Early Leukocyte Responses in Models of Healing and Non-Healing Human Infections.

Early host-pathogen interactions drive the host response and shape the outcome of natural infections caused by intracellular microorganisms. These interactions involve a number of immune and non-immune cells and tissues, along with an assortment of host and pathogen-derived molecules. Our current knowledge has been predominantly derived from research on the relationships between the pathogens and the invaded host cell(s), limiting our understanding of how microbes elicit and modulate immunological responses at the organismal level.

Correction: Meta-transcriptome Profiling of the Human-Leishmania braziliensis Cutaneous Lesion.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.

The Transcriptome of Developmental Stages in Their Natural Sand Fly Vector.

The life cycle of the parasite in the sand fly vector involves differentiation into several distinctive forms, each thought to represent an adaptation to specific microenvironments in the midgut of the fly. Based on transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) results, we describe the first high-resolution analysis of the transcriptome dynamics of four distinct stages of as they develop in a natural vector, The early transformation from tissue amastigotes to procyclic promastigotes in the blood-fed midgut was accompanied by the greatest number of differentially expressed genes, including the downregulation of amastins, and upregulation of multiple cell surface proteins, sugar and amino acid transporters, and genes related to glucose metabolism and cell cycle progression. The global changes accompanying post-blood meal differentiation of procyclic promastigotes to the nectomonad and metacyclic stages were less extensive, though each displayed a unique signature.

Meta-transcriptome Profiling of the Human-Leishmania braziliensis Cutaneous Lesion.

Host and parasite gene expression in skin biopsies from Leishmania braziliensis-infected patients were simultaneously analyzed using high throughput RNA-sequencing. Biopsies were taken from 8 patients with early cutaneous leishmaniasis and 17 patients with late cutaneous leishmaniasis. Although parasite DNA was found in all patient lesions at the time of biopsy, the patients could be stratified into two groups: one lacking detectable parasite transcripts (PTNeg) in lesions, and another in which parasite transcripts were readily detected (PTPos).

Dual Transcriptome Profiling of Leishmania-Infected Human Macrophages Reveals Distinct Reprogramming Signatures.

Unlabelled: Macrophages are mononuclear phagocytes that constitute a first line of defense against pathogens. While lethal to many microbes, they are the primary host cells of Leishmania spp. parasites, the obligate intracellular pathogens that cause leishmaniasis.

Simultaneous transcriptional profiling of Leishmania major and its murine macrophage host cell reveals insights into host-pathogen interactions.

Background: Parasites of the genus Leishmania are the causative agents of leishmaniasis, a group of diseases that range in manifestations from skin lesions to fatal visceral disease. The life cycle of Leishmania parasites is split between its insect vector and its mammalian host, where it resides primarily inside of macrophages. Once intracellular, Leishmania parasites must evade or deactivate the host's innate and adaptive immune responses in order to survive and replicate.

Transcriptomic profiling of gene expression and RNA processing during Leishmania major differentiation.

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are the etiological agents of leishmaniasis, a group of diseases with a worldwide incidence of 0.9-1.6 million cases per year.

The generation of macrophages with anti-inflammatory activity in the absence of STAT6 signaling.

Macrophages readily change their phenotype in response to exogenous stimuli. In this work, macrophages were stimulated under a variety of experimental conditions, and phenotypic alterations were correlated with changes in gene expression. We identified 3 transcriptionally related populations of macrophages with immunoregulatory activity.

Unlocking the secrets of the genome.

Unlabelled: Despite the successes of genomics, little is known about how genetic information produces complex organisms. A look at the crucial functional elements of fly and worm genomes could change that.

Supplementary Information: The online version of this article (doi:10.