Lipophosphoglycan-3 protein from Leishmania infantum chagasi plus saponin adjuvant: A new promising vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious neglected tropical disease that affects humans and dogs in urban areas. There are no vaccines against human VL, and few licensed canine VL vaccines are currently available, which instigates the search for new antigens and vaccine formulations with prophylactic potential against VL in these hosts. In this study, we evaluated the immunization using the native and recombinant Leishmania infantum chagasi (L.

Lipophosphoglycan 3 From Binds Heparin With Micromolar Affinity.

is an intracellular protozoan parasite responsible for visceral leishmaniasis, a fatal disease in humans. Heparin-binding proteins (HBPs) are proteins that bind to carbohydrates present in glycoproteins or glycolipids. Evidence suggests that HBPs present on surface participate in the adhesion and invasion of parasites to tissues of both invertebrate and vertebrate hosts.

Leishmania metacyclogenesis is promoted in the absence of purines.

Leishmania parasites, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, are transmitted through the bite of an infected sand fly. Leishmania parasites present two basic forms known as promastigote and amastigote which, respectively, parasitizes the vector and the mammalian hosts. Infection of the vertebrate host is dependent on the development, in the vector, of metacyclic promastigotes, however, little is known about the factors that trigger metacyclogenesis in Leishmania parasites.

Extracellular nucleotide metabolism in Leishmania: influence of adenosine in the establishment of infection.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease with a variety of clinical forms, which are related to the Leishmania species involved. In the murine model, Leishmania amazonensis causes chronic non-healing lesions in Leishmania braziliensis- or Leishmania major-resistant mouse strains. In this study, we investigated the involvement of the pathway of extracellular nucleotide hydrolysis, with special focus on the role of extracellular adenosine, in the establishment of Leishmania infection.