The survival of intracellular protozoan parasite, Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of Indian visceral leishmaniasis (VL), depends on the activation status of macrophages. l-Arginine, a semi-essential amino acid plays a crucial regulatory role for activation of macrophages. However, the role of l-arginine transport in VL still remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that intra-ma...

The initial macrophage-Leishmania donovani interaction results in the formation of membrane platforms, termed lipid rafts, that help in the entry of the parasite. Therefore, it is imperative that the parasite designs a strategy to modulate its uptake and survival within the macrophages. Herein, we report Leishmania-triggered biphasic ceramide generation. In the first phase, L. donovani promasti...

We describe a new fluorogenic assay for the identification of species and intraspecies groups within the Leishmania donovani complex. The assay combined (1) 2 polymerase chain reactions targeting the 2 cysteine proteinase b isogenes and (2) a fluorescence-resonance energy transfer/melting curve analysis of the polymorphisms within a 31-nt region. All strains within the L. donovani complex were ...

Serum from healthy, nonimmune humans contained immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies that agglutinated Leishmania donovani promastigotes, activated complement, and enhanced promastigote ingestion by human monocytes. The findings indicate that IgM antibodies have the capacity to affect the initial interaction of L. donovani promastigotes with human host defenses.

Leishmania donovani is known to induce myelopoiesis and to dramatically increase extramedullary myelopoiesis. This results in splenomegaly, which is then accompanied by disruption of the splenic microarchitecture, a chronic inflammatory environment, and immunosuppression. Chronically inflamed tissues are typically hypoxic. The role of hypoxia on myeloid cell functions during visceral leishmania...

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are responsible for causing a variety of human diseases known as leishmaniasis, which range from self-healing skin lesions to severe infection of visceral organs that are often fatal if left untreated. Leishmania donovani (L. donovani), the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis, exemplifys a devious organism that has developed the ability to invad...

The prevalence of antibodies against Leishmania donovani in selected domestic and wild animal species in 2 villages in Sudan with active L. donovani transmission in humans was investigated. Screening of domestic animals (donkeys, cows, sheep, goats, camels and dogs) with the direct agglutination test (DAT) detected reaction rates above the cut-off titres in donkeys (68.7%), cows (21.4%) and goa...

Leishmania protozoan parasites (Trypanosomatidae family) are the causative agents of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis worldwide. While these diseases are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, there are few adequate treatments available. Sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51) in the parasite sterol biosynthesis pathway has been the focus of considerable interest as ...

BACKGROUND Infection with Leishmania results in a broad spectrum of pathologies where L. infantum and L. donovani cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis and L. major causes destructive cutaneous lesions. The identification and characterization of Leishmania virulence genes may define the genetic basis for these different pathologies. METHODS AND FINDINGS Comparison of the recently completed L. ma...