Publications

plant-derived compounds in treatment of leishmaniasis.	leishmaniasis is a neglected public health problem caused by the protozoan species belonging to the genus leishmania affecting mostly the poor populations of developing countries. the causative organism is transmitted by female sandflies. cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral clinical manifestations are the most frequent forms of leishmaniasis. chemotherapy still relies on the use of pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin b, paromomycin, miltefosin and liposomal amphotericin b. however, the appl ...	27175144
update on fogo selvagem, an endemic form of pemphigus foliaceus.	pemphigus are organ-specific autoimmune diseases, where autoantibodies (mainly immunoglobulin [ig]g) directed against epidermal targets (glycoproteins of the desmosomal core) are detected. endemic pemphigus foliaceus or fogo selvagem (fs) is one of the variants of pemphigus foliaceus pemphigus foliaceus that shares the same clinical and immunopathological features of the classic non-endemic pemphigus foliaceus form, including pathogenic igg (mainly igg4) autoantibodies directed against the ectod ...	25558948
the effect of removing potentially infectious dogs on the numbers of canine leishmania infantum infections in an endemic area with high transmission rates.	to assess the effect of the rapid removal of potentially infectious dogs on the prevalence and incidence of canine infections, a prospective study was undertaken in an area endemic for leishmania infantum. we used serological testing based on the rapid dpp rk28 fusion protein chromatographic immunoassay for this dog screening-and-culling intervention trial. the outcome was evaluated by measuring seropositivity and sero-conversion/-reversion rates for canine infection. our estimates indicated tha ...	22665602
expansion of visceral leishmaniasis in the state of rio de janeiro, brazil: report of the first autochthonous case in the municipality of volta redonda and the difficulty of diagnosis.	visceral leishmaniasis has been showing remarkable epidemiological changes in recent decades, with marked expansion and an emergence of cases in urban areas of the north, southeast and midwest regions of brazil. the kala-azar cases reported here, despite being very characteristic, presented a great difficulty of diagnosis, because the disease is not endemic in volta redonda. the child underwent two hospitalizations in different hospitals, but got the correct diagnosis only after 11 months of sym ...	24879008
cultivation of parasites.	parasite cultivation techniques constitute a substantial segment of present-day study of parasites, especially of protozoa. success in establishing in vitro and in vivo culture of parasites not only allows their physiology, behavior and metabolism to be studied dynamically, but also allows the nature of the antigenic molecules in the excretory and secretory products to be vigorously pursued and analyzed. the complex life-cycles of various parasites having different stages and host species requir ...	25250227
occurrence of two autochthonous cases of american cutaneous leishmaniasis in the neighborhood of caju, city of rio de janeiro, brazil.	american cutaneous leishmaniasis is in full geographic expansion in brazil and it is considered among the infectious and parasitic diseases of utmost importance worldwide, not only by its frequency, but mainly by therapeutic difficulties, deformities and sequelae that may result. in the state of rio de janeiro, the first autochthonous case of american cutaneous leishmaniasis was registered by rabello in 1913. the authors report two cases of the disease in the region around the cemetery são franc ...	25184938
spread of phlebotominae in temperate climates: province of córdoba, argentina.	we report the presence of the competent vector for leishmania spp, migonemyia migonei, and the evandromyia cortelezzii-sallesi complex south of its known distribution in the central temperate region of argentina, in the province of córdoba. the persistence of this phlebotomine in the northern border of the province, its association with a case of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and the new record in the outskirts of the city of córdoba, the second most populated in the country, strengthens the need for ...	26814647
incipient colonisation of lutzomyia longipalpis in the city of resistencia, province of chaco, argentina (2010-2012).	lutzomyia longipalpis was recorded for the first time in argentina in 2004, in the province of formosa. in the following years, the vector spread to the south and west in the country and was recorded in the province of chaco in 2010. from november 2010-may 2012, captures of phlebotominae were made in the city of resistencia and its surroundings, to monitor the spread and possible colonisation of lu. longipalpis in the province of chaco. in this monitoring, lu. longipalpis was absent in urban sam ...	25075787
the first record of lutzomyia longipalpis in the argentine northwest.	in 2004, the urban presence of lutzomyia longipalpis was recorded for the first time in formosa province. in 2006, the first autochthonous case of human urban visceral leishmaniasis (vl) was recorded in misiones in the presence of the vector, along with some canine vl cases. after this first case, the vector began to spread primarily in northeast argentina. between 2008-2011, three human vl cases were reported in salta province, but the presence of lu. longipalpis was not recorded. captures of p ...	24402160
