Feline Leishmaniasis: Evidence-based Treatments and Challenges to be Solved.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoa parasites from the Leishmania genus. Vertebrate hosts acquire the infection through the bite of a female sandfly, initiating a complex parasite development cycle. Contrary to previous beliefs regarding cats' resistance, these animals have recently been identified as potential reservoirs for leishmaniasis.

Susceptibility of promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes from distinct Leishmania species to the calpain inhibitor MDL28170.

Despite the available drug options, leishmaniasis treatment remains unsatisfactory. The repurposing of calpain inhibitors originally developed for human diseases became an interesting alternative, since Leishmania cells express calpain-related proteins. The susceptibility of six Leishmania species (L.

Susceptibility of Phytomonas serpens to calpain inhibitors in vitro: interference on the proliferation, ultrastructure, cysteine peptidase expression and interaction with the invertebrate host.

A pleiotropic response to the calpain inhibitor MDL28170 was detected in the tomato parasite Phytomonas serpens. Ultrastructural studies revealed that MDL28170 caused mitochondrial swelling, shortening of flagellum and disruption of trans Golgi network. This effect was correlated to the inhibition in processing of cruzipain-like molecules, which presented an increase in expression paralleled by decreased proteolytic activity.

Conidial germination in Scedosporium apiospermum, S. aurantiacum, S. minutisporum and Lomentospora prolificans: influence of growth conditions and antifungal susceptibility profiles.

In the present study, we have investigated some growth conditions capable of inducing the conidial germination in Scedosporium apiospermum, S. aurantiacum, S. minutisporum and Lomentospora prolificans.

Expression of calpain-like proteins and effects of calpain inhibitors on the growth rate of Angomonas deanei wild type and aposymbiotic strains.

Background: Angomonas deanei is a trypanosomatid parasite of insects that has a bacterial endosymbiont, which supplies amino acids and other nutrients to its host. Bacterium loss induced by antibiotic treatment of the protozoan leads to an aposymbiotic strain with increased need for amino acids and results in increased production of extracellular peptidases. In this work, a more detailed examination of A.