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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection
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Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2023) | Viewed by 16197

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Katharine Carter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK
Interests: drug treatment; drug carrier systems; drug resistance; vaccine development and immunity to Leishmania
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Abhay Satoskar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Interests: parasitic diseases; leishmaniasis; immunology; vaccines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Leishmaniasis is an important neglected tropical disease, responsible for significant mortality and morbidity. Recent COVID restrictions have impacted on the control of this disease and interrupted control programmes. This has led to an increase in clinic visits for some types of leishmanaisis. This highlights the importance of identifying novel ways of controlling the diseases either through the identification of new drugs, better treatment regimens or immunological interventions, e.g., vaccines or immunotherapy. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a collection of articles that showcase the current issues in the research of “Leishmaniais: Interventions Used to Control Infection”. As the Guest Editor, I invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications dealing with leishmaniasis and the effect that novel drugs, drug formulations, immunotherapies, vaccines, and phototherapy can have on controlling infection. We are also interested in research studies on how COVID has impacted on leishmaniasis.

Dr. Katharine Carter
Prof. Dr. Abhay Satoskar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Leishmania and Leishmaniasis
  • disease prevention and treatment
  • drug treatment
  • drug carrier systems
  • site-specific drug delivery
  • topical treatment
  • drug targeting
  • immunotherapy
  • light treatment
  • drug resistance

