Project description:With its 2.5 Mb DNA genome packed in amphora-shaped particles of bacterium-like dimension (1.2 µm in length, 0.5 µm in diameter), the Acanthamoeba-infecting Pandoravirus salinus remained the most spectacular and intriguing virus since its description in 2013. Following its isolation from shallow marine sediment off the coast of central Chile, that of its relative Pandoravirus dulcis from a fresh water pond near Melbourne, Australia, suggested that they were the first representatives of an emerging worldwide-distributed family of giant viruses. This was further suggested when P. inopinatum discovered in Germany, was sequenced in 2015. We now report the isolation and genome sequencing of three new strains (P. quercus, P.neocaledonia, P. macleodensis) from France, New Caledonia, and Australia. Using a combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, and bioinformatic analyses, we found that these six viruses share enough distinctive features to justify their classification in a new family, the Pandoraviridae, distinct from that of other large DNA viruses.
Project description:This study was carried out to evaluate the changes that occur in the skin after the development of cutaneous leishmaniasis, aiming at a comprehensive understanding of immune pathways and biological functions activated in lesions caused by L. braziliensis. This analysis was conducted on 8 skin ulcers from patients infected with L. braziliensis. The patients selected for the gene expression analysis had recent L. braziliensis infection that had not yet been treated. 8 controls samples are skin biopsies from healthy donors (