Recombinant Salivary Proteins Polarize Murine Macrophages Toward the Anti-Inflammatory Phenotype.

(Diptera: Phlebotominae) is a medically and veterinary important insect vector. It transmits the unicellular parasite that multiplies intracellularly in macrophages causing life-threatening visceral diseases. establishment in the vertebrate host is substantially influenced by immunomodulatory properties of vector saliva that are obligatorily co-injected into the feeding site.

Serological Evaluation of Cutaneous Infection in Northern Israel.

spp. are medically important unicellular parasites transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. The World Health Organization recently highlighted the importance of reliable diagnostic tools for leishmaniasis.

Insights into the sand fly saliva: Blood-feeding and immune interactions between sand flies, hosts, and Leishmania.

Background: Leishmaniases are parasitic diseases present worldwide that are transmitted to the vertebrate host by the bite of an infected sand fly during a blood feeding. Phlebotomine sand flies inoculate into the mammalian host Leishmania parasites embedded in promastigote secretory gel (PSG) with saliva, which is composed of a diverse group of molecules with pharmacological and immunomodulatory properties.

Methods And Findings: In this review, we focus on 3 main aspects of sand fly salivary molecules: (1) structure and composition of salivary glands, including the properties of salivary molecules related to hemostasis and blood feeding, (2) immunomodulatory properties of salivary molecules and the diverse impacts of these molecules on leishmaniasis, ranging from disease exacerbation to vaccine development, and (3) use of salivary molecules for field applications, including monitoring host exposure to sand flies and the risk of Leishmania transmission.

The Diversity of Yellow-Related Proteins in Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Yellow-related proteins (YRPs) present in sand fly saliva act as affinity binders of bioamines, and help the fly to complete a bloodmeal by scavenging the physiological signals of damaged cells. They are also the main antigens in sand fly saliva and their recombinant form is used as a marker of host exposure to sand flies. Moreover, several salivary proteins and plasmids coding these proteins induce strong immune response in hosts bitten by sand flies and are being used to design protecting vaccines against Leishmania parasites.

Recombinant Salivary Proteins of Phlebotomus orientalis are Suitable Antigens to Measure Exposure of Domestic Animals to Sand Fly Bites.

Background: Certain salivary proteins of phlebotomine sand flies injected into the host skin during blood-feeding are highly antigenic and elicit strong antibody-mediated immune responses in repeatedly-exposed hosts. These antibodies can be measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assays (ELISAs) using salivary gland homogenates (SGHs) as the source of antigens and serve as a markers for exposure to biting sand flies. Large-scale screening for anti-sand fly saliva antibodies requires replacement of SGH with recombinant salivary proteins.

Exposure to Leishmania spp. and sand flies in domestic animals in northwestern Ethiopia.

Background: Human visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani is considered an anthroponosis; however, Leishmania-infected animals have been increasingly reported in L. donovani foci, and the role of these animals as reservoirs for human L. donovani infection remains unclear.

Canine Antibodies against Salivary Recombinant Proteins of Phlebotomus perniciosus: A Longitudinal Study in an Endemic Focus of Canine Leishmaniasis.

Background: Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania parasites. During blood feeding, sand flies deposit into the host skin immunogenic salivary proteins which elicit specific antibody responses. These anti-saliva antibodies enable an estimate of the host exposure to sand flies and, in leishmaniasis endemic areas, also the risk for Leishmania infections.

Detection of Leishmania donovani and L. tropica in Ethiopian wild rodents.

Human visceral (VL, also known as Kala-azar) and cutaneous (CL) leishmaniasis are important infectious diseases affecting countries in East Africa that remain endemic in several regions of Ethiopia. The transmission and epidemiology of the disease is complicated due to the complex life cycle of the parasites and the involvement of various Leishmania spp., sand fly vectors, and reservoir animals besides human hosts.

Phlebotomus papatasi exposure cross-protects mice against Leishmania major co-inoculated with Phlebotomus duboscqi salivary gland homogenate.

Leishmania parasites are inoculated into host skin together with sand fly saliva and multiple exposures to uninfected sand fly bites protect mice against Leishmania infection. However, sand fly vectors differ in composition of the saliva and therefore the protection elicited by their salivary proteins was shown to be species-specific. On the other hand, the optimal vaccine based on sand fly salivary proteins should be based on conserved salivary proteins conferring cross-reactivity.

High levels of anti-Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva antibodies in different vertebrate hosts from the re-emerging leishmaniosis focus in Madrid, Spain.

From July 2009 to date, a leishmaniosis outbreak has occurred in the south-west of the Madrid region (Spain) and has already accounted for more than 450 human cases in an area that comprises a population of approximately 500,000. The causative agent is Leishmania infantum and the main vector in the area is Phlebotomus perniciosus. Although canine leishmaniosis prevalence in the focus is not higher than the average in the Madrid region, a wild reservoir - the hare - has been implicated.

