Anti-Leishmania activity of new ruthenium(II) complexes: Effect on parasite-host interaction.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. The many complications presented by the current treatment - including high toxicity, high cost and parasite resistance - make the development of new therapeutic agents indispensable. The present study aims to evaluate the anti-Leishmania potential of new ruthenium(II) complexes, cis‑[Ru(η-OCR)(dppm)]PF, with dppm=bis(diphenylphosphino)methane and R=4-butylbenzoate (bbato) 1, 4-(methylthio)benzoate (mtbato) 2 and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoate (hmxbato) 3, in promastigote cytotoxicity and their effect on parasite-host interaction.

In vitro additive interaction between ketoconazole and antimony against intramacrophage Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis amastigotes.

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases caused by protozoa of Leishmania genus. The currently available treatments for this disease are expensive, present high toxicity and are associated to difficulties of healing and parasite resistance. Therefore, the development of strategies for leishmaniasis treatment is indispensable and includes reposition of existing drugs, as well as drug combination therapy.

Enrofloxacin is able to control Toxoplasma gondii infection in both in vitro and in vivo experimental models.

Currently, toxoplasmosis is treated with sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine. However, this treatment presents several adverse side effects; thus, there is a critical need for the development and evaluation of new drugs, which do not present the same problems of the standard therapy. Enrofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic known to control infection against several bacteria in veterinary medicine.

Evaluation of the effect of treatment of latent tuberculosis infection on QuantiFERON-TB gold assay results.

To evaluate the utility of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay for monitoring latent tuberculosis treatment efficacy, the assay was performed serially for healthcare workers receiving isoniazid therapy. After 9 months of isoniazid therapy, all of these healthcare workers remained QuantiFERON-TB Gold positive, and cellular proliferation assays revealed persistently strong purified protein derivative responses. These results do not support the use of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay to monitor therapy.

Guinea pig model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis latent/dormant infection.

Although guinea pigs are considered one of the best animal models of tuberculosis, little data exist describing latent or dormant tuberculosis infection in these animals. Here we address this issue using a streptomycin auxotrophic mutant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This mutant grows unimpaired in the presence of streptomycin but in its absence shifts to latency/dormancy (lack growth and over-expression of alpha-crystallin).

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ornithine carboamyltransferase in urine as a possible molecular marker of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Although the antigen detection assay has the potential to discriminate active tuberculosis from latent infection, development of such a test for the accurate diagnosis of this serious disease has only recently become a matter of interest. Here we present evidence that a Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein (ornithine carboamyltransferase, coded for by MT_1694; Rv1656 [argF]) is an interesting candidate molecule for this test development. The protein was initially discovered by mass spectroscopy in urine of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and shown by Western blot analysis to be present in M.

Comparative effect of ion calcium and magnesium in the activation and infection of the murine macrophage by Leishmania major.

Amastigotes of Leishmania major have a great ability to evade destruction in host cells. This study investigated the activation in resident, inflammatory macrophages and J774 cells in vitro treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA), calcium ionophore (CaI) and magnesium (Mg2+) alone or combined. An increase in nitric oxide (NO) production was observed in J774 or inflammatory macrophages treated with LPS alone or in combination with SLA and CaI.