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Journals
Microorganisms
Special Issues
New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis
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New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 6124

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pedro Cecílio

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Guest Editor
Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Interests: vector-pathogen-host interactions and their implications for human disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ana Victoria Ibarra-Meneses

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
Interests: asymptomatic infection, and monitoring treatment; drug resistance
Dr. Eva Iniguez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Vector Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Interests: vector-host-pathogen interactions focused on anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis; preclinical animal models of sand fly-initiated VL to investigate the host immune response following transmission of Leishmania by bite, and how these events govern disease pathogenesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, an estimated 700,000 to 1 million new cases of Leishmaniasis still occur annually, with a consequent significant disease burden. More than 100 years after the identification of the etiologic agent, protozoan Leishmania parasites (around 20 species associated with human disease to date), the chemotherapy agents available in the clinic settings are limited and “outdated”, and there is still no vaccine approved for human use. This is due to socio-geographic reasons—Leishmaniasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease, disproportionally affecting low-income populations—but not only. We still do not understand completely the determinants of parasite transmission and disease, probably due to the epidemiological complexity recognized in the context of Vector-Borne diseases. There is, consequently, the need, not only to better understand the individual parasite-vector, vector-host, and host-parasite interfaces in Leishmaniasis, but also to integrate them—looking at them as a whole.

In line with this, the aim of this Special Issue is to compile studies that describe new advances in the field of Leishmaniasis, either focusing individually on the Leishmania-sand fly or Leishmania-host interfaces (in line with the scope of Microorganisms), or on the integration of the vector-host-pathogen triad. Original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Overall, topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Determinants of vector competence;
  • The development of Leishmania parasites in the sandfly midgut;
  • The characteristics of the infectious inoculum at the time of transmission;
  • Parasite tissue tropism in the host;
  • Determinants of infection in asymptomatic versus disease conditions;
  • Developments in in vitro and animal models of Leishmaniasis;
  • New anti-Leishmania drug targets;

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Pedro Cecílio
Dr. Ana Victoria Ibarra-Meneses
Dr. Eva Iniguez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Leishmaniasis
  • Leishmania
  • sand flies
  • parasite development
  • parasite transmission
  • parasite tropism
  • asymptomatic infection
  • determinants of infection/pathogenicity

