BACKGROUND Caviomorph rodents, some of the oldest Leishmania spp. hosts, are widely dispersed in Brazil. Despite both experimental and field studies having suggested that these rodents are potential reservoirs of Leishmania parasites, not more than 88 specimens were analyzed in the few studies of natural infection. Our hypothesis was that caviomorph rodents are inserted in the transmission cycl...

BACKGROUND Gene reporter-fluorescent cells have emerged as alternative method for drug screening. OBJECTIVE Achievement of constitutive expression of fluorescent protein GFP by Leishmania braziliensis as alternative method for drug screening. METHODS L. braziliensis-GFP was generated using Leishmania tarentolae pLEXSY-egfp for constitutive expression of GFP. Fluorescent cells were selected ...

Sandflies associated with opossum nests are reported for the first time in the yards of residences located in the urban area of the municipality of Monte Mor, situated in the metropolitan region of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Eleven specimens of Evandromyia cortelezzii and one of Evandromyia lenti were captured in two Didelphis albiventris nests. Ev. cortelezzii is considered a second...

Leishmaniases remain a major public health problem today (350 million people at risk, 12 million infected, and 2 million new infections per year). Despite the considerable progress in cellular and molecular biology and in evolutionary genetics since 1990, the debate on the population structure and reproductive mode of Leishmania is far from being settled and therefore deserves further investiga...

Protozoan parasites of Leishmania genus are able to successfully infect their host macrophage due to multiple virulence strategies that result in its deactivation. Recent studies suggest Leishmania GP63 to be a critical virulence factor in modulation of many macrophage molecules, including protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and transcription factors (TFs). Additionally, we and others recently...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a major fatal disease prevalent in North-East India, caused by a protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. The parasite multiplies and thrives inside mammalian macrophages and is transmitted by the bite of the sandfly. Due to the unsatisfactory treatment measures, increasing drug resistance and the advent of HIV-Leishmania co-infection there has been an urgent need ...

A simple synthesis and in vitro antileishmanial activity of 29,30-dibromo-28-oxoallobetulin against the parasitic protozoans, Leishmania donovani and Leishmania major is described. The structure of the compound is established on the basis of spectral data (IR, NMR, MS). Both the antiproliferative effect and the cell cycle progression were studied.

Sera of kala-azar patients from Bihar, India, were used to identify Leishmania donovani antigens encoded by a phage expression library. Ten antigens were identified, five of which have not been described as leishmania antigens before. The antigens specifically react with sera of leishmania-infected patients but not of toxoplasma- or plasmodium-infected patients.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a public health problem on a global level because it affects the population of 88 countries. In Morocco, it is widely distributed, caused by Leishmania tropica, Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum rarely. The geographical distribution of different forms of leishmaniasis in Morocco is linked to well described bioclimatic zones. Over the past two decades, the ...

The parasite responsible for autochthonous cutaneous leishmaniasis in Martinique island (French West Indies) was first isolated in 1995; its taxonomical position was established only in 2002, but it remained unnamed. In the present paper, the authors name this parasite Leishmania (Leishmania) martiniquensis Desbois, Pratlong & Dedet n. sp. and describe the type strain of this taxon, including i...