What's new for 'Trypanosomatids' in PubMed

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Search kinetoplastids OR kinetoplastid OR Kinetoplastida OR "trypanosoma brucei" OR leishmania OR brucei OR leishmaniasis OR "African trypanosomiasis"
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PubMed Results

Items 1 - 10 of 11

1.	Mol Biol Rep. 2010 Dec 1. [Epub ahead of print] Cloning, expression and dynamic simulation of TRYP6 from Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER). Eslami G, Frikha F, Salehi R, Khamesipour A, Hejazi H, Nilforoushzadeh MA. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, 8916188/35, Yazd, Iran, eslami_g2000@yahoo.com. Abstract Leishmania, a digenetic protozoan parasite causes severe diseases in human and animals. Efficient evasion of toxic microbicidal molecules, such as reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species is crucial for Leishmania to survive and replicate in the host cells. Tryparedoxin peroxidase, a member of peroxiredoxins family, is vital for parasite survival in the presence of antioxidant, hence it is one of the most important molecules in Leishmania viability and then, it may be an appropriate goal for challenging against leishmaniasis. After cloning and sub-cloning of TRYP6 from Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER), homology modeling of the LmTRYP6 was proposed to predict some functional property of this protein. The refined model showed that the core structure consists of a seven β stranded β-sheet and five α helices which are organized as a central 7-stranded β2-β1-β5-β4-β3-β6-β7 surrounded by 2-stranded β-hairpin, α helices A and D on one side, and α helices B, C and E on the other side. The peroxidatic active site is located in a pocket formed by the residue Pro45, Met46, Thr49, Val51, Cys52, Arg128, Met147 and Pro 148. The catalytic Cys52, located in the first turn of helix αB, is in van der Waals with a Pro45, a Thr49 and an Arg128 that are absolutely conserved in all known Prx sequences. In this study, an attractive molecular target was studied. These results might be used in designing of drugs to fight an important human pathogen.
	PMID: 21120619 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

2.	Biotechnol Lett. 2010 Dec 1. [Epub ahead of print] Cloning and expression of truncated form of tissue plasminogen activator in Leishmania tarentolae. Nazari R, Davoudi N. Department of Microbiology, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, 15 Khordad BLVD, Qom, Iran, nazari1102002@yahoo.com. Abstract An expression cassette containing kringle 2 and serine protease domains (K2S), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), together with a signal sequence derived from Leishmania tarentolae and two fragments of the small subunit ribosomal RNA locus, was introduced into L. tarentolae. The transfected cells produced recombinant K2S (rK2S) protein extracellularly with serine protease activity. Expression and enzyme activity of rK2S in the supernatant was 930 i.u./ml. The specific activity of purified rK2S was 7.4 U/mg of protein. Replacement of the human signal sequence tPA with the signal sequence derived from Leishmania increased the secretion of recombinant protein up to 30 times.
	PMID: 21120587 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

3.	Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2010 Nov;105(7):928-30. Sex pheromone and period gene characterization of Lutzomy ia longipalpis sensu lato (Lutz & Neiva) (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Posadas, Argentina. Salomón OD, Araki AS, Hamilton JG, Acardi SA, Peixoto AA. Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Endemo-epidemias, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Abstract Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. is the primary vector of Leishmania (L.) infantum in the New World. In this study, male Lutzomyia longipalpis specimens from Posadas, Argentina were characterized for two polymorphic markers: the male sex pheromone and the period (per) gene. The male sex pheromone was identified as (S)-9-methylgermacrene-B, the same compound produced by Lu. longipalpis from Paraguay and many populations from Brazil. The analysis of per gene sequences revealed that the population from Argentina is significantly differentiated from previously studied Brazilian populations. Marker studies could contribute to the understanding of the distribution and spread of urban American visceral leishmaniasis, thus aiding in the design of regional surveillance and control strategies.
	PMID: 21120366 [PubMed - in process]

4.	Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2010 Nov;105(7):895-8. Alternative PCR protocol using a single primer set for assessing DNA quality in several tissues from a large variety of mammalian species living in areas endemic for leishmaniasis. Ferreira EC, Gontijo CM, Cruz I, Melo MN, Silva AM. Instituto de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 30190-002. Abstract The aim of this work was to establish a modified pre-diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol using a single primer set that enables successful amplification of a highly conserved mammalian sequence in order to determine overall sample DNA quality for multiple mammalian species that inhabit areas endemic for leishmaniasis. The gene encoding interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), but not other conserved genes, was efficiently amplified in DNA samples from tail skin, ear skin, bone marrow, liver and spleen from all of the species tested. In tissue samples that were PCR-positive for Leishmania, we found that DNA from 100%, 55% and 22% of the samples tested resulted in a positive PCR reaction for the IRBP, beta-actin and beta-globin genes, respectively. Nucleotide sequencing of an IRBP amplicon resolved any questions regarding the taxonomical classification of a rodent, which was previously based simply on the morphological features of the animal. Therefore, PCR amplification and analysis of the IRBP amplicon are suitable for pre-diagnostically assessing DNA quality and identifying mammalian species living in areas endemic to leishmaniasis and other diseases.
	PMID: 21120359 [PubMed - in process]

