Cytotoxic CD4+ T Cells Are Induced during Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infection in both men and women. Immunity to C. trachomatis involves many cell types, but CD4+ T cells play a key role in protecting the host during natural infection.

Multiple genetic loci define Ca utilization by bloodstream malaria parasites.

Background: Bloodstream malaria parasites require Ca for their development, but the sites and mechanisms of Ca utilization are not well understood. We hypothesized that there may be differences in Ca uptake or utilization by genetically distinct lines of P. falciparum.

The Cytosolic Sensor cGAS Detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA to Induce Type I Interferons and Activate Autophagy.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are critical mediators of antiviral defense, but their elicitation by bacterial pathogens can be detrimental to hosts. Many intracellular bacterial pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, induce type I IFNs following phagosomal membrane perturbations. Cytosolic M.

Metal-drug synergy: new ruthenium(II) complexes of ketoconazole are highly active against Leishmania major and Trypanosoma cruzi and nontoxic to human or murine normal cells.

In our ongoing search for new metal-based chemotherapeutic agents against leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, six new ruthenium-ketoconazole (KTZ) complexes have been synthesized and characterized, including two octahedral coordination complexes-cis,fac-[Ru(II)Cl2(DMSO)3(KTZ)] (1) and cis-[Ru(II)Cl2(bipy)(DMSO)(KTZ)] (2) (where DMSO is dimethyl sulfoxide and bipy is 2,2'-bipyridine)-and four organometallic compounds-[Ru(II)(η(6)-p-cymene)Cl2(KTZ)] (3), [Ru(II)(η(6)-p-cymene)(en)(KTZ)][BF4]2 (4), [Ru(II)(η(6)-p-cymene)(bipy)(KTZ)][BF4]2 (5), and [Ru(II)(η(6)-p-cymene)(acac)(KTZ)][BF4] (6) (where en is ethylenediamine and acac is acetylacetonate); the crystal structure of 3 is described. The central hypothesis of our work is that combining a bioactive compound such as KTZ and a metal in a single molecule results in a synergy that can translate into improved activity and/or selectivity against parasites. In agreement with this hypothesis, complexation of KTZ with Ru(II) in compounds 3-5 produces a marked enhancement of the activity toward promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania major, when compared with uncomplexed KTZ, or with similar ruthenium compounds not containing KTZ.