Leishmania species are protozoan parasites and the causative agents of leishmaniasis, a vector borne disease that imposes a large health burden on individuals living mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Different Leishmania species are responsible for the distinct clinical patterns, such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis, with the latter being potentially fatal if left untreated. For this reason, it is important to perform correct species identification and differentiation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is an analytical spectroscopic technique increasingly being used as a potential tool for identification of microorganisms for diagnostic purposes. By employing mid-infrared (MIR) spectral data, it is not only possible to assess the chemical structures but also to achieve differentiation supported by multivariate statistic analysis. This work comprises a pilot study on differentiation of Leishmania species of the Old World (L. major, L. tropica, L. infantum, and L. donovani) as well as hybrids of distinct species by using vibrational spectroscopic fingerprints. Films of intact Leishmania parasites and their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were characterized comparatively with respect to their biochemical nature and MIR spectral patterns. The strains' hyperspectral datasets were multivariately examined by means of variance-based principal components analysis (PCA) and distance-based hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). With the implementation of MIR spectral datasets we show that a phenotypic differentiation of Leishmania at species and intra-species level is feasible. Thus, FTIR spectroscopy can be further exploited for building up spectral databases of Leishmania parasites in view of high-throughput analysis of clinical specimens. Graphical abstract For Leishmania species discrimination, sample films of intact parasites and their extracted DNA were analyzed by FTIR micro-spectroscopy. Hyperspectral datasets that comprise mid-infrared fingerprints were submitted to multivariate analysis tools such as principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-017-0655-5 | DOI Listing |
Microb Pathog
January 2025
Immunology lab, Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382426, India. Electronic address:
Introduction: Leishmaniasis is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania which remains a significant global health concern with diverse clinical manifestations. Transmitted through the bite of an infected sandfly, its progression depends on the interplay between the host immune response and the parasite. The disease outcome is linked to macrophage polarisation into M1 and M2 phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExp Parasitol
January 2025
Grupo de Química Orgánica de Productos Naturales, Instituto de Química, Universidad de Antioquia-UdeA. Calle 70 # 52-21, Medellín, Colombia. Electronic address:
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease are neglected tropical diseases that affect millions worldwide. Despite the high morbidity associated with these infections, current treatments are often highly toxic and are showing diminishing efficacy. Thus, new therapeutic options are urgently needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Immunopharmacol
January 2025
Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Federal University of Parnaíba Delta, 64202-020 Parnaíba, PI, Brazil. Electronic address:
Visceral leishmaniasis is a systemic disease that affects various internal organs and represents the most severe and fatal form of leishmaniasis. Conventional treatment presents significant challenges, such as prolonged management in hospital settings, high toxicity, and an increasing growing number of cases of resistance. In previous studies, our research group demonstrated the effective and selective activity of the 2-amino-thiophene derivative SB-83 in preclinical models of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTalanta
January 2025
Center for Multiplatform Metabolomics Studies (CEMM) at the Institute of Chemistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil. Electronic address:
There is no consensus in the literature regarding the ideal protocol for obtaining and preparing cell samples for untargeted metabolomics. Nevertheless, the procedures must be carefully evaluated for proper and reliable results for each organism under study. This work proposes a novel protocol for determining intracellular metabolites in Leishmania promastigotes and is fully optimized for application in conjunction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry platforms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceuticals (Basel)
January 2025
Institute of Physiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Background/objectives: New drugs are required for the treatment of liver cancers and protozoal parasite infections. Analogs of the known anticancer active and antileishmanial 2',4',6'-trimethoxychalcone SU086 were prepared and investigated.
Methods: The chalcones were prepared according to the Claisen-Schmidt condensation protocol and analyzed.
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