The role of dermal macrophages in the initial immune response against Leishmania infection

• Grant number: 17/09746-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 16, 2017
• End date: October 15, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: João Santana da Silva
• Grantee: Gabriela Pessenda
• Supervisor: David Sacks
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (NIH), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/25289-9 - Identification and validation of essential genes responsible for the immune response induction in patients with visceral leishmaniasis, BP.DR

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a disease transmitted by sand fly bites into host's skin, therefore the immune response against the parasite is initiated early in the skin, even in visceral cases. Murine models have shown that immune responses against Leishmania are very diverse, and may depend on the parasite species, strains and/or mice background. This is especially true for the roles played by inflamasomes and IL-1b during infection. Activation of inflammasomes with consequent production of IL-1b has been shown to be beneficial or detrimental to the progress of the disease. Since, further studies are needed. Given that Leishmania parasites differentiate and replicate inside macrophages, our aim is to understand the response of dermal macrophages employing models of cutaneous and visceral forms of the disease and focusing on IL-1b production and its role during infection progression. Transcriptional profiling of dermal macrophages from infected wild-type and knockout animals will be employed to achieve this purpose.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PESSENDA, GABRIELA; DA SILVA, JOAO SANTANA. Arginase and its mechanisms inLeishmaniapersistence. PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, v. 42, n. 7, SI, JUL 2020. (17/09746-6, 15/25289-9)