Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by various strains of Leishmania donovani, Leishmania infantum, and Leishmania chagasi with different geographical distribution. The aim of this study was to identify the strains of Leishmania that can cause VL in southern Iran. DNA of Leishmania were extracted from the slides of bone marrow aspirates (#42) and spleen punctures (#22), which were positive for leishman body from the patients who were referred to the hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Differences in Leishmania strains were determined by size difference of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification as visualized on agarose gel. PCR results and smears had 100% correlation. The dominant strain of Leishmania was L. infantum (63 out of the 64 cases), but one case of L. tropica was also detected. VL mostly involves children below 2 years of age in Iran, therefore infection with L. infantum was expected, but this study is the first report of VL that is caused by L. tropica in Iran.

Blood-feeding insects inject potent salivary components including complement inhibitors into their host’s skin to acquire a blood meal. Sand fly saliva was shown to inhibit the classical pathway of complement; however, the molecular identity of the inhibitor remains unknown. Here, we identified SALO as the classical pathway complement inhibitor. SALO, an 11 kDa protein, has no homology to proteins of any other organism apart from New World sand flies. rSALO anti-complement activity has the same chromatographic properties as the Lu. longipalpis salivary gland homogenate (SGH)counterparts and anti-rSALO antibodies blocked the classical pathway complement activity of rSALO and SGH. Both rSALO and SGH inhibited C4b deposition and cleavage of C4. rSALO, however, did not inhibit the protease activity of C1s nor the enzymatic activity of factor Xa, uPA, thrombin, kallikrein, trypsin and plasmin. Importantly, rSALO did not inhibit the alternative or the lectin pathway of complement. In conclusion our data shows that SALO is a specific classical pathway complement inhibitor present in the saliva of Lu. longipalpis. Importantly, due to its small size and specificity, SALO may offer a therapeutic alternative for complement classical pathway-mediated pathogenic effects in human diseases.

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In order to identify Helicobacter in gallstones of Iranian patients with biliary disease, gallstone and bile samples from 33 patients were subjected to rapid urease test, culture and Multiplex PCR using primers based on 16s rRNA and isocitrate dehydrogenase genes for the identification of Helicobacter genus and H. pylori respectively. This PCR was also done on bile samples from 40 autopsied gallbladders with normal pathology (control group). In 18.1% of stone and 12.1% of bile samples, H. pylori DNA was detected using PCR. Rapid urease and culture tests were negative for all samples. The PCR was negative in the control group. In conclusion, H. pylori DNA was detected in stone samples of Iranian patients with gallstones but we are not sure of their viability. To clarify the clinical role of Helicobacter in gallbladder diseases, studies using accurate tests on larger patient and control groups are needed to ascertain whether this microorganism is an innocent bystander or active participant in gallstone formation.

BackgroundSand fly saliva has been shown to have proteins with potent biological activities, salivary proteins that can be used as biomarkers of vector exposure, and salivary proteins that are candidate vaccines against different forms of leishmaniasis. Sand fly salivary gland transcriptomic approach has contributed significantly to the identification and characterization of many of these salivary proteins from important Leishmania vectors; however, sand fly vectors in some regions of the world are still neglected, as Bichromomyia olmeca (formerly known as Lutzomyia olmeca olmeca), a proven vector of Leishmania mexicana in Mexico and Central America. Despite the importance of this vector in transmitting Leishmania parasite in Mesoamerica there is no information on the repertoire of B. olmeca salivary proteins and their relationship to salivary proteins from other sand fly species.Methods and FindingsA cDNA library of the salivary glands of wild-caught B. olmeca was constructed, sequenced, and analyzed. We identified transcripts encoding for novel salivary proteins from this sand fly species and performed a comparative analysis between B. olmeca salivary proteins and those from other sand fly species. With this new information we present an updated catalog of the salivary proteins specific to New World sand flies and salivary proteins common to all sand fly species. We also report in this work the anti-Factor Xa activity of Lofaxin, a salivary anticoagulant protein present in this sand fly species.ConclusionsThis study provides information on the first transcriptome of a sand fly from Mesoamerica and adds information to the limited repertoire of salivary transcriptomes from the Americas. This comparative analysis also shows a fast degree of evolution in salivary proteins from New World sand flies as compared with Old World sand flies.