Visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani is the most severe systemic form of the disease. There are still no vaccines available for humans and there are limitations associated with the current therapeutic regimens for leishmaniasis. Recently, we reported functional importance of Arabino-1, 4-lactone oxidase (ALO) enzyme from L. donovani involved in ascorbate biosynthesis pathway. In...

Leishmania is resident within the macrophages of its vertebrate host. In any intramacrophage infection, where the pathogen is present in a form capable of mediating cell to cell transmission, the contribution of a cytotoxic T cell response to protective immunity is questionable. This study presents data from an in vitro model designed to elucidate the outcome of an interaction between CD8+, cyt...

UNLABELLED Macrophages are mononuclear phagocytes that constitute a first line of defense against pathogens. While lethal to many microbes, they are the primary host cells of Leishmania spp. parasites, the obligate intracellular pathogens that cause leishmaniasis. We conducted transcriptomic profiling of two Leishmania species and the human macrophage over the course of intracellular infection ...

Abstract Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by over 20 species of protozoan parasites the genus Leishmania. Infection commonly spread sandflies and produces wide spectrum clinical signs symptoms. Therefore, from an epidemiological therapeutic standpoint, it important to detect differentiate Leishmania spp. The objective this study was combinate in silico vitro strategies evaluate analyt...

Leishmania are protozoan parasites that proliferate within the phagolysome of mammalian macrophages. While a number of anti-oxidant systems in these parasites have been shown to protect against endogenous as well as host-generated reactive oxygen species, the potential role of enzymes involved in the repair of oxidatively damaged proteins remains uncharacterized. The Leishmania spp genomes enco...

Among the countless examples of interspecific interactions in biology, surely non-could be more interesting than which established between host animals and their specific parasites. The members of the genus Leishmania are peculiar obligate intracellular protozoans in that they proliferate in the enzyme rich phagolysosomes, an organelle which is essential component of all defence reactions of an...

This report describes the isolation of a Leishmania chagasi strain from a bat (Carollia perspicillata), and its identification using biological methods and molecular characterization. The parasites were isolated in an artificial culture medium from a blood sample extracted from a bat heart. The isolate was then inoculated into the footpads of Balb/c mice, which subsequently developed a typical ...