ontology patterns for tabular representations of biomedical knowledge on neglected tropical diseases.	ontology-like domain knowledge is frequently published in a tabular format embedded in scientific publications. we explore the re-use of such tabular content in the process of building ntdo, an ontology of neglected tropical diseases (ntds), where the representation of the interdependencies between hosts, pathogens and vectors plays a crucial role.	21685092
participation of ticks in the infectious cycle of canine visceral leishmaniasis, in teresina, piauí, brazil.	in this study, we detected leishmania spp. infection in r. sanguineus collected from dogs that were naturally infected with l. (l.) infantum. we examined 35 dogs of both sexes and unknown ages. the infected dogs were serologically positive by the immunofluorescence antibody test (ifat), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa), and quick test-dpp (dual path platform), as well as parasitological examination of a positive skin biopsy or sternal bone marrow aspiration. ten negative dogs were inclu ...	25076429
establishment and characterization of an embryonic cell line from sarconesiopsis magellanica.	sarconesiopsis magellanica (le guillou) (diptera: calliphoridae) is a necrophagous fly that is important in both human and veterinary medicines. this insect has been registered in colombia as a biological indicator in estimating post-mortem interval. insect cell cultures are an important biotechnological tool for basic and applied studies, and cell cultures derived from s. magellanica embryonic tissues are described in this study. s. magellanica embryonated eggs were taken for tissue explants. t ...	24766352
first report of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania (leishmania) infantum chagasi in an urban area of rio de janeiro, brazil.	american tegumentary leishmaniasis (atl) is an infectious disease caused by protozoa of the genus leishmania, and transmitted by sandflies. in the state of rio de janeiro, almost all of the cases of american tegumentary leishmaniasis (atl) are caused by leishmania (viannia) braziliensis, while cases of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) are caused by leishmania (leishmania) infantum chagasi. the resurgence of autochthonous vl cases in rio de janeiro is related to the geographic expansion of the vector ...	26603237
geographical expansion of canine visceral leishmaniasis in rio de janeiro state, brazil.	visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is a vector-borne disease that affects humans, and domestic and wild animals. it is caused by the protozoan leishmania (leishmania) infantum (syn = leishmania chagasi). the domestic dog (canis familiaris) is considered the main reservoir of the etiologic agent of vl in domestic and peridomestic environments. in the past three years, although control actions involving domestic dogs are routinely performed in endemic areas of the rio de janeiro state, new cases of canin ...	26603233
effect of mouse antisera targeting the phlebotomus papatasi midgut chitinase ppchit1 on sandfly physiology and fitness.	in sandflies, the absence of the peritrophic matrix (pm) affects the rate of blood digestion. also, the kinetics of pm secretion varies according to species. we previously characterised ppchit1, a midgut-specific chitinase secreted in phlebotomus papatasi (ppis) that is involved in the maturation of the pm and showed that antibodies against ppchit1 reduce the chitinolytic activity in the midgut of several sandfly species. here, sandflies were fed on red blood cells reconstituted with naïve or an ...	25591111
when population and evolutionary genetics met behaviour.	in this review, we analyse the impact of a population and evolutionary genetics approach on the study of insect behaviour. our attention is focused on the model organism drosophila melanogaster and several other insect species. in particular, we explore the relationship between rhythmic behaviours and the molecular evolution of clock and ion channel genes.	24473805
the flagellar protein flag1/smp1 is a candidate for leishmania-sand fly interaction.	leishmaniasis is a serious problem that affects mostly poor countries. various species of leishmania are the agents of the disease, which take different clinical manifestations. the parasite is transmitted by sandflies, predominantly from the phlebotomus genus in the old world and lutzomyia in the new world. during development in the gut, leishmania must survive various challenges, which include avoiding being expelled with blood remnants after digestion. it is believed that attachment to the gu ...	25793476
development of leishmania (leishmania) infantum chagasi in its natural sandfly vector lutzomyia longipalpis.	we analyzed the development of leishmania (leishmania) infantum chagasi in its natural sandfly vector lutzomyia longipalpis. in addition, we compared sandfly infections initiated with axenic amastigotes or promastigotes. our data showed no important difference between lu. longipalpis infection rates resulting from either type of infections. furthermore, development of infection was equivalent in both cases. all promastigote forms were found inside the sandfly and, after blood digestion, most of ...	22492144
