Leishmaniasis is a tropical disease caused by Leishmania parasites and currently has no licensed vaccines. We developed a dermotropic Leishmania major centrin gene-deleted strain (LmCen) as a live attenuated vaccine. Recent studies have shown that type I interferons (IFNs) play important roles in immunity to parasitic and viral pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViolet-blue light of 405 nm in the visible spectrum at a dose of 270 J/cm alone has been shown to be an effective microbicidal tool for inactivating several bacteria, HIV-1, and in ex vivo plasma and platelets. Unlike chemical- and ultraviolet (UV)-based pathogen inactivation methods for plasma and platelet safety, 405 nm light is shown to be less toxic to host cells at light doses that are microbicidal. In this report, we evaluated the parasiticidal activity of a 405 nm light treatment on platelets spiked with the parasite.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is characterized by extensive skin lesions, which are usually painless despite being associated with extensive inflammation. The molecular mechanisms responsible for this analgesia have not been identified. Through untargeted metabolomics, we found enriched anti-nociceptive metabolic pathways in -infected mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeishmaniasis is a tropical disease prevalent in 90 countries. Presently, there is no approved vaccine for human use. We developed a live attenuated strain as a vaccine candidate that showed excellent efficacy, characterized by reduced Th2 and enhanced Th1 responses in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, respectively, compared to wild-type WT infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is prevalent in 90 countries, and yet no licensed human vaccine exists against it. Toward control of leishmaniasis, we have developed gene deletion mutant strains () as a live attenuated vaccine, which induces a strong IFN-γ-mediated protection to the host. However, the immune mechanisms of such protection remain to be understood.
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