BACKGROUND Leishmaniasis is a complex disease which presents as visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous forms. The current treatment options for this infection are very limited and the immunological state of the host appears to play an important role in the efficacy of the treatment. Immunostimulation through immune response activating agents such as Imiquimod is another rational approach for thi...

Natural (parasite-driven) and sexual selection are thought to maintain high polymorphism in the genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), but support for a link between mate choice, MHC variation and increased parasite resistance is circumstantial. We compared MHC diversity and Anisakis loads among anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) returning to four rivers to spawn, which h...

Leishmania chagasi, transmitted mainly by Lutzomyia longipalpis sand flies, causes visceral leishmaniasis and atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis in Latin America. Successful vector control depends upon determining vectorial capacity and understanding Leishmania transmission by sand flies. As microscopic detection of Leishmania in dissected sand fly guts is laborious and time-consuming, highly spe...

Different sugar-grafted liposomes were prepared and tested against experimental leishmaniasis in vivo using the classical drug pentamidine isethionate and its methoxy derivative. Both the drugs, when encapsulated in sugar-grafted liposomes were found to be more potent in comparison to normal liposome-encapsulated drug or to the free drug. Moreover, the mannose-grafted liposomes were adjudged to...

In May, 2007 a total of 54 cattle and 47 buffaloes were examined for Schistosoma nasale infection at a municipality slaughterhouse in Kalpetta, Wayanad, India. Eleven point one percent of cattle and 23.4% of buffaloes were positive, all with only mild parasite loads, with fewer than 5 per animal. The prevalence of Schistosoma nasale among large ruminants in Wayanad, India is relatively low comp...

Previously, we showed in Leishmania infections that extrinsic insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I favored Leishmania proliferation and leishmaniasis development. In this study, the interaction of intrinsically expressed IGF-I and Leishmania (Leishmania) major in macrophages was addressed, and a key finding was the observation, using confocal microscopy, of the co-localization of IGF-I and parasi...

The environmental conditions experienced by hosts are known to affect their mean parasite transmission potential. How different conditions may affect the variance of transmission potential has received less attention, but is an important question for disease management, especially if specific ecological contexts are more likely to foster a few extremely infectious hosts. Using the obligate-kill...

CD8(+) T cells are essential for controlling Trypanosoma cruzi infection. During Brazil strain infection, C57BL/6 mice expand parasite-specific CD8(+) T cells recognizing the dominant TSKB20 (ANYKFTLV) and subdominant TSKB74 (VNYDFTLV) trans-sialidase gene (TS)-encoded epitopes with up to 40% of all CD8(+) T cells specific for these epitopes. Although this is one of the largest immunodominant T...

A murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis with green fluorescent protein positive (GFP+) L. major enables the monitoring of parasitic load via measurements of GFP fluorescence intensity, allowing for a faster and more efficient way of monitoring the clinical outcome of photodynamic therapy (PDT). This model may provide new insights on the phototoxic aspects in PDT. Although PDT regimens may be ...

Multiple biological processes can generate sexual selection on male visual signals such as color. For example, females may prefer colorful males because those males are more readily detected (perceptual bias), or because male color conveys information about male quality and associated direct or indirect benefits to females. For example, male threespine stickleback often exhibit red throat color...