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B Travi

Publications and source records attributed to B Travi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Immunogenicity of the P-8 amastigote antigen in the experimental model of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

The P-8 proteoglycolipid complex (P-8 PGLC), an amastigote antigen of Leishmania pifanoi, has been demonstrated to induce protection in mouse models, as well as to induce Tc1/Th1-like cellular responses in American cutaneous leishmaniasis patients. Because the immunization with P-8 PGLC in the murine model does not appear to be genetically restricted, we have studied the reactivity of the P-8 PGLC in Leishmania infantum infected dogs. In this study, it is shown that PBMC from experimentally infected dogs (asymptomatic, oligosymptomatic) significantly proliferated in response to soluble leishmanial antigen (SLA) or the P-8 PGLC. Further, quantification of the gene expression induced by the stimulation with P-8 in asymptomatically infected dogs showed an up-regulation of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, which were three to 4-fold higher than that induced by soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA). While no measurable induction of IL-10 was observed, low levels of IL-4 mRNA were observed in response to both P-8 and SLA antigens. Thus, our studies establish that P-8 is recognized by infected canines and elicits a potentially curative/protective Th1-like immune response. The identification of Leishmania antigens that elicit appropriate immune responses across different host species (humans, canine) and disease manifestations (cutaneous or visceral) could be an advantage in generating a general vaccine for leishmaniasis.

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PubMed1995

Experimental models for leishmaniasis and for testing anti-leishmanial vaccines.

In public health terms, leishmaniases are diseases of humans and dogs, whereas, in epidemiological terms, Leishmania spp. are considered to represent infections of a wide variety of animals, which represent the natural reservoirs of the various parasite species involved. Humans and dogs (which may be considered secondary or 'accidental' hosts in the leishmanial life-cycle) often exhibit severe clinical signs and symptoms when infected, whereas reservoir hosts generally show a few, minor or no signs. This situation makes the definition of a suitable laboratory model a difficult one, since the various experimental hosts may behave either like a reservoir or an accidental host. This review discusses the concept of animal models for leishmaniases and provides a critical evaluation of the most common experimental models and their respective advantages and disadvantages. In this state-of-the-art review, particular emphasis is given to the value of using mouse, hamster, cotton-rat, dog and primate models, especially in the context of testing potential anti-leishmanial vaccines.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Behavior of Leishmania braziliensis s.l. in golden hamsters: evolution of the infection under different experimental conditions.

Reproducibility of Leishmania braziliensis s.l. metastatic behavior in hamsters was studied for 9 isolates of L.b. panamensis and 2 of L.b. guyanensis with a previous record of metastasis. Also, the influence of corticosteroids and trauma was evaluated. In the corticosteroid-treated group, metastases appeared earlier than in the nontreated group, and localization at the site of trauma was more frequent (4/9) than in the nontreated hamsters (1/5). Nine of the 11 strains (82%) were capable of reproducing metastatic behavior. Studies on dissemination of L. b. panamensis showed that the regional lymph node is invaded as soon as 5 days postinfection, with further nonhematic dissemination to other tissues and organs in less than 4 wk.

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