Characterization of Trypanosoma rangeli Strains Isolated in Central and South America: an Overview

Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagelate parasite that infects domestic and sylvatic animals, as well as man, in Central and South America. T. rangeli has an overlapping distribution with T. cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, sharing several animal reservoirs and triatomine vectors. We have isolated T. rangeli strains in the State of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, which dramatically increased the distribution area of this parasite. This brief review summarizes several studies comparing T. rangeli strains isolated in Santa Catarina with others isolated in Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela. The different methods used include indirect immunofluorescence and western blot assays, lectin agglutination, isoenzyme electrophoresis and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, triatomine susceptibility, in vitro cell infection assays, and mini-exon gene analysis

Characterization of Trypanosoma rangeli Strains Isolated in Central and South America: an Overview

Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagelate parasite that infects domestic and sylvatic animals, as well as man, in Central and South America. T. rangeli has an overlapping distribution with {B}T. cruzi{/B}, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, sharing several animal reservoirs and triatomine vectors. We have isolated T. rangeli strains in the State of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, which dramatically increased the distribution area of this parasite. This brief review summarizes several studies comparing T. rangeli strains isolated in Santa Catarina with others isolated in Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela. The different methods used include indirect immunofluorescence and western blot assays, lectin agglutination, isoenzyme electrophoresis and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, triatomine susceptibility, in vitro cell infection assays, and mini-exon gene analysis

Trypanocidal and Leishmanicidal Properties of Substitution-Containing Chalcones

Ten chalcones were synthesized and tested as potential leishmanicidal and trypanocidal agents. All tested compounds caused concentration-dependent inhibition of the in vitro growth of Leishmania braziliensis and Trypanosoma cruzi with no significant toxic effect towards host macrophages. Our results show that the positions of the substituents seem to be critical for their antiprotozoal activities

Characterization of Leishmania sp. strains isolated from autochthonous cases of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil / UCLA School of Medicine. Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Los Angeles, CA, USA.Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Parasitologia. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Fundação Nacional de Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Departamento de Análises Clı́nicas e Toxicológicas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Laboratório de Parasitologia Celular e Molecular. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.UCLA School of Medicine. Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Los Angeles, CA, USA.Four Leishmania sp. samples were isolated from autochthonous human cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. These strains were characterized using indirect immunofluorescence with a panel of Leishmania-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), and by PCR amplification and hybridization assay of the mini-exon gene with group specific probes. The results obtained with the MAbs were in agreement with the genetic marker. Two isolates (MHOM/BR/89/JSC89-H1 and MHOM/BR/89/JSC89-H2) were identified as L. (Leishmania) amazonensis and two (MHOM/BR/96/LSC96-H3 and MHOM/BR/97/LSC97-H4) as L. (Viannia) braziliensis. The southernmost autochthonous cases of ACL in Brazil are due to two different Leishmania sp. species, confirming the spreading of ACL on the American continent