristic of a persistent, non-infectious virus.