All genomes are replicated in a temporal order, though the determinants of such timing are poorly characterized. Here, the authors show that the unusual chromosome size-dependent DNA replication timin...

Background Increasing resistance to antimonial drugs has become a significant challenge in effective treatment in endemic regions of leishmaniasis. Antioxidant defense plays a crucial role in antimony...

Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae and Trypanosoma platydactyli are reptile-associated trypanosomatids transmitted by Sergentomyia minuta sand flies, posing challenges for accurate diagnosis due to the fact that they often occur in sympatry. This study aimed to isolate and characterize new strains of these parasites from reptiles and sand flies using morphological, molecular and genomic approaches. Fifty-five reptiles were captured in Apulia, Italy, and sand flies were collected and...

Leishmania RNA virus 1 (LRV-1) is a double-stranded RNA virus identified in several Leishmania spp. LRV-1 has been associated with increased disease severity and therapeutic failure in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Although LRV-1 has been reported in the Americas, its influence on parasite infectivity and host immune responses remains poorly characterized in Panamanian isolates. In this study, we investigate the in vitro infectivity and immunomodulatory effects of LRV-1-positive (LRV-1+) versus LRV-1-negative (LRV-1−) isolates of Leishmania (Viannia), including clinical strains of L. (V.) panamensis and L. (V.) guyanensis. A total of 21 isolates (nine LRV-1+, nine LRV-1−, and three reference strains) were used to infect human U937 macrophages. The infectivity index (II) was measured at 24, 48, and 72 h post-infection. Cytokine levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17 were quantified by flow cytometry, and IL-1β by ELISA at 24 and 48 h. LRV-1+ isolates exhibited significantly higher infectivity at 48 h (mean II = 1386.2) and 72 h (mean II = 1316.8) compared to LRV-1− isolates (mean II = 714.4 and 571.0, respectively; p < 0.001). Two L. (V.) panamensis LRV-1+ isolates associated with complicated CL cases displayed the highest II values. Cytokine analysis revealed that LRV-1+ isolates induced elevated TNF-α (p < 0.01) and IL-1β (p < 0.001), along with reduced IFN-γ (p < 0.01), while no significant differences were observed for IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, or IL-17. These findings indicate that LRV-1 enhances parasite infectivity and promotes a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile, which may contribute to disease persistence and treatment failure.

Author summary Cutaneous Leishmaniases (CL) are a group of diseases considered as the most Neglected Tropical Diseases. CL present a complex epidemiology situation in many countries over the World and...

Scientific Reports - Evaluation of whole genome amplification and bioinformatic methods for the characterization of Leishmania genomes at a single cell level

Milteforan® (Miltefosina 20 mg/ml) ha demostrado obtener la misma eficacia clínica que el antimoniato de meglumina, sin afectación a la función renal ni hepática ...

Genome instability has been identified as a major driver of adaptation in fast-growing, eukaryotic cells, including fungi, protists, or cancer. How these cells cope with the toxic effects caused by su...