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1812 KiB  
Article
Immunisation with Transgenic L. tarentolae Expressing Gamma Glutamyl Cysteine Synthetase from Pathogenic Leishmania Species Protected against L. major and L. donovani Infection in a Murine Model
by Derya Topuz Ata, Muattaz Hussain, Michael Jones, Jonathan Best, Martin Wiese and Katharine Christine Carter
Microorganisms 2023, 11(5), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11051322 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1699
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. There is no recommended vaccine to protect against infection. In this study, transgenic Leishmania tarentolae expressing gamma glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γGCS) from three pathogenic species were produced and their ability to protect [...] Read more.
Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. There is no recommended vaccine to protect against infection. In this study, transgenic Leishmania tarentolae expressing gamma glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γGCS) from three pathogenic species were produced and their ability to protect against infection determined using models of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. The ability of IL-2-producing PODS® to act as an adjuvant was also determined in L. donovani studies. Two doses of the live vaccine caused a significant reduction in L. major (p < 0.001) and L. donovani (p < 0.05) parasite burdens compared to their respective controls. In contrast, immunisation with wild type L. tarentolae, using the same immunisation protocol, had no effect on parasite burdens compared to infection controls. Joint treatment with IL-2-producing PODS® enhanced the protective effect of the live vaccine in L. donovani studies. Protection was associated with a Th1 response in L. major and a mixed Th1/Th2 response in L. donovani, based on specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibody and cytokine production from in vitro proliferation assays using antigen-stimulated splenocytes. The results of this study provide further proof that γGCS should be considered a candidate vaccine for leishmaniasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection)
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14 pages, 2280 KiB  
Article
Comparative Proteomics and Genome-Wide Druggability Analyses Prioritized Promising Therapeutic Targets against Drug-Resistant Leishmania tropica
by Sara Aiman, A. Khuzaim Alzahrani, Fawad Ali, Abida, Mohd. Imran, Mehnaz Kamal, Muhammad Usman, Hamdy Khamees Thabet, Chunhua Li and Asifullah Khan
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010228 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3287
Abstract
Leishmania tropica is a tropical parasite causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in humans. Leishmaniasis is a serious public health threat, affecting an estimated 350 million people in 98 countries. The global rise in antileishmanial drug resistance has triggered the need to explore novel therapeutic [...] Read more.
Leishmania tropica is a tropical parasite causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in humans. Leishmaniasis is a serious public health threat, affecting an estimated 350 million people in 98 countries. The global rise in antileishmanial drug resistance has triggered the need to explore novel therapeutic strategies against this parasite. In the present study, we utilized the recently available multidrug resistant L. tropica strain proteome data repository to identify alternative therapeutic drug targets based on comparative subtractive proteomic and druggability analyses. Additionally, small drug-like compounds were scanned against novel targets based on virtual screening and ADME profiling. The analysis unveiled 496 essential cellular proteins of L. tropica that were nonhomologous to the human proteome set. The druggability analyses prioritized nine parasite-specific druggable proteins essential for the parasite’s basic cellular survival, growth, and virulence. These prioritized proteins were identified to have appropriate binding pockets to anchor small drug-like compounds. Among these, UDPase and PCNA were prioritized as the top-ranked druggable proteins. The pharmacophore-based virtual screening and ADME profiling predicted MolPort-000-730-162 and MolPort-020-232-354 as the top hit drug-like compounds from the Pharmit resource to inhibit L. tropica UDPase and PCNA, respectively. The alternative drug targets and drug-like molecules predicted in the current study lay the groundwork for developing novel antileishmanial therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection)
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10 pages, 576 KiB  
Article
Underestimation of Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania infantum in an Endemic Area of the Mediterranean Basin (Balearic Islands)
by Maria Magdalena Alcover, Vicenç Rocamora, Alexis Ribas, Roser Fisa and Cristina Riera
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010126 - 4 Jan 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5235
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In the Mediterranean basin, leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum and transmitted by bites of sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus, with the dog as the main reservoir [...] Read more.
Leishmaniasis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In the Mediterranean basin, leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum and transmitted by bites of sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus, with the dog as the main reservoir host. The most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), although visceral cases also occur. The aim of this study was to assess the underestimation of CL in an endemic Mediterranean region. Thus, a retrospective study was performed on all CL cases diagnosed and treated in the Dermatology Service of Manacor Hospital (Majorca, Balearic Islands), and the data obtained were compared with those of local government epidemiological bulletins for the same period. The different clinical presentations were compiled, and data related to sex, age, and lesion type and number were analyzed. The results reveal a clear sub-notification, which indicates that the real incidence of human CL in this area is unknown. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection)
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17 pages, 1458 KiB  
Article
Visceral Leishmaniasis Urbanization in the Brazilian Amazon Is Supported by Significantly Higher Infection Transmission Rates Than in Rural Area
by Rodrigo R. Furtado, Ana Camila Alves, Luciana V. R. Lima, Thiago Vasconcelos dos Santos, Marliane B. Campos, Patrícia Karla S. Ramos, Claudia Maria C. Gomes, Márcia D. Laurenti, Vânia Lucia da Matta, Carlos Eduardo Corbett and Fernando T. Silveira
Microorganisms 2022, 10(11), 2188; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10112188 - 4 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1897
Abstract
This was an open cohort prospective study (2016–2018) that analyzed the prevalence and incidence rates of human Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infection and the evolution of their clinical-immunological profiles in distinct urban and rural scenarios of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in [...] Read more.
This was an open cohort prospective study (2016–2018) that analyzed the prevalence and incidence rates of human Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infection and the evolution of their clinical-immunological profiles in distinct urban and rural scenarios of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in Pará State, in the Brazilian Amazon. These infection profiles were based on species-specific DTH/IFAT-IgG assays and clinical evaluation of infected individuals, comprising five profiles: three asymptomatic, Asymptomatic Infection [AI], Subclinical Resistant Infection [SRI], and Indeterminate Initial Infection [III]; and two symptomatic, Subclinical Oligosymptomatic Infection [SOI] and Symptomatic Infection [SI = AVL]. The two distinct scenarios (900 km away) were the urban area of Conceição do Araguaia municipality and the rural area of Bujaru municipality in the southeast and northeast of Pará State. Human populations were chosen based on a simple convenience sampling design (5–10% in each setting), with 1723 individuals (5.3%) of the population (32,464) in the urban area and 1568 individuals (8.9%) of the population (17,596) in the rural one. A serological survey (IFAT-IgG) of canine infection was also performed in both scenarios: 195 dogs in the urban area and 381 in the rural one. Prevalence and incidence rates of human infection were higher in the urban area (20.3% and 13.6/100 person-years [py]) than in the rural setting (14.1% and 6.8/100-py). The AI profile was the most prevalent and incident in both urban (13.4% and 8.1/100-py) and rural (8.3% and 4.2/100-py) scenarios, but with higher rates in the former. An III profile case evolved to SOI profile after four weeks of incubation and another to SI (=AVL) after six. The prevalence of canine infection in an urban setting (39.2%) was also higher (p < 0.05) than that (32%) in the rural zone. AVL urbanization in Pará State, in the Brazilian Amazon, has led to infection rates significantly higher than those in rural sites, requiring more intense control measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection)
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13 pages, 2015 KiB  
Article
Retrospective Analysis of Leishmaniasis in Sicily (Italy) from 2013 to 2021: One-Health Impact and Future Control Strategies
by Federica Bruno, Fabrizio Vitale, Francesco La Russa, Stefano Reale, Gerald F. Späth, Eugenia Oliveri, Valeria Gargano, Viviana Valenza, Flavia Facciponte, Susanna Giardina, Giorgio Marino, Antonella Galante and Germano Castelli
Microorganisms 2022, 10(9), 1704; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10091704 - 24 Aug 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2793
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is an important vector-borne disease that represents a serious public health problem, including in Sicily (Italy), which is considered an endemic area. We collected canine, feline and human data from 2013 to 2021 in Sicily, while entomological surveys were conducted only in [...] Read more.
Leishmaniasis is an important vector-borne disease that represents a serious public health problem, including in Sicily (Italy), which is considered an endemic area. We collected canine, feline and human data from 2013 to 2021 in Sicily, while entomological surveys were conducted only in 2013 and 2021. Overall, 23,794/74,349 (34.4%) of dogs and 274/4774 (11.8%) of cats were positive in one or more diagnostic tests. A total of 467 cases of human Leishmaniasis were reported, with 71% showing cutaneous and 29% visceral involvement. The provinces with the largest number of patients were Agrigento (45.4%) and Palermo (37%). In 2013, Phlebotomus perfiliewi was the dominant sandfly species in Sicily (68.7%), followed by Phlebotomus perniciosus (17.2%) and Sergentomya minuta (14%). In 2021, Phlebotomusperfiliewi was confirmed as the most common species (61.6%), followed by Phlebotomusperniciosus (33.1%) and Sergentomyaminuta (4.7%). Of particular interest was the identification of Phlebotomus papatasi (0.41%) in Agrigento. Our retrospective study can inform health authorities for the development of appropriate screening, treatment and control strategies to reduce Leishmania incidence rate. This study examined the present state of Leishmaniasis control, surveillance, and prevention in Sicily, but also highlighted deficiencies that could be addressed through the application of One-Health principles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leishmaniasis: Interventions Used to Control Infection)
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