Immunity to vector saliva is compromised by short sand fly seasons in endemic regions with temperate climates

Sand fly saliva: toward a vaccine against leishmaniases

Leishmaniases are a group of sand fly-borne diseases caused by protozoan parasites from species of Leishmania genus. These diseases are reported in about 100 countries with a prevalence of 12 million people infected and incidence of 2 million people per year, putting approximately 350 million people at risk of the infections. Leishmaniases are endemic and are considered as important public heal...

Sand fly saliva & host immune response

Sand fly specificity of saliva-mediated protective immunity in Leishmania amazonensis-BALB/c mouse model.

Immune response of BALB/c mice to the salivary antigens of sand flies was found to vary with different species used, i.e. Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus sergenti and Lutzomyia longipalpis. Exposure of mice to bites of these sand flies elicits production of antibodies, which are largely specific to different saliva antigens previously identified as unique to the respective fly species. When i...

Adaptation to temperate climates.

Only model organisms live in a world of endless summer. Fitness at temperate latitudes reflects the ability of organisms in nature to exploit the favorable season, to mitigate the effects of the unfavorable season, and to make the timely switch from one life style to the other. Herein, we define fitness as Ry, the year-long cohort replacement rate across all four seasons, of the mosquito, Wyeom...

Sand-Fly Saliva-Leishmania-Man: The Trigger Trio

Leishmaniases are worldwide diseases transmitted to the vertebrate host by the bite of an infected sand-fly. Sand-fly biting and parasite inoculation are accompanied by the injection of salivary molecules, whose immunomodulatory properties are actively being studied. This mini review focuses on how the interactions between sand-fly saliva and the immune system may shape the outcome of infection...