5.	Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2010 Nov;105(7):889-94. Sand flies of Nicaragua: a checklist and reports of new collections. Raymond RW, McHugh CP, Kerr SF. Department of Biology, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA. Abstract Sand flies within the genus Lutzomyia serve as the vectors for all species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania in the New World. In this paper, we present a summary of the 29 species of Lutzomyia and one of Brumptomyia previously reported for Nicaragua and report results of our recent collections of 565 sand flies at eight localities in the country from 2001-2006. Lutzomyia longipalpis was the predominant species collected within the Pacific plains region of western Nicaragua, while Lutzomyia cruciata or Lutzomyia barrettoi majuscula were the species most frequently collected in the central highlands and Atlantic plains regions. The collection of Lutzomyia durani (Vargas & Nájera) at San Jacinto in July 2001 is a new record for Nicaragua. Leishmaniasis is endemic to Nicaragua and occurs in three forms: cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Cutaneous infections are the most prevalent type of leishmaniasis in Nicaragua and they occur in two different clinical manifestations, typical cutaneous leishmaniasis and atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis, depending on the species of the infecting Leishmania parasite. The distribution of sand flies collected during this study in relation to the geographic distribution of clinical forms of leishmaniasis in the country is also discussed.
	PMID: 21120358 [PubMed - in process]

6.	Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2010 Nov;105(7):850-6. Bionomics of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the province of Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia. Doha SA, Samy AM. Center on Vectors of Diseases. Abstract The bionomics of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) were studied for two successive years (January 1996-December 1997) at 12 collecting stations representing six sectors of the province of Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia. The predominant species was Phlebotomus bergeroti (41.7%), followed by lesser numbers of Phlebotomus sergenti (11%), Phlebotomus arabicus (10.6%), Sergentomyia tiberiadis (10.5%), Phlebotomus papatasi (10.2%), Sergentomyia antennata (9.6%), Phlebotomus alexandri (3%), Phlebotomus orientalis (2.3%) and Sergentomyia clydei (1.1%). The distribution of the collected species including species that are elsewhere known to act as vectors of human cutaneous leishmaniasis were distributed across different altitudes in Al-Baha. P. bergeroti, P. papatasi and P. arabicus were more abundant indoors; however, P. sergenti was more abundant outdoors. Sand fly populations exhibited three patterns of seasonal abundance in terms of their monthly activity. P. bergeroti, P. sergenti and P. arabicus were found to be naturally infected with Leishmania-like flagellates at an infection rate of 0.2%.
	PMID: 21120352 [PubMed - in process]

7.	J Drugs Dermatol. 2010 Dec 1;9(12):1507-1509. Treatment of Facial Atrophic Scars With Esthélis, a Hyaluronic Acid Filler With Polydense Cohesive Matrix (CPM). Hasson A Md, Romero WA Md. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Abstract Background: The treatment of atrophic scars is difficult and dermal filler materials provide a simple alternative with immediate results. Esthélis® is an injectable non-animal crosslinked hyaluronic acid of Swiss origin characterized by a polydense cohesive matrix (CPM®) which produces a gel of uniform consistency with better biointegration to the tissues and a longer duration. Objective: To evaluate Esthélis in the treatment of atrophic scars. Patients and Methods: Twelve patients aged 18-56 years with facial atrophic scars caused by acne vulgaris, dog bite, piercing, basal cell carcinoma and leishmaniasis were treated with Esthélis. The injection technique was linear threading, serial puncture or a combination of both. Clinical efficacy was assessed independently by the authors and by patients immediately, one week and one month after the injection. Adverse events were registered. Results: Authors described the results as moderate (27%), good (57%) and excellent (17%), immediately, one week and one month after the injection. Patients evaluated the cosmetic improvement as good (42%) or excellent (58%) one month after the treatment. Pain during the injection was described as slight or moderate. Only mild erythema was observed immediately after injection, which spontaneously resolved within few hours. Conclusion: Esthélis showed good or excellent results in most patients with atrophic scars, and these were perceived as even better when patients evaluated the cosmetic improvement. The best results were observed in patients with more deforming scars such as surgical scars or trauma.
	PMID: 21120258 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