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1359 KiB  
Article
The Epidemiology of PCR-Confirmed Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Israel: A Nationwide Study
by Dror Avni, Michal Solomon, Merav Strauss, Orli Sagi, Violeta Temper, Ayelet Michael-Gayego, Tal Meningher, Emily Avitan-Hersh, Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen, Jacob Moran-Gilad, Ayelet Ollech and Eli Schwartz
Microorganisms 2024, 12(10), 1950; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12101950 - 26 Sep 2024
Viewed by 965
Abstract
Background: Leishmaniasis, mainly cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), is endemic in Israel. In recent years, the diagnosis of leishmaniasis has transitioned to a molecular diagnosis. Objective: To summarize all cases of leishmaniasis and the identified species seen in Israel based on molecular diagnosis. Methods: A [...] Read more.
Background: Leishmaniasis, mainly cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), is endemic in Israel. In recent years, the diagnosis of leishmaniasis has transitioned to a molecular diagnosis. Objective: To summarize all cases of leishmaniasis and the identified species seen in Israel based on molecular diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective study was performed of patients diagnosed with leishmaniasis between January 2017 and December 2022. All five medical centers in Israel in which Leishmania diagnosis is performed were included: Soroka, HaEmek, Hadassah, Rambam, and Sheba, all utilized molecular diagnostic methods. Data on the annual number of cases, species, age, and gender were retrieved. Results: During the years 2017–2022, a total of 4168 cases of leishmaniasis were diagnosed, which corresponds with ~7/100,000 inhabitants. L. (L.) major and L. (L.) tropica accounted for 84% and 14%, respectively. During the years 2020–2021, L. (L.) infantum emerged as a new form of cutaneous disease [2.7% of cases during this period]. Visceral L. (L.) infantum was found in five cases. Imported New World leishmaniasis accounted for 1% of the cases. L. (L.) major affected more males (67%) while L. (L.) tropica commonly affected more children and caused more facial lesions. Conclusions: The mean annual number of cases during these years is ~700. The dominant species is L. (L.) major. Since 2020, cutaneous L. (L.) infantum is an emerging infection in Israel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis)
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13 pages, 3329 KiB  
Article
Kupffer Cells and Hepatocytes: A Key Relation in the Context of Canine Leishmaniasis
by Armanda Rodrigues, Graça Alexandre-Pires, Ana Valério-Bolas, Telmo Nunes, Isabel Pereira da Fonseca and Gabriela Santos-Gomes
Microorganisms 2024, 12(9), 1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12091887 - 13 Sep 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
Human zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) constitute a major public and veterinary health concern and are both caused by the infection with the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum. One of the main target organs in CanL is the liver. This [...] Read more.
Human zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) constitute a major public and veterinary health concern and are both caused by the infection with the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum. One of the main target organs in CanL is the liver. This complex organ, composed of various highly specialized cell types, has garnered significant attention from the scientific community as a crucial player in innate immune functions. In the context of CanL, liver infection by parasites and the host immune response generated strongly influence the disease outcome. Thus, taking advantage of a co-culture system involving canine hepatocytes and L. infantum-infected autologous Kupffer cells (KCs), allowing cell-to-cell interaction, the current report aims to shed light on the hepatocyte-KCs immune interaction. The co-culture of infected KCs with hepatocytes revealed a vital role of these cells in the activation of a local immune response against L. infantum parasites. Although KCs alone can be immunologically silenced by L. infantum infection, the cell-to-cell interaction with hepatocytes in co-culture can lead to local immune activation. In co-culture it was observed gene expression increased the number of innate immune receptors, specifically cell membrane TLR2 and cytoplasmatic NOD1 along with high TNF-α generation. Altogether, these results suggest that the immune response generated in co-culture could induce the recruitment of other circulating cells to contain and contribute to the resolution of the infection in the liver. This work also enhances our understanding of the liver as a vital organ in innate immunity within the context of CanL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis)
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20 pages, 13915 KiB  
Article
Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis: A Histological and Immunohistochemical Study of Fibropoiesis in Chronic Interstitial Pneumonitis
by Frederico C. Gonçalves, Ramon de Alencar Pereira, Adriano Francisco Alves, Aldair Pinto Woyames Junio, Ricardo T. Fujiwara, David M. Mosser, Helida Monteiro Andrade, Geovanni D. Cassali, Enio Ferreira and Wagner Luiz Tafuri
Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 941; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050941 - 7 May 2024
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Abstract
We studied some fibrotic aspects of chronic interstitial pneumonitis in the lungs of dogs infected with Leishmania infantum. The lungs of eleven naturally infected dogs, twelve experimentally infected with two distinct strains of L. infantum (BH401 and BH46), and six uninfected (controls) [...] Read more.
We studied some fibrotic aspects of chronic interstitial pneumonitis in the lungs of dogs infected with Leishmania infantum. The lungs of eleven naturally infected dogs, twelve experimentally infected with two distinct strains of L. infantum (BH401 and BH46), and six uninfected (controls) dogs, were analyzed by histological, parasitological, and immunohistochemical studies. Conventional histology (HE), collagen deposition (Gomori’s silver staining for reticulin collagen fibers), and immunohistochemistry for myofibroblast characterization were carried out based on the cellular expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, cytokeratin, E-cadherin, snail antigen homologue 1 (SNAI1) (Snail), and the cytokine expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β). Parasitological screening was carried out using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the immunohistochemical reaction of streptavidin–peroxidase for visualizing Leishmania amastigotes. Dogs naturally infected with L. infantum and experimentally infected with L. infantum BH401 strains showed intense interstitial pneumonitis characterized by thickening of the alveolar septa as a consequence of an intense diffuse and focal (plaques) chronic exudate of mononuclear cells associated with fibrogenesis. The expression of alpha-actin, vimentin, and TGF-β was higher in the lung interstitium of all infected dogs than in the other two groups (BH46 strain and controls). Moreover, in both the naturally and experimentally infected dog (BH401 strain) groups, the expression of Snail was moderate to intense in contrast to the other groups. Based on these immunohistochemical results, we concluded that mesenchymal cells are active in promoting changes in the extracellular matrix in the lungs of dogs naturally and experimentally infected with L. infantum, but it depends on the virulence of the parasite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis)
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13 pages, 2630 KiB  
Article
Experimental Susceptibility of Nyssomyia antunesi and Lutzomyia longipalpis (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) to Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni and L. (V.) lindenbergi (Trypanosomatidae: Leishmaniinae)
by Yetsenia del Valle Sánchez Uzcátegui, Fernando Tobias Silveira, Thais Gouvea de Morais, Rodrigo Ribeiro Furtado, Thiago Vasconcelos dos Santos and Marinete Marins Póvoa
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 809; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040809 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 975
Abstract
The present work assessed the experimental susceptibility of Nyssomyia antunesi and Lutzomyia longipalpis to Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni and L. (V.) lindenbergi. A L. (Leishmania) chagasi–Lu. longipalpis combination was used as a susceptible control. Wild-caught [...] Read more.
The present work assessed the experimental susceptibility of Nyssomyia antunesi and Lutzomyia longipalpis to Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni and L. (V.) lindenbergi. A L. (Leishmania) chagasi–Lu. longipalpis combination was used as a susceptible control. Wild-caught Ny. antunesi and laboratory-bred Lu. longipalpis were membrane-fed on blood with a 5 × 106/mL log-phase promastigote culture suspension and dissected on days 2 and 8 post-blood meal (pbm) for analysis focused on the assessment of parasitoses, as well as placement and promastigote morphotyping. Survival curves were constructed. In all combinations, promastigotes were observed on day 8 pbm. For both Leishmania species, in Lu. longipalpis, the presence of parasites was observed up to the stomodeal valve, while in Ny. antunesi, the presence of parasites was observed up to the cardia. There were no significant differences in parasitosis between L. (V.) lainsoni and L. (V.) lindenbergi in either Ny. antunesi or Lu. longipalpis. Six morphological promastigote forms were distinguished in Giemsa-stained gut smears. The survival curves of all combinations decreased and were affected differently by several Lu. longipalpis–parasite combinations, as well with Lu. longipalpis–uninfected blood. These findings stress Lu. longipalpis as experimentally susceptible to Leishmania spp. and suggest the putative susceptibility of Ny. antunesi to L. (V.) lainsoni and L. (V.) lindenbergi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in the Field of Leishmaniasis)
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