Leishmaniasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease caused by protozoa of the Leishmania genus. No human vaccine is available, and current treatments are limited by toxicity and drug resistance. Thus, the identification of new active molecules remains an u...
31 October 2024
Leishmaniasis encompasses a group of neglected diseases caused by flagellated protozoa belonging to the Leishmania genus, associated with high morbidity and mortality. The search for compounds with anti-Leishmania activity that exhibit lower toxicity...
A key factor in the successful infection of a mammalian host by Leishmania parasites is their conversion from extracellular motile promastigotes into intracellular amastigotes. We discuss the physical and chemical triggers that induce this conversion...
Chagas’ disease, a vector-transmitted infectious disease, is caused by the protozoa parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Drugs that are currently available for the treatment of this disease are unsatisfactory, making the search for new chemotherapeutic agents...
Leishmaniasis is considered to be one of the most neglected tropical diseases affecting humans and animals around the world. Due to the absence of an effective vaccine, current treatment is based on chemotherapy. However, the continuous appearance of...
Calcineurin (CaN), a Ca2+-dependent phosphatase, plays key roles in eukaryotic cell signaling. We investigated whether Leishmania amazonensis’ two infective forms—promastigotes and amastigotes—exhibit differences in CaN expression,...
Thirteen aminoalcohols and eight diamines were obtained and tested against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes strains MG, JEM and CL-B5 clone. Some of them were equal or more potent (1.0–6.6 times) than the reference compound nifurtimox. From them, thre...
Drug repositioning is an efficient strategy to search for new treatment alternatives that is especially valuable for neglected parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis. Tamoxifen and raloxifene are selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) that...
A series of seven chalcone-thiosemicarbazones (5a–5g) were synthesized and evaluated as potential new drugs (anti-leishmanial effect). Although four of the chalcone-thiosemicarbazones are already known, none of them or any compound in this clas...
Indazoles have previously been identified as molecules with antiprotozoal activity. In this study, we evaluate the in vitro activity of thirteen 3-alkoxy-1-benzyl-5-nitroindazole derivatives (series D) against L. amazonensis, L. infantum, and L. mexi...
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected disease prevalent in tropical countries with the ability to cause skin lesions. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a specific and topical option for the treatment of these lesions. This study evaluated t...
Background: In recent years, the focus on nanotechnological methods in medicine, especially in the treatment of microbial infections, has increased rapidly. Aim: The present study aims to evaluate in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial effects of coppe...
The bioactive compounds present in the edible products of the olive tree have been extensively studied and their favorable effects on various disease risk factors have been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of...
This experimental investigation was designed to assess the in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial effects of Z. spina-christi methanolic extract (ZSCME) and also aims to assess some of the antileishmanial mechanisms such as the NO production, apoptosis...
Leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) infecting the world’s poorest populations. Effectiveness of the current antileishmanial and antischistosomal therapies are significantly declining, which calls for an urge...
Introduction: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a major public health concern due to the limited effectiveness of current treatments, especially in the chronic stage. Objective: Here, we wanted to advance a library of...
Currently, there is no licensed vaccine to protect against human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a potentially fatal disease caused by infection with Leishmania parasites. In the current study, a recombinant chimeric protein ChimT was developed based on...
Background: The current chemotherapy agents against various forms of leishmaniasis have some problems and side effects, including high toxicity, high cost, and the emergence of resistant strains. Here, we aimed to review the preclinical studies (in v...
A series of novel xylitan derivatives derived from xylitol were synthesized using operationally simple procedures. A xylitan acetonide was the key intermediate used to prepare benzoate, arylsulfonate esters and 1,2,3-triazole derivatives of xylitan....
Neutrophils are multifaceted cells that, upon activation, release meshes of chromatin associated with different proteins, known as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes induce NET release, and we...
The development of new alternative models is essential to overcome the limitations of traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures and animal models. Three-dimensional (3D) models, such as organoids, better mimic the structural and functional compl...
The current chemotherapy of Chagas disease needs to be urgently improved. With this aim, a series of 16 hybrids of Cinchona alkaloids and bile acids were prepared by functionalization at position C-2 of the quinoline nucleus by a radical attack of a...
Due to the increasing amount of people afflicted worldwide with Chagas disease and an increasing prevalence in the United States, there is a greater need to develop a safe and effective vaccine for this neglected disease. Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5)...
A stronger Th1 (cellular) immune response in canine leishmaniosis (CanL) leads to a better prognosis. Dietary nucleotides plus AHCC® have shown beneficial effects in dogs with clinical leishmaniosis and in clinically healthy Leishmania-infected d...
6 July 2020
Leishmania protozoans are the causal agents of neglected diseases that represent an important public health issue worldwide. The growing occurrence of drug-resistant strains of Leishmania and severe side effects of available treatments represent an i...
