Article
Microbiology
Jose do Espirito Santo Junior, Tirza Gabrielle Ramos de Mesquita, Luan Diego Oliveira da Silva, Felipe Jules de Araujo, Josue Lacerda de Souza, Thais Carneiro de Lacerda, Lener Santos da Silva, Claudio Marcello da Silveira Junior, Krys Layane Guimaraes Duarte Queiroz, Diogo Matos dos Santos, Cilana Chagas da Silva, Hector David Graterol Sequera, Melissa Tamayo Hermida, Mara Lucia Gomes de Souza, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, Rajendranath Ramasawmy
Summary: The TREM1 rs2234237 (Thr25Ser) variant does not appear to be associated with the development of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania guyanensis infections, and has modest effects on IL-10 levels.
Article
Immunology
Lener Santos da Silva, Jose do Espirito Santo Junior, Tirza Gabrielle Ramos de Mesquita, Veronica Alice Marinho Santos, Josue Lacerda de Souza, Felipe Jules de Araujo, Claudio Marcello da Silveira Junior, Cilana Chagas da Silva, Krys Layane Guimaraes Duarte Queiroz, Hector David Graterol Sequera, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, Mara Lucia Gomes de Souza, Rajendranath Ramasawmy
Summary: The study found an association between the IL-23R variant rs11805303 and the development of cutaneous leishmaniasis, indicating that the IL-17/IL-23 axis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Tirza Gabrielle Ramos de Mesquita, Jose do Espirito Santo Junior, Luan Diego Oliveira da Silva, George Allan Villarouco Silva, Felipe Jules de Araujo, Suzana Kanawati Pinheiro, Herllon Karllos Athaydes Kerr, Lener Santos da Silva, Luciane Macedo de Souza, Samir Assad de Almeida, Krys Layane Guimaraes Duarte Queiroz, Josue Lacerda de Souza, Cilana Chagas da Silva, Hector David Graterol Sequera, Mara Lucia Gomes de Souza, Anderson Nogueira Barbosa, Gemilson Soares Pontes, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, Rajendranath Ramasawmy
Summary: The immunopathology associated with Leishmaniasis is a consequence of inflammation that may lead to different clinical manifestations depending on host-immune response type, with various pathways influencing disease severity. Comparing immune profiles in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. guyanensis and healthy individuals helps identify specific immune factors related to disease development progression. Multiple biomarker pairs showed high correlation, with cytokines IL-17 and IL-1 beta exhibiting the most positive pair correlation among patients. Prediction of disease progression in Lg-infected individuals may be associated with specific cytokines.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Juliana Ines Weber, Armanda Viana Rodrigues, Ana Valerio-Bolas, Telmo Nunes, Manuela Carvalheiro, Wilson Antunes, Graca Alexandre-Pires, Isabel Pereira da Fonseca, Gabriela Santos-Gomes
Summary: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of sand flies. Macrophages are the target cells of the parasite and play a crucial role in the immune response. This study explored the communication between the parasite and host and its potential for developing therapeutic tools.
