| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
NONAKA Shigeo RYUKYU UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF MEDICINE, PROFESSOR, 医学部, 教授 (10039571)
UEZATO Hiroshi RYUKYU UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF MEDICINE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 医学部, 助教授 (60160157)
KATAKURA Ken HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, PROFESSOR, 大学院・獣医学研究科, 教授 (10130155)
MIMORI Tatsuyuki KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 大学院・医学薬学研究部, 助教授 (00117384)
CALVOPINA Manuel KOCHI UNIVERSITY, MEDICAL SCHOOL, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, 医学部, 助手 (20346711)
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| Research Abstract |
The following findings on the pathobiology and transmission on the New and Old World leishmaniases were obtained from Ecuador, Argentina and Pakistan, in addition to the results of different experimental studies. 1.Parasitological findings : RNA editing regions of Cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene of 13 human pathogenic Leishmania species (14 strains) were analyzed. The regions were compared with those of non-human pathogenic Leishmania parasite, L. tarentolae (Sauroleishmania). 2.Vector entomological findings : A molecular technique sensitive enough to detect Leishmania organisms within each sandfly was established. The Leishmania parasites found in the flies were identified successfully by assessing Cyt b gene sequences. In northern Argentina, 3 species of the genus Lutzomyia, Lu. neivai, Lu. cortelezzii, and Lu. sallesi were found ; no natural infection of the flies with Leishmania was observed. In Pakistan, the materials collected were examined microscopically and molecular-biologically on
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their morphology and Leishmania parasite infection. No parasite was detected by PCR. In Pakistan, the flies collected were identified as Phlebotomus papatasi, Sergentomyia christophersi and S. punjubensis based on their morphology. 3.Diagnosis and parasite detection : By PCR-based methods, 6 out of 61 dogs were found to be positive for Leishmania minicircle kinetoplast DNA by semi-nested PCR and southern hybridization. 4.Clinical and epidemiological aspects : In Ecuador, the frequency distribution of different disease forms was calculated as follows : CL, 91.2% and MCL, 8.9%, and only one each of DL and DCL was found, but no VL was observed. In Pakistan, our study suggested that the disease is spreading gradually from the endemic areas to the virgin areas. 5.Experimental leishmaniasis : Experimental results suggested that ONO-4007 and INF-γ are the potent stimulators for activation of macrophages by inducing iNOS expression in Leishmania-infected macrophages (J774), which render the leishmanicidal activity against intracellular amastigotes proliferation. Less
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