The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the molecular (kDNA-PCR) and parasitological diagnosis in peripheral blood (PB) could replace the invasive and painful bone marrow collection (BM) in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). PB from suspected VL patients was evaluated by parasitological and molecular techniques using as the gold standard (GS) a combination of clinical, epidemio...

Parole chiave Cane, Epidemiologia, kDNA RFLP-PCR, Leishmania infantum, Tipizzazione molecolare. Riassunto Il metodo più frequentemente utilizzato per la classificazione di Leishmania spp. è ancora rappresentato dalla caratterizzazione isoenzimatica sebbene sia un metodo laborioso e in alcuni casi non sufficientemente discriminante. Nel presente studio abbiamo utilizzato una reazione di amplific...

UNLABELLED Mitochondrial chaperones have multiple functions that are essential for proper functioning of mitochondria. In the human-pathogenic protist Trypanosoma brucei, we demonstrate a novel function of the highly conserved machinery composed of mitochondrial heat shock proteins 70 and 40 (mtHsp70/mtHsp40) and the ATP exchange factor Mge1. The mitochondrial DNA of T. brucei, also known as ki...

Trypanosomes possess a unique mitochondrial genome called the kinetoplast DNA (kDNA). Many kDNA genes encode pre-mRNAs that must undergo guide RNA-directed editing. In addition, alternative mRNA editing gives rise to diverse mRNAs and several kDNA genes encode open reading frames of unknown function. To better understand the mechanism of RNA editing and the function of mitochondrial RNAs in try...

Leishmania actin (LdACT) is an unconventional form of eukaryotic actin in that it markedly differs from other actins in terms of its filament forming as well as toxin and DNase-1-binding properties. Besides being present in the cytoplasm, cortical regions, flagellum and nucleus, it is also present in the kinetoplast where it appears to associate with the kinetoplast DNA (kDNA). However, nothing...

This study analyzed DNA minicircles of Mexican isolates of L. (Leishmania) mexicana to look for genetic differences between strains isolated from patients with diffuse cutaneous (DCL) and localized (LCL) leishmaniasis. The kDNA was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment polymorphism analysis of the PCR products (PCR-RFLP) and the PCR products were sequenced. In the...

Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), the mitochondrial DNA of the trypanosomatid Crithidia fasciculata, is a unique structure containing 5,000 DNA minicircles topologically linked into a massive network. In vivo, the network is condensed into a disk-shaped structure. Replication of minicircles initiates at unique origins that are bound by universal minicircle sequence (UMS)-binding protein (UMSBP), a sequen...

Viability of the tsetse fly-transmitted African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei depends on maintenance and expression of its kinetoplast (kDNA), the mitochondrial genome of this parasite and a putative target for veterinary and human antitrypanosomatid drugs. However, the closely related animal pathogens T. evansi and T. equiperdum are transmitted independently of tsetse flies and survive withou...

BACKGROUND Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) caused by species from the Leishmania donovani complex is the most severe form of the disease, lethal if untreated. VL caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonosis with an increasing number of human cases and millions of dogs infected in the Old and the New World. In this study, L. infantum (syn. L.chagasi) strains were isolated from human and canine VL cas...

BACKGROUND The main transmission route of Leishmania infantum is through the bites of sand flies. However, alternative mechanisms are being investigated, such as through the bites of ticks, which could have epidemiological relevance. The objective of this work was to verify the presence of Leishmania spp. in Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato collected from naturally infected dogs in the Feder...