Due to limited efficacy and considerable toxicity, the therapy for Chagas' disease is far from being ideal, and thus new compounds are desirable. Diamidines and related compounds such as arylimidamides have promising trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma cruzi. To better understand the mechanism of action of these heterocyclic cations, we investigated the kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) binding prop...

objective: molecular epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is currently used widely for different objectives such as vector incrimination studies. materials and methods: in this study three different loci including kinetoplast dna (kdna), ribosomal dna (rdna), and cystein protease b (cpb) of leishmania parasite genome were used for detection and identification of natural infection of san...

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The protozoan Crithidia acanthocephali contains, within a modified region of a mitochondrion, a mass of DNA known as kinetoplast DNA (kDNA). This DNA consists mainly of an association of approximately 27,000 covalently closed 0.8-mum circular molecules which are apparently held together in a definite ordered manner by topological interlocking. After culturing of C. acanthocephali cells for 25 g...

The order Kinetoplastida is composed of several families of flagellated protozoa which are among the most ancient of the eukaryotes. The most prominent members of this order are parasites that are responsible for major tropical diseases. These parasites include Trypanosoma brucei, the African trypanosome; Trypanosoma cruzi, the South American trypanosome; and several species of Leishmania. Othe...

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a common skin disease caused by leishmania parasite. An accurate diagnosis of parasites species is possible using molecular techniques. This study was carried out to compare internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) and kinetoplast deoxyribonucleic acid (KDNA) genes for identifying Leishmania species by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), furthermore, genetic diversity of isola...

This study evaluated the applicability of kDNA-PCR as a prospective routine diagnosis method for American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) in patients from the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas (IIER), a reference center for infectious diseases in São Paulo - SP, Brazil. The kDNA-PCR method detected Leishmania DNA in 87.5% (112/128) of the clinically suspected ATL patients, while the tradit...

Colombian strain of Trypanosoma cruzi, biodeme Type III (T. cruzi I), has been cloned by micromanipulation at two phases of the acute infection: early (10 days ) and advanced (30 days). Twelve clones were obtained therefrom. Characterization by their biological and biochemical behavior showed an identity among the several clones and their parental strain, albeit with different degrees of virule...

round amastigote form by binary fission in various tissues of the mammalian host. (reviewed in Teixeira [1987]). Research Laboratory American trypanosomiasis infections span an exten-Faculty of Medicine sive geographical area between 42ЊN in the United University of Brasília States to 43ЊS in Argentina. Human Chagas disease is Brasília considered the most significant parasitic disease in Brazil...

The Trypanosoma cruzi acute infections acquired in infancy and childhood seem asymptomatic, but approximately one third of the chronically infected cases show Chagas disease up to three decades or later. Autoimmunity and parasite persistence are competing theories to explain the pathogenesis of Chagas disease. To separate roles played by parasite persistence and autoimmunity in Chagas disease w...