identifying vaccine targets for anti-leishmanial vaccine development.	leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease spread by an arthropod vector. it remains a significant health problem with an incidence of 0.2–0.4 million visceral leishmaniasis and 0.7–1.2 million cutaneous leishmaniasis cases each year. there are limitations associated with the current therapeutic regimens for leishmaniasis and the fact that after recovery from infection the host becomes immune to subsequent infection therefore, these factors force the feasibility of a vaccine for leishmaniasis ...	24606556
surface polar lipids differ in male and female phlebotomus papatasi (diptera: psychodidae).	the polar lipids on the surface of the old world sand fly, phlebotomus papatasi (scopoli), were analyzed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. blood-fed females and nonblood-fed females and males were separately analyzed and compared. the major polar lipids were found to be long-chain diols and fatty acids. relatively high levels of diacylglycerols were found in blood-fed females and in males. a wide variety of lipids were found at low levels, including esters, sterols, monoacylglycerols, and hy ...	25814772
acoustic communication in insect disease vectors.	acoustic signalling has been extensively studied in insect species, which has led to a better understanding of sexual communication, sexual selection and modes of speciation. the significance of acoustic signals for a blood-sucking insect was first reported in the xix century by christopher johnston, studying the hearing organs of mosquitoes, but has received relatively little attention in other disease vectors until recently. acoustic signals are often associated with mating behaviour and sexua ...	24473800
an epidemic outbreak of canine cutaneous leishmaniasis in colombia caused by leishmania braziliensis and leishmania panamensis.	the largest recorded outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in colombia's history occurred during 2005-2009 in soldiers of the colombian army, with ~40,000 cases. this outbreak was caused by the influx of military personnel into the jungle with the mission of combat illicit crops and the guerrilla. the soldiers remain for long periods within the rainforest and are exposed to the bite of infected sand flies. during the military activities, soldiers work with dogs specially trained to detect landmine ...	22556078
intron retention in the drosophila melanogaster rieske iron sulphur protein gene generated a new protein.	genomes can encode a variety of proteins with unrelated architectures and activities. it is known that protein-coding genes of de novo origin have significantly contributed to this diversity. however, the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary processes behind these originations are still poorly understood. here we show that the last 102 codons of a novel gene, noble, assembled directly from non-coding dna following an intronic deletion that induced alternative intron retention at the drosophila ...	21610726
the biology and control of leishmaniasis vectors.	vector control remains a key component of many anti-leishmaniasis programs and probably will remain so until an effective vaccine becomes available. technologies similar to those used for control of adult mosquitoes, specifically interior residual sprays and insecticide-treated nets, are currently at the forefront as disease control measures. this article provides a review of literature on the biology and control of sand fly vectors of leishmaniasis in the context of changing disease risks and t ...	20606968
experimental infection of phlebotomus perniciosus by bioluminescent leishmania infantum using murine model and artificial feeder.	leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted by sandflies and caused by obligate intracellular protozoa of the genus leishmania. in the present study, we carried out a screening on the experimental infection of phlebotomus pernioucus by bioluminescent leishmania infantum using murine model and artificial feeder. we developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr)-based method to determine individually the number of leishmania promastigotes fed by infected flies. among 1840 ...	27439032
an assessment of the genetic diversity of leishmania infantum isolates from infected dogs in brazil.	correlations between the genetic diversity of leishmania infantum (syn. l. chagasi) isolates and their respective geographic origins support the theoretic assumption that visceral leishmaniasis probably originated in the old world. because dogs are widely considered to be the main reservoir of this disease, the present study aimed to investigate the degree of genetic divergence among 44 leishmanial canine isolates from two brazilian cities, jequié and campo grande, located approximately 2,028 km ...	22556077
the phlebotomine fauna (diptera: psychodidae) of guaraí, state of tocantins, with an emphasis on the putative vectors of american cutaneous leishmaniasis in rural settlement and periurban areas.	phlebotomine sandflies were captured in rural settlement and periurban areas of the municipality of guaraí in the state of tocantins (to), an endemic area of american cutaneous leishmaniasis (acl). forty-three phlebotomine species were identified, nine of which have already been recognised as acl vectors. eleven species were recorded for the first time in to. nyssomyia whitmani was the most abundant species, followed by evandromyia bourrouli, nyssomyia antunesi and psychodopygus complexus. the s ...	23903972
