Leishmania amazonensis
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
Leishmania amazonensis
The organisms are oval-shaped, and each has one long whip-like structure.
| Kingdom | Protista |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Euglenozoa |
| Class | Kinetoplastea |
| Order | Trypanosomatida |
| Family | Trypanosomatidae |
| Genus | Leishmania |
| Species | L. amazonensis |
| Binomial | Leishmania amazonensis |
Contents |
[edit] Surface Characteristics
The structure of cell surface glycosphingolipid is as follows : &alpha-Neup5Ac-(2-->3)-β-D-Galp-(1-->3)-β-D-GalpNAc-(1-->4)-β-D-Galp [branched to α-Neup5Ac-(2-->3)-] -(1-->4)-β-D-Glcp-(1-?)-CER-(?--/Ceramide/
[edit] Transmission
Leishmaniasis is transmitted by the bite of female phlebotomine sandflies. The sandflies inject the infective stage, metacyclic promastigotes, during blood meals (1). Metacyclic promastigotes that reach the puncture wound are phagocytized by macrophages (2) and transform into amastigotes (3). Amastigotes multiply in infected cells and affect different tissues, depending in part on which Leishmania species is involved (4). These differing tissue specificities cause the differing clinical manifestations of the various forms of leishmaniasis. Sandflies become infected during blood meals on an infected host when they ingest macrophages infected with amastigotes (5,6). In the sandfly's midgut, the parasites differentiate into promastigotes (7), which multiply, differentiate into metacyclic promastigotes and migrate to the proboscis (8).
Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with the pathogen Leishmania. The genomes of three Leishmania species (L. major, L. infantum and L. braziliensis) have been sequenced and this has provided much information about the biology of the parasite. For example it is now understood that in Leishmania protein-coding genes are organized as large polycistronic units in a head-to-head or tail-to-tail manner; RNA polymerase II transcribes long polycistronic messages in the absence of defined RNA pol II promoters; and Leishmania has unique features with respect to the regulation of gene expression in response to changes in the environment. The new knowledge from these studies may help identify new targets for urgently needed drugs, and aid the development of vaccines.
[edit] Pathogenic Activity
Leishmania amazonensis causes a wide spectrum of disease in humans. It is endemic in South America, where it causes cutaneous, diffuse cutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis.
[edit] References
Sand Fly Saliva Enhances Leishmania amazonensis Infection by Modulating Interleukin-10 Production