Article
Immunology
Michal Solomon, Nadav Astman, Karin Warshavsky, Aviv Barzilai, Tal Meningher, Dror Avni, Eli Schwartz
Summary: This article reports 8 cases of Leishmania infantum cutaneous leishmaniasis in Israel, with 7 cases occurring during 2020-2021, suggesting that L. infantum may be an emerging infection in Israel.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Jose do Espirito Santo Jr, Josue Lacerda de Souza, Lener Santos da Silva, Cilana Chagas da Silva, Tuanny Arruda do Nascimento, Mara Lucia Gomes de Souza, Alyne Farias da Cunha, Jacqueline da Silva Batista, Jose Pereira de Moura Neto, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, Rajendranath Ramasawmy
Summary: Leishmaniasis remains a significant health burden in many countries worldwide. Various factors, including cytokines, skin microbiota, host genetics, and parasite load, can influence the progression and outcome of Leishmania infection. Only a fraction of infected individuals in endemic regions actually develop the disease. This study identifies specific IL13 haplotypes associated with resistance or susceptibility to Leishmania infection.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Caroline Ricce Espada, Erica V. de Castro Levatti, Mariana Cortes Boite, Dorcas Lamounier, Jorge Alvar, Elisa Cupolillo, Carlos Henrique Nery Costa, Joelle Rode, Silvia R. B. Uliana
Summary: This study investigated the susceptibility of 73 Brazilian strains of Leishmania infantum to miltefosine, showing relatively low heterogeneity in miltefosine susceptibility. The results suggest that Brazilian L. infantum may not have decreased susceptibility to miltefosine, indicating the potential for future clinical evaluation of miltefosine for VL treatment in Brazil.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Andrea Magalhaes, Lucas P. Carvalho, Rubia Costa, Monica S. Pita, Thiago Marconi Cardoso, Paulo R. L. Machado, Edgar M. Carvalho, Sergio Arruda, Augusto M. Carvalho
Summary: This study showed that high levels of anti-Leishmania IgG and IgG2 are characteristic of disseminated leishmaniasis (DL), with IgG correlated with pro-inflammatory cytokines and IgG2 directly correlated with the number of lesions in DL.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tirza Gabrielle Ramos de Mesquita, Jose do Espirito Santo Junior, Josue Lacerda de Souza, Lener Santos da Silva, Tuanny Arruda do Nascimento, Mara Lucia Gomes de Souza, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, Rajendranath Ramasawmy
Summary: Leishmaniases, a group of diseases caused by the parasite Leishmania, are transmitted by sandflies. The clinical outcome can range from asymptomatic infection to severe forms of the disease, depending on the Leishmania species. Host genetics play a crucial role in determining the clinical outcome.
Article
Immunology
Rabiaa M. Sghaier, Fouad Benhnini, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Hanene Attia, Aymen Bali, Amor Zaatour, Ghada Mkannez, Adel Gharbi, Nabil Belhaj-Hamida, Hichem Dridi, Afif Ben-Salah, Koussay Dellagi, Dhafer Laouini
Summary: The scars of healed HCL caused by L. major do not contain detectable residual parasites, suggesting a sterile cure. This is in contrast to other Leishmania species that cause chronic or recurrent forms of leishmaniasis, where parasites do persist in healed lesions. This finding highlights the importance of considering alternative mechanisms for long-term immunity and vaccine development against L. major infection.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Taina Lago, Lucas P. Carvalho, Mauricio Nascimento, Luiz H. Guimaraes, Jamile Lago, Lea Castellucci, Augusto M. Carvalho, Alex Lago, Edgar M. Carvalho
Summary: Obesity modifies the clinical presentation of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania braziliensis and is associated with greater failure in therapy, as obese patients may present hypertrophic ulcers rather than typical oval, ulcerated lesions and have lower cure rates compared to overweight and normal weight individuals.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ian K. Motie, John Sia, Katherine Burns, Natan Kraitman, Roberto Mercado
Summary: We report a case of a 66-year-old male who developed rapidly expanding lesions on his lower extremities after being bitten by unidentified bugs during a trip to Costa Rica. Empirical antibiotic treatment in the outpatient setting was ineffective, and the lesions continued to spread. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Leishmaniasis (Viannia) guyanensis. Aggressive wound care and amphotericin B were administered to prevent mucosal involvement.
CUREUS JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Paulo R. L. Machado, Fernanda V. O. Prates, Viviane Boaventura, Taina Lago, Luiz H. Guimaraes, Albert Schriefer, Temis W. F. Corte, Gerson Penna, Aldina Barral, Manoel Barral-Netto, Edgar M. Carvalho
Summary: The study showed that miltefosine is more effective than pentavalent antimony for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. braziliensis in Brazil, and it accelerates healing time. However, combining miltefosine with GM-CSF did not improve therapeutic outcome but did shorten the healing time.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Sachee Bhanu Piyasiri, Rajika Dewasurendra, Nilakshi Samaranayake, Nadira Karunaweera
Summary: Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, poses a significant risk to over one billion people worldwide. Various clinical phenotypes of the causative parasite and the accuracy of diagnostic tools are important areas of research.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hiruni Wijesooriya, Nilakshi Samaranayake, Nadira Karunaweera
Summary: This study investigates the response of key innate immune cells in patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) and suggests that the clinical phenotype of LCL is the result of a balanced immune response between pro-inflammatory and regulatory mediators.