8.	Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Dec;83(6):1295-1300. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (Leishmania major Infection) in Dutch Troops Deployed in Northern Afghanistan: Epidemiology, Clinical Aspects, and Treatment. van Thiel PP, Leenstra T, de Vries HJ, van der Sluis A, van Gool T, Krull AC, van Vugt M, de Vries PJ, Zeegelaar JE, Bart A, van der Meide WF, Schallig HD, Faber WR, Kager PA. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and AIDS and Center for Infection and Immunity, Department of Dermatology, and Department of Medical Microbiology, Section of Parasitology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Ministry of Defence, The Hague, The Netherlands; KIT Biomedical Research, Parasitology Unit, Royal Tropical Institute/Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; U-Cytech Biosciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Dermatology, Flevoziekenhuis, Almere, The Netherlands; PharmAccess Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Abstract Abstract. Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major infection affected 172 (18.3%) of 938 Dutch military troops deployed in northern Afghanistan in 2005. The high attack rate was a result of initial insufficient availability of means of prevention and insufficient adherence to preventive measures. At presentation, the lymphatic system was involved in 24.8%. Treatment with intralesional injections of antimony with or without cryotherapy was satisfactory, but 19.5% of patients received secondary treatment with miltefosine. Six months after treatment, 128 (77.1%) of 166 treated patients were cured, 16 (9.6%) were lost to follow-up, and 22 (13.3%) already experienced cure at six weeks but were not seen at six months. Natural evolution played a role in this observational study, which showed cure of all patients seen at six months. In general, management of cutaneous leishmaniasis was feasible under field conditions.
	PMID: 21118937 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

9.	Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Dec;83(6):1287-1294. Humoral and In Vivo Cellular Immunity against the Raw Insect-Derived Recombinant Leishmania infantum Antigens KMPII, TRYP, LACK, and papLe22 in Dogs from an Endemic Area. Todolí F, Solano-Gallego L, de Juan R, Morell P, Núñez MD, Lasa R, Gómez-Sebastián S, Escribano JM, Alberola J, Rodríguez-Cortés A. Unitat de Farmacologia Veterinària and LeishLAB-Servei d'Anàlisi de Fàrmacs, Departament de Farmacologia, de Terapèutica i de Toxicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom; Centre Sanitari Municipal de Protecció Animal, Palma (Mallorca), Spain; Alternative Gene Expression (ALGENEX) S.L., Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain. Abstract Abstract. Leishmania infantum causes visceral leishmaniasis, a severe zoonotic and systemic disease that is fatal if left untreated. Identification of the antigens involved in Leishmania-specific protective immune response is a research priority for the development of effective control measures. For this purpose, we evaluated, in 27 dogs from an enzootic zone, specific humoral and cellular immune response by delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin test both against total L. infantum antigen and the raw Trichoplusia ni insect-derived kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (rKMPII), tryparedoxin peroxidase (rTRYP), Leishmania homologue of receptors for activated C kinase (rLACK), and 22-kDa potentially aggravating protein of Leishmania (rpapLe22) antigens from this parasite. rTRYP induced the highest number of positive DTH responses (55% of leishmanin skin test [LST]-positive dogs), showing that TRYP antigen is an important T cell immunogen, and it could be a promising vaccine candidate against this disease. When TRYP-DTH and KMPII-DTH tests were evaluated in parallel, 82% of LST-positive dogs were detected, suggesting that both antigens could be considered as components of a standardized DTH immunodiagnostic tool for dogs.
	PMID: 21118936 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

10.	Int J Parasitol. 2010 Nov 27. [Epub ahead of print] Leishmania infantum: Lipophosphoglycan intraspecific variation and interaction with vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Coelho-Finamore JM, Freitas VC, Assis RR, Melo MN, Novozhilova N, Secundino NF, Pimenta PF, Turco SJ, Soares RP. Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou/FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Abstract Intraspecies variations in lipophosphoglycan (LPG) have been the focus of intense study over the years due its role in specificity during sand fly-Leishmania interaction. This cell surface glycoconjugate is highly polymorphic among species with variations in sugars that branch off the conserved Gal(β1,4)Man(α1)-PO(4) backbone of repeat units. However, the degree of intraspecies polymorphism in LPG of Leishmania infantum (syn. Leishmania chagasi) is not known. In this study, intraspecific variation in the repeat units of LPG was evaluated in 16 strains of L. infantum from Brazil, France, Algeria and Tunisia. The structural polymorphism in the L. infantum LPG repeat units was relatively slight and consisted of three types: type I does not have side chains; type II has one β-glucose residue that branches off the disaccharide-phosphate repeat units and type III has up to three glucose residues (oligo-glucosylated). The significance of these modifications was investigated during in vivo interaction of L. infantum with Lutzomyia longipalpis, and in vitro interaction of the parasites and respective LPGs with murine macrophages. There were no consequential differences in the parasite densities in sand fly midguts infected with Leishmania strains exhibiting type I, II and III LPGs. However, higher nitric oxide production was observed in macrophages exposed to glucosylated type II LPG. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
	PMID: 21118695 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]