Comparative analysis of salivary gland transcriptomes of Phlebotomus orientalis sand flies from endemic and non-endemic foci of visceral leishmaniasis.

Background: In East Africa, Phlebotomus orientalis serves as the main vector of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Phlebotomus orientalis is present at two distant localities in Ethiopia; Addis Zemen where VL is endemic and Melka Werer where transmission of VL does not occur. To find out whether the difference in epidemiology of VL is due to distant compositions of P.

Recombinant antigens from Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva as markers of canine exposure to visceral leishmaniases vector.

Background: Phlebotomus perniciosus is the main vector in the western Mediterranean area of the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of canine and human visceral leishmaniases. Infected dogs serve as a reservoir of the disease, and therefore measuring the exposure of dogs to sand fly bites is important for estimating the risk of L. infantum transmission.

Theileria infection in domestic ruminants in northern Ethiopia.

Piroplasmosis caused by different tick-borne hemoprotozoan parasites of the genera Theileria and Babesia is among the most economically important infections of domestic ruminants in sub-Saharan Africa. A survey for piroplasm infection was conducted in three locations in Northern Ethiopia. Of 525 domestic ruminants surveyed, 80% of the cattle, 94% of the sheep and 2% of the goats were positive for different Theileria spp.

Kinetics of antibody response in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice bitten by Phlebotomus papatasi.

Background: Phlebotomine sand flies are blood-sucking insects transmitting Leishmania parasites. In bitten hosts, sand fly saliva elicits specific immune response and the humoral immunity was shown to reflect the intensity of sand fly exposure. Thus, anti-saliva antibodies were suggested as the potential risk marker of Leishmania transmission.

Salivary gland transcriptomes and proteomes of Phlebotomus tobbi and Phlebotomus sergenti, vectors of leishmaniasis.

Background: Phlebotomus tobbi is a vector of Leishmania infantum, and P. sergenti is a vector of Leishmania tropica. Le.

Individual variability of salivary gland proteins in three Phlebotomus species.

Pooled salivary gland samples are frequently used to ensure the sufficient amount of material for the experiments; however, this could mask an individual variability. Thus, we compared salivary protein profiles in seven colonies of three Phlebotomus species: Phlebotomus sergenti, Phlebotomus perniciosus, and Phlebotomus papatasi. Surprisingly, the individual profiles differed significantly between the colonies as well as between individuals.

Canine antibody response to Phlebotomus perniciosus bites negatively correlates with the risk of Leishmania infantum transmission.

Background: Phlebotomine sand flies are blood-sucking insects that can transmit Leishmania parasites. Hosts bitten by sand flies develop an immune response against sand fly salivary antigens. Specific anti-saliva IgG indicate the exposure to the vector and may also help to estimate the risk of Leishmania spp.

The protective effect against Leishmania infection conferred by sand fly bites is limited to short-term exposure.

Under laboratory conditions, hosts exposed twice to sand fly saliva are protected against severe leishmaniasis. However, people in endemic areas are exposed to the vector over a long term and may experience sand fly-free periods. Therefore, we exposed mice long- or short-term to Phlebotomus duboscqi bites, followed by Leishmania major infection either immediately or after a sand fly-free period.

Analysis of salivary transcripts and antigens of the sand fly Phlebotomus arabicus.

Background: Sand fly saliva plays an important role in blood feeding and Leishmania transmission as it was shown to increase parasite virulence. On the other hand, immunity to salivary components impedes the establishment of infection. Therefore, it is most desirable to gain a deeper insight into the composition of saliva in sand fly species which serve as vectors of various forms of leishmaniases.

Kinetics of canine antibody response to saliva of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis.

Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is transmitted from dogs to humans by sand flies and Lutzomyia longipalpis is a major vector of this disease. We studied the antibody response in dogs experimentally exposed to L. longipalpis females to characterize sand fly salivary antigens recognized by canine sera and to find out whether the level of specific anti-saliva antibodies reflects the intensity of exposure.

Sand fly saliva: effects on host immune response and Leishmania transmission.

The feeding success of sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) is linked to the vast array of pharmacological substances in their saliva, which interferes with the host haemostasis and immune response. Modification of feeding site plays also an important role in Leishmania transmission. In naive hosts, co-inoculation of saliva and Leishmania parasites increases the chance of successful transmission.

Sand fly specificity of saliva-mediated protective immunity in Leishmania amazonensis-BALB/c mouse model.

Immune response of BALB/c mice to the salivary antigens of sand flies was found to vary with different species used, i.e. Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus sergenti and Lutzomyia longipalpis.