Salivary gland homogenates of Lutzomyia longipalpis and its vasodilatory peptide maxadilan cause plasma leakage via PAC1 receptor activation.

Isolation of maxadilan, a potent vasodilatory peptide from the salivary glands of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis.

Blood feeding by the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis is aided by the presence of a vasodilator in its salivary glands. This novel vasodilator has been isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Ten nanograms of the vasodilator are present in the extract of a pair of sand fly salivary glands. It has 500 times the vasodilatory activity of calcitonin gene-related peptide, pr...

The Vasoactive Peptide Maxadilan from Sand Fly Saliva Inhibits TNF-! and Induces IL-6 by Mouse Macrophages Through Interaction with the Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) Receptor1

Maxadilan is a vasodilatory peptide encoded by a gene cloned from Lutzomyia longipalpis salivary glands. In this study we investigated the effects of maxadilan on macrophage functions. Maxadilan treatment of LPS-stimulated BALB/c macrophages inhibited TNF-! release but increased IL-6. Further, it also induced IL-6 release in a dose-dependent manner from unstimulated macrophages. Maxadilan incre...

Saliva of Lutzomyia longipalpis sibling species differs in its composition and capacity to enhance leishmaniasis.

Leishmania donovani chagasi parasites, transmitted by sandflies of the Lutzomyia longipalpis species complex, normally cause visceral leishmaniasis. However, in Central America infections frequently result in cutaneous disease. We undertook experiments to investigate the possible influence of sandfly saliva on the course of infection. Erythemas caused by feeding sandflies correlated well with t...

Cultures Containing Allogeneic T Cells Cell-Mediated Cytokine Release from Secretion and Reprograms Dendritic Expression of CD80/86, CCR7, and Cytokine Maxadilan Alters Murine Dendritic Cell Salivary Peptide Lutzomyia longipalpis

Analysis of salivary gland transcripts of the sand fly Lutzomyia ayacuchensis, a vector of Andean-type cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The saliva of blood sucking insects contains potent pharmacologically active components that assist them in counteracting the host hemostatic and inflammatory systems during blood feeding. In addition, sand fly salivary proteins affect host immunity and have the potential to be a vaccine against Leishmania infection. In the present study, the salivary gland transcripts of Lutzomyia ayacuchensis...