Linked Life Data

11686076

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/11686076

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3-4
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-10-31
pubmed:abstractText
Several species of protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania are pathogenic for humans, causing visceral and cutaneous diseases. They are transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies as flagellated promastigotes to mammals hosts, where they live as aflagellated amastigotes mainly within macrophages. Studies performed on mice infected with Leishmania major demonstrated that host defence against this infection depends on the interleukin-12-driven expansion of the T helper 1 cell subset, with production of cytokines such as interferon-gamma, which activate macrophages for parasite killing through the release of nitric oxide. The parasitocidal role of this radical is now emerging also in the human and canine model. Healing or progression of the infection is related to the genetic and immune status of the host, and to the virulence of different species and strains of Leishmania. The parasite survival ultimately depends on the ability to evade the host immune response by several mechanisms. Among them, inhibition of the signal transduction pathway of the host cells is particularly important. In fact, promastigotes inhibit protein kinase C activation, cause Ca++ influx into the host cell and decrease the levels of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate-related proteins, which are substrates for PKC. In addition, Leishmania infection blocks IFN-gamma-induced tyrosine kinase phosphorylation, with consequent impairment of signalling for IL-12 and nitric oxide production. Finally, Leishmania activates protein phosphotyrosine phosphatases, which down-regulate mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling and c-fos and nitric oxide synthase expression. New pharmacological applications, including protein tyrosine phosphatase and protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors, are being evaluated against leishmaniosis in vitro and in vivo in the murine model.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0048-2951
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
42
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
183-90
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Interactions between Leishmania parasites and host cells.
pubmed:affiliation
Dipartimento di Clinica Medica, Immunologia e Malattie Infettive, Sezione di Microbiologia e Immunologia, Università di Bari, Policlinico, Piazza G. Cesare, 70124 Bari, Italy. brandoni@cimedoc.uniba.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't