The fusion of SP2/0 myeloma cells with spleen cells from mice immunized with Leishmania mexicana amazonensis promastigotes produced hybridoma clones. Indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay with live leishmanias showed that the monoclonal antibody 6H12 recognized only the antigens bound to the surface of L. mexicana amazonensis promastigotes. It also showed that the antibody bound to neither ...

Infection with the intracellular protozoan parasite Leishmania mexicana causes chronic disease in C57BL/6 mice, in which cutaneous lesions persist for many months with high parasite burdens (10(7)-10(8) parasites). This chronic disease process requires host IL-10 and FcγRIII. When Leishmania amastigotes are released from cells, surface-bound IgG can induce IL-10 and suppress IL-12 production fr...

The detection and identification of natural infections in sand flies by Leishmania protozoan species in endemic areas is a key factor in assessing the risk of leishmaniasis and in designing prevention and control measures for this infectious disease. In this study, we analyzed the Leishmania DNA using nuclear ribosomal internal transcript spacer (ITS) sequences. Parasite DNA was extracted from ...

Leishmania mexicana is a protozoan parasite that causes a disease in humans with frequent relapses after treatment. It is also highly resistant to the currently available drugs. For this reason, there is an urgent need for more effective antileishmanial drugs. Hydroxyurea, an anticancer drug, is toxic to replicating eukaryotic cells and has been proven to be effective in arresting the Leishmani...

Our increased understanding of host pathogen interactions shows that pathogens could capitalize on host cell pathways to favor entry and disease establishment. One such pathway used by Leishmania mexicana to enter into neutrophils and macrophages is the PI3Kγ signaling pathway. We recently showed that the use of the PI3Kγ inhibitor AS-605240 for the treatment of experimental L. mexicana infecti...

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in human blood. Upon microbial infection, they are massively and rapidly recruited from the circulation to sites of infection where they efficiently kill pathogens. To this end, neutrophils possess a variety of weapons that can be mobilized and become effective within hours following infection. However, several microbes including some Leishmania spp....

In our previous work we established a T7 polymerase-driven Tetracycline-inducible protein expression system in Leishmania mexicana (Biagi, 1953). We used this system to analyse gene expression profiles during development of L. mexicana in procyclic and metacyclic promastigotes and amastigotes. The transcription of the gene of interest and the T7 polymerase genes was significantly reduced upon c...

Leishmania pyrimidine salvage is replete with opportunities for therapeutic intervention with enzyme inhibitors or antimetabolites. Their uptake into cells depends upon specific transporters; therefore it is essential to establish whether various Leishmania species possess similar pyrimidine transporters capable of drug uptake. Here, we report a comprehensive characterization of pyrimidine tran...

We present the sequencing and annotation of the Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis genome, an etiological agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Amazon region of Brazil. L. (L.) amazonensis shares features with Leishmania (L.) mexicana but also exhibits unique characteristics regarding geographical distribution and clinical manifestations of cutaneous lesions (e.g. borderline disseminat...

Leishmania mexicana (Lm) causes localized (LCL) and diffuse (DCL) cutaneous leishmaniasis. DCL patients have a poor cellular immune response leading to chronicity. It has been proposed that CD8 T lymphocytes (CD8) play a crucial role in infection clearance, although the role of CD8 cytotoxicity in disease control has not been elucidated. Lesions of DCL patients have been shown to harbor low num...