The obligate intracellular protozoan, Leishmania infantum chagasi (Lic) is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis in South America. The flagellated promastigote life stage of the parasite undergoes receptor-mediated phagocytosis by macrophages. This process is followed by a transient delay in phagolysosome maturation that allows for conversion into the amastigotes, a stage that is resist...

Späth, G. F. and Beverley, S. M. 2001. A lipophosphoglycan-independent method for isolation of infective Leishmania metacyclic promastigotes by density gradient centrifugation. Experimental Parasitology 99, 97–103. At the end of their growth in the sand fly, Leishmania parasites differentiate into the infective metacyclic promastigote stage, which is transmitted to the mammalian host. Thus, in ...

In vitro cultivation of Leishmania parasites plays an important role in diagnosis and treatment leishmaniasis vaccine drug development studies. There is no information about the effects urine within culture on infectivity parasites. In this study we used two media with different overlays to enhance growth rates donovani.

Artemisinin and its derivatives are very important new class of antimalarial drugs. One of the most important artemisinin derivatives is artemether. The antiparasitic activity of artemether as a derivative of artemisinin is related to endoperoxide bridge in its structure. The aim of this study was the evaluation of antileishmanial effect of artemether, with more focus on its apoptotic effect. I...

Artemisinin and its derivatives are very important new class of antimalarial drugs. One of the most important artemisinin derivatives is artemether. The antiparasitic activity of artemether as a derivative of artemisinin is related to endoperoxide bridge in its structure. The aim of this study was the evaluation of antileishmanial effect of artemether, with more focus on its apoptotic effect. I...

background: promastigotes of leishmania spp. have been readily cultured, but the axenic culture of amastigotes has been successful in l. donovani , l .infantum l. mexicana and l. pifanoi . however, some species such as l. major, is much less amenable to axenic cultivation. in present study, we describe an in vitro culture system for the generation and propagation of axenic amastigotes form of l...

Artemisinin and its derivatives are very important new class of antimalarial drugs. One of the most important artemisinin derivatives is artemether. The antiparasitic activity of artemether as a derivative of artemisinin is related to endoperoxide bridge in its structure. The aim of this study was the evaluation of antileishmanial effect of artemether, with more focus on its apoptotic effect. I...

The genome sequencing of several Leishmania species has provided immense amounts of data and allowed the prediction of the metabolic pathways potentially operating. Subsequent genetic and proteomic studies have identified stage-specific proteins and putative virulence factors but many aspects of the metabolic adaptations of Leishmania remain to be elucidated. In this study, we have used an unta...

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania cause a number of important human diseases. One of the key determinants of parasite infectivity and survival is the surface glycoconjugate lipophosphoglycan (LPG). In addition, LPG is shown to be useful as a transmission blocking vaccine. Since culture supernatant of parasite promastigotes is a good source of LPG, we made attempts to characterize func...

Development of Leishmania infantum/Leishmania major hybrids was studied in two sand fly species. In Phlebotomus papatasi, which supported development of L. major but not L. infantum, the hybrids produced heavy late-stage infections with high numbers of metacyclic promastigotes. In the permissive vector Lutzomyia longipalpis, all Leishmania strains included in this study developed well. Hybrids ...