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common illness that causes skin lesions, principally ulcerations, on exposed regions of the body. Although neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are typically found in tropical areas, they have recently become more comm...
Plant-derived secondary metabolites are a promising source of new anti-infective agents owing to their remarkable chemical diversity and broad spectrum of biological activities. Among them, halophytes are particularly promising because adaptation to...
Background/Objectives: Leishmaniasis is a neglected parasitic disease with significant global impact and limited therapeutic options due to the toxicity and cost of current treatments. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from amphibians, such as Oc...
Leishmania infantum is the vector-borne trypanosomatid parasite causing visceral leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin. This neglected tropical disease is treated with a limited number of obsolete drugs that are not exempt from adverse effects and...
Background/Objectives: Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases caused by obligate intracellular parasites of the Leishmania genus and is classified by the World Health Organization as a category I neglected tropical disease. Leishmania infantum predomin...
14 February 2023
Malachra alceifolia Jacq. (family Malvaceae), known as “malva,” is a medicinal plant used as a traditional therapy in many regions of America, Africa and Asia. Traditionally, this plant is used in the form of extracts, powder and paste by...
Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a polyphenol produced by many plants and is found in red and green propolis. Here, we evaluated the antileishmanial activity of this natural product against Leishmania amazonensis. CAPE exhibited IC50 values of...
Leishmania amazonensis, a cause of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil, is a neglected disease with toxic and inconsistently effective treatments. The parasite’s survival depends on managing oxidative stress, making redox-regulating enzymes poten...
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease that affects millions of people worldwide, making the search essential for more accessible treatments. The species Platonia insignis Mart. (Clusiaceae) has been extensively studied and has gained prominence for...
Natural compounds represent a rich and promising source of novel, biologically active chemical entities for treating leishmaniasis. Sesquiterpene lactones are a recognized class of terpenoids with a wide spectrum of biological activities, including a...
Background: Anticancer therapies represent the primary treatment option for a significant number of cancer patients globally; however, many of these treatments are associated with severe side effects as they target molecular structures present in bot...
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania genus that affects 98 countries worldwide, 2 million of new cases occur each year and more than 350 million people are at risk. The use of the actual treatments is limited due to toxici...
19 November 2025
Leishmaniasis remains a global health challenge, and the search for effective and selective therapeutic agents is crucial. This study evaluated the in vitro antileishmanial and cytotoxic activities of thiosemicarbazone compounds (LT-70, LT-73, LT-75,...
Lymph node (LN) cytology is sensitive for the detection of parasites in dogs with leishmaniosis (CanL) and is used for the semiquantitative measurement of parasitic burden. The aim of this study was to investigate the repeatability and reproducibilit...
The spectrum and efficacy of available antileishmanial drugs is limited. In the present work we evaluated in vitro the antiproliferative activity of 11 compounds based on tetradentate polyamines compounds against three Leishmania species (L. brazilie...
Peptide-based drugs are an attractive class of therapeutic agents, recently recognized by the pharmaceutical industry. These molecules are currently being used in the development of innovative therapies for diverse health conditions, including tropic...
Since the beginning of the XXI century, Leishmaniasis has been integrated into the World Health Organization’s list of the 20 neglected tropical diseases, being considered a public health issue in more than 88 countries, especially in the tropi...
Leishmaniasis, a complex disease caused by protozoal parasites of the genus Leishmania, presents various clinical forms, particularly a cutaneous clinical form. Treatment is typically performed with pentavalent antimonial and amphotericin B, both of...
In continuation of our search for leads from medicinal plants against protozoal pathogens, we detected antileishmanial activity in polar fractions of a dichloromethane extract from Boswellia serrata resin. 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) could be isol...
Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, is an obligatory intracellular parasite that cycles between phagolysosome of mammalian macrophages, where it resides as round intracellular amastigotes, and the midgut of female sandflies, where it re...
This work describes the synthesis of a series of quaternary ammonium salts and the assessment of their in vitro antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity. A preliminary discussion on a structure-activity relationship of the compounds is also included...
Flavonolignans from the seeds of the milk thistle (Silybum marianum) have been extensively used in folk medicine for centuries. Confirmation of their properties as hepatoprotective, antioxidant and anticancer has been obtained using standardized extr...
This study evaluated the anti-Leishmania amazonensis activity of a lipophilic extract from the brown alga Stypopodium zonale and atomaric acid, its major compound. Our initial results revealed high inhibitory activity for intracellular amastigotes in...
Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass. is a plant native to Brazil and in the northwest region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, aerial parts of P. ruderale have been used popularly in the treatment of lesions caused by Leishmania sp.. In this study the an...
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease that affects between 50,000 and 90,000 new cases annually worldwide. In Brazil, VL causes about 3500 cases/per year. This chronic disease can lead to death in 90% of untreated cases. Thus, it is nece...
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