No abstract

This work's goal was to research new candidate antigens for cutaneous leishmaniosis (CL). In order to reach the goal, we used random peptide phage display libraries screened using antibodies from Leishmania braziliensis patients. After selection, three peptides (P1, P2, and P3) were synthesized using Fmoc chemistry. The peptides individually or a mixture of them (MIX) was subsequently emulsified in complete and incomplete Freund's adjuvant and injected subcutaneously in golden hamsters. Sera from the hamsters administered with P1 presented antibodies that recognized proteins between 76 and 150 kDa from L. braziliensis. Sera from hamsters which had peptides P2 and P3, as well as the MIX, administered presented antibodies that recognized proteins between 52 and 76 kDa of L. braziliensis. The research on the similarity of the peptides' sequences in protein databases showed that they match a 63 kDa glycoprotein. The three peptides and the MIX were recognized by the sera from CL patients by immunoassay approach (ELISA). The peptides' MIX showed the best performance (79% sensitivity) followed by the P1 (72% sensitivity), and the AS presented 91% sensitivity. These results show a new route for discovering molecules for diagnosis or for immunoprotection against leishmaniosis.

No abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the occurrence of canine visceral leishmaniosis (CVL) in the far western region of Santa Catarina State, bordering Argentina and Parana State, southern Brazil, where in recent years, VL has been recorded in both dogs and humans. Clinical signs, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used for Leishmania investigation. Among the 252 dogs surveyed, 41 were positive by ELISA assay, 43 in IFAT (titer>40), and 55 by PCR. From the 48 positive for VL by both serological and molecular methods, 19 (39.6%) presented clinical symptoms of leishmaniosis, 35 (72.9%) were from rural areas, and 13 (27.1%) were from urban areas. This pilot study confirms the occurrence of VL among dogs in the far western region of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, with high risk of CVL outbreaks and presenting a threat to humans.

The aim of this study was to confirm the emergence of canine visceral leishmaniasis among dogs in Foz do Iguaçu. The disease was diagnosed through the isolation and molecular identification of Leishmania infantum. In the first sample collection stage (2012), three lymph node aspirates and 46 buffy coat samples were obtained mostly from the dogs that were seroreagents for leishmaniasis. In the second sample collection stage (2013), the buffy coat samples were collected from 376 dogs located close to Paraguay, Paraná river, center and peripheral parts of the city. The DNA from the six isolates, four from the first sampling stage (4/49) and two from the second sampling stage (2/376), was subjected to polymerase chain reaction using the K26F/R primers. The isolate was confirmed as L. infantum by sequencing. As none of the dogs had ever left the city, the isolates were confirmed as autochthonous. Further, the study confirmed the emergence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in Paraná through the identification of L. infantum among dogs in Foz do Iguaçu city. Hence, collaborative control measures should be designed and implemented by the public agencies and research institutions of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay to control the spread of visceral leishmaniasis.