@article{fdi:010062294,
  title = {{IN}s{PECT}, an open-source and versatile software for automated quantification of ({L}eishmania) intracellular parasites},
  author = {{Y}azdanparast, {E}. and {D}os {A}njos, {A}. and {G}arcia, {D}{\'e}borah and {L}oeuillet, {C}. and {S}hahbazkia, {H}. {R}. and {V}ergnes, {B}aptiste},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}ntracellular protozoan parasites are causative agents of infectious diseases that constitute major health problems for developing countries. {L}eishmania sp., {T}rypanosoma cruzi or {T}oxoplasma gondii are all obligate intracellular protozoan parasites that reside and multiply within the host cells of mammals, including humans. {F}ollowing up intracellular parasite proliferation is therefore an essential and a quotidian task for many laboratories working on primary screening of new natural and synthetic drugs, analyzing drug susceptibility or comparing virulence properties of natural and genetically modified strains. {N}evertheless, laborious manual microscopic counting of intracellular parasites is still the most commonly used approach. {H}ere, we present {IN}s{PECT} ({I}ntracellular {P}arasit{E} {C}oun{T}er), an open-source and platform independent software dedicated to automate infection level measurement based on fluorescent {DNA} staining. {I}t offers the possibility to choose between different types of analyses (fluorescent {DNA} acquisitions only or in combination with phase contrast image set to further separate intra-from extracellular parasites), and software running modes (automatic or custom). {A} proof-of-concept study with intracellular {L}eishmania infantum parasites stained with {DAPI} (49,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) confirms a good correspondence between digital results and the "gold standard" microscopic counting method with {G}iemsa. {I}nterestingly, this software is versatile enough to accurately detect intracellular {T}. gondii parasites on images acquired with {H}igh {C}ontent {S}creening ({HCS}) systems. {I}n conclusion, {IN}s{PECT} software is proposed as a new fast and simple alternative to the classical intracellular {L}eishmania quantification methods and can be adapted for mid to large-scale drug screening against different intracellular parasites.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}los {N}eglected {T}ropical {D}iseases},
  volume = {8},
  numero = {5},
  pages = {e2850},
  ISSN = {1935-2735},
  year = {2014},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0002850},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062294},
}