L. donovani infected BHK cells that expressed the arg1-specific miRNAi vector were found to have an equivalent parasite burden at 4 and 24 hrs post-infection but significantly reduced parasite burden at 48 hrs (p<0.01) and 72 hrs (p<0.001) post-infection compared to non-transfected cells or cells transfected with a non-targeting miRNAi construct (Fig. 6H). This evidence concerns the gene ARG1 and infection.