III.6. Leisguard 速 as a stimulant of the leishmanicidal activity of macrophages The results of the studies described in the previous paragraph demonstrate clearly that Leisguard速 influences the dog's immune system contributing to the establishment and permanence (in infected animals) of an immune response, predominantly of type cellular through the activation of phagocytes cell populations such as monocytesmacrophages and neutrophils. Many studies have shown that activation trains cells to a better performance.
Thus,
in leishmaniasis, phagocytic cells responsible for eliminating the parasite such as monocytes, macrophages or NK cells, need to be activated to control the infection efficiently. In the case of monocyte-macrophage activation ensures an efficient respiratory burst or oxidative burst (one of the cytotoxic mechanisms used by these cells to parasite clearance) and an adequate expression of molecules for antigen presentation, which reflected in a successful response to the parasite (Bonilla-Escobar, 2005). The beneficial effect of Leisguard速 on the leishmanicidal ability of macrophages was confirmed from the results of a study conducted at the Department of Animal Pathology, University of Zaragoza with 10 dogs seronegative to Leishmania, from 2 to 8 years old, different breeds and sexes, to whom was given the specialty under the recommended dose and schedule for 30 consecutive days (Gomez-Ochoa et al., 2009b). Before the treatment, half of it and after its completion (D0, D15 and D30) was extracted a blood sample from each animal, peripheral mononuclear cells were separated (monocytes) and plated in liquid for cultivation. After 10 days, Leishmania infantum promastigotes were added to the culture medium, and after 48 hours was evaluated the percentage of parasitized macrophages and the percentage of activated macrophages (positive NBT test). The results put in evidence that the administration of Leisguard速 induced a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of parasitized macrophages in the cultures mediums of samples obtained at D15 and D30 days of treatment compared to
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