leishmania antigens are weak immunogens and need to be potentiated by various adjuvants and delivery systems. alginate microspheres as an antigen delivery system and quillaja saponins (qs) as an immunoadjuvant have been used to enhance the immune response against autoclaved leishmania major (alm). microspheres were prepared by an emulsification technique and characterized for size, encapsulatio...

CD8+ T cells have a protective role in experimental visceral leishmaniasis. However, the observation that inflammatory cytokines induce bystander activation of CD8+ T cells questions the need for antigen-dependent effector function. Here, we demonstrate that successful adoptive immunotherapy with CD8+ T cells is strictly dependent upon the presence of cognate antigen.

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Leishmaniasis encompasses a group of diseases caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania. These diseases range from life threatening visceral forms to self-healing cutaneous lesions, and each disease manifestations can progress to complications involving dissemination of parasites to skin or mucosal tissue. A feature of leishmaniasis is the key role host immune responses pl...

For decades thimerosal has been used as a preservative in the candidate vaccine for cutaneous leishmaniasis, which was developed by Mayrink et al. The use of thimerosal in humans has been banned due to its mercury content. This study addresses the standardization of phenol as a new candidate vaccine preservative. We have found that the proteolytic activity was abolished when the test was conduc...

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that encompasses a range of clinical manifestations affecting people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Epidemiological and experimental data indicate that protection from disease can be achieved in most people. In addition, we know how the host immune system must respond to infection in order to control parasite growth. However, there is stil...

The spread of HIV infection into leishmaniasis endemic areas has increased the incidence of immunosupressed patients with kalaazar in Portugal. The dermotropic zymodeme MON-24 of leishmania infantum has been already isolated from a Portuguese AIDS patient, as in some other Mediterranean countries. In this paper we report the isolation of L. donovani MON-18 from a drug addicted Portuguese patien...

Leishmaniasis chemotherapy remains very challenging. The high cost of active drugs, along with the severity of their side effects and the increasing failure rate of the current therapeutic schemes, calls for the discovery of new active drugs and schemes of treatment. The use of combination therapy has gained much attention in recent years as a possible strategy for overcoming the various shortc...