The regulation of the inflammatory response is essential to maintaining homeostasis. Several studies have investigated new drugs that may contribute to avoiding or minimizing excessive inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of extracts of green algae Caulerpa mexicana on models inflammation. In mice, the inflammatory peritonitis model is induced by zymosan. Previ...

Chrysactinia mexicana A. Gray (Asteraceae) and Turnera diffusa Willd (Turneraceae) are employed in traditional medicine as aphrodisiacs; however, there is no scientific evidence supporting the prosexual properties of C. mexicana. The aim of this study was to determine whether an aqueous extract of C. mexicana (Cm) stimulates rat male sexual behavior in the sexual exhaustion paradigm. Sexually e...

There is not an experimental model of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana. The aim of the present study was to characterize the clinical and histological features of Peromyscus yucatanicus experimentally infected with L. (L.) mexicana. A total of 54 P. yucatanicus (groups of 18) were inoculated with 1x10(6) promastigotes of L. (L.) mexicana in the ...

We investigated replicated ecological speciation in the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana and P. sulphuraria (Poeciliidae), which inhabit freshwater habitats and have also colonized multiple sulfidic springs in southern Mexico. These springs exhibit extreme hypoxia and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, which is lethal to most metazoans. We used phylogenetic analyses to test whether spri...

The protozoan Leishmania mexicana parasite causes chronic non-healing cutaneous lesions in humans and mice with poor parasite control. The mechanisms preventing the development of a protective immune response against this parasite are unclear. Here we provide data demonstrating that parasite sequestration by neutrophils is responsible for disease progression in mice. Within hours of infection L...

In the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana is a typical wild zoonosis restricted to the forest, and humans are only accidentally involved. The transmission of L. (L.) mexicana has been related to the patient's occupation: "chicleros" (gum collectors) and agricultural workers. The objective of this study was to document L....

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus. Previous studies have shown that a DNA vaccine encoding Leishmania donovani antigen nucleoside hydrolase 36 and L. mexicana glycoprotein 63 is protective in mice. We investigated here the efficacy of this DNA vaccine to induce protection in golden hamsters. Male hamsters were more susceptible to infectio...

Fractionation of Guatteria amplifolia yielded the alkaloids xylopine (1), nornuciferine (4), lysicamine (6), and laudanosine (5). Fractionation of Guatteria dumetorum yielded the alkaloids cryptodorine (2) and nornantenine (3). Compounds 1-4 demonstrated significant activity against Leishmania mexicana and L. panamensis. Xylopine (1) was among the most active compounds (LD 50 = 3 microM) and sh...