Phlebotomine sandflies of the genus Sergentomyia are widely distributed throughout the Old World. It has been suggested that Sergentomyia spp are involved in the transmission of Leishmania in India and Africa, whereas Phlebotomus spp are thought to be the sole vectors of Leishmania in the Old World. In this study, Leishmania major DNA was detected in one Sergentomyia minuta specimen that was collected in the southern region of Portugal. This study challenges the dogma that Leishmania is exclusively transmitted by species of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02762013000400020 | DOI Listing |
Arch Biochem Biophys
January 2025
Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Biosciences Institute, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoans of the Leishmania genus, against which no effective treatment or control is available. Like other eukaryotes, parasite telomeres are maintained by telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein complex vital for genome stability. Its protein component, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), presents four structural and functional domains, with the TEN (Telomerase N-terminal) and TRBD (Telomerase RNA-binding) located at its N-terminal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
January 2025
Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Brazil.
Macrophages represent a fundamental component of the innate immune system that play a critical role in detecting and responding to pathogens as well as danger signals. Leishmania spp. infections lead to a notable alteration in macrophage metabolism, whereby infected cells display heightened energy metabolism that is linked to the integrity of host mitochondria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
November 2024
Laboratory of Biology of Cellular Interactions, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil.
Background/objectives: Considering the large number of candidates in vaccine-testing studies against different pathogens and the amount of time spent in the preclinical and clinical trials, there is a pressing need to develop an improved in vivo system to quickly screen vaccine candidates. The model of a polyester-polyurethane sponge implant provides a rapid analysis of the specific stimulus-response, allowing the study of a compartmentalized microenvironment. The sponge implant's defined measurements were standardized as a compartment to assess the immune response triggered by the vaccinal antigen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceutics
December 2024
PostGraduate Program in Chemistry, Center for Exact Sciences and Technology (CCET), UFMA-Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís 65080-805, Brazil.
Leishmaniasis, caused by protozoa of the genus , is a major global health issue due to the limitations of current treatments, which include low efficacy, high costs, and severe side effects. This study aimed to develop a more effective and less toxic therapy by utilizing zein nanoparticles (ZNPs) in combination with a nonpolar fraction (DCMF) from (Syn. ), a plant rich in dimeric flavonoids called brachydins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics (Basel)
November 2024
Organic Chemistry Laboratory, University Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
New drugs for the treatment of protozoal parasite infections such as toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis are required. Cinnamaldehyde and its derivatives appear to be promising antiparasitic drug candidates. Acyl hydrazones of cinnamaldehyde, 4-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde, and of the synthetic fragrances silvial and florhydral were prepared and tested for activity against () and () parasites.
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