evaluation of light-emitting diodes as attractant for sandflies (diptera: psychodidae: phlebotominae) in northeastern brazil.	hoover pugedo light traps were modified for use with green and blue-light-emitting diodes to trap phlebotomine sandflies in northeastern brazil. a total of 2,267 specimens belonging to eight genera and 15 species were sampled. the predominant species were nyssomyia whitmani(34.41%) and micropygomyia echinatopharynx(17.25%).the green led trap prevailed over the blue and control lights; however, no statistically significant difference could be detected among the three light sources. even without s ...	26517661
identification of sandflies (diptera: psychodidae: phlebotominae) blood meals in an endemic leishmaniasis area in brazil.	the aim of this study was to identify blood meals of female sandflies captured in the municipality of governador valadares, an endemic area of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, in the state of minas gerais, brazil. from may 2011 to january 2012, captures were performed using hp light traps in four districts. there were 2,614 specimens (2,090 males and 524 females) captured; 97 engorged females were identified belonging to the species lutzomyia longipalpis(82.1%) and lutzomyia cortelezzii(17. ...	26422156
the sandfly fauna (diptera: psychodidae: phlebotominae) of the parque estadual da serra da tiririca, rio de janeiro, brazil.	cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) in the state of rio de janeiro is sporadic and can be characterised as a peridomestic transmission that occurs in modified natural environments. the aim of this work was to study the fauna and ecological characteristics of sandflies in an environmentally protected area (the state park of serra da tiririca) within the remnants of the atlantic forest in the municipalities of niterói and maricá and their possible relationship with leishmaniasis. captures were performed ...	24141956
feeding preferences of lutzomyia longipalpis (diptera: psychodidae), the sand fly vector, for leishmania infantum (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae).	leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) in brazil, is spread mostly by the bite of the sand fly lutzomyia longipalpis (lutz & neiva). we trapped sand flies in endemic neighborhoods near natal, brazil, where cases of human and dog vl were documented. amplification of species-specific cytochrome b (cyt b) genes by polymerase chain reaction revealed that sand flies from rural and periurban areas harbored blood from different sources. the most common source ofbloodmea ...	24605474
spatial and temporal changes in lutzomyia longipalpis abundance, a leishmania infantum vector in an urban area in northeastern argentina.	this study aimed to analyse changes in the spatial distribution of lutzomyia longipalpis in posadas, an urban area located in northeastern argentina. data were obtained during the summer of 2007 and 2009 through two entomological surveys of peridomiciles distributed around the city. the abundance distribution pattern for 2009 was computed and compared with the previous pattern obtained in 2007, when the first human visceral leishmaniasis cases were reported in the city. vector abundance was also ...	24271040
predicting the geographic distribution of lutzomyia longipalpis (diptera: psychodidae) and visceral leishmaniasis in the state of mato grosso do sul, brazil.	to understand the geographic distribution of visceral leishmaniasis (vl) in the state of mato grosso do sul (ms), brazil, both the climatic niches of lutzomyia longipalpis and vl cases were analysed. distributional data were obtained from 55 of the 79 counties of ms between 2003-2012. ecological niche models (enm) of lu. longipalpis and vl cases were produced using the maximum entropy algorithm based on eight climatic variables. lu. longipalpis showed a wide distribution in ms. the highest clima ...	24402151
phlebotomine fauna (diptera: psychodidae) in an area of fishing tourism in central-western brazil.	the aim of this study was to identify behavioral aspects of the sandfly fauna of a fishing tourism area in the municipality of bonito (ms). monthly captures were undertaken from december 2009 to november 2010, using automatic cdc type light traps, from 18h00 to 06h00, in a forested area, a savannah area, peridomiciles and animal shelters near peridomiciliary areas. nyssomyia whitmani was the most frequent out of a total of 6,699 specimens collected, belonging to 16 species, followed by psathyrom ...	26200964
abundance of lutzomyia longipalpis in urban households as risk factor of transmission of visceral leishmaniasis.	urban occurrence of human and canine visceral leishmaniasis (vl) is linked to households with characteristics conducive to the presence of sand flies. this study proposes an ad hoc classification of households according to the environmental characteristics of receptivity to phlebotominae and an entomological study to validate the proposal. here we describe the phlebotominae population found in intra- and peridomiciliary environments and analyse the spatiotemporal distribution of the vl vector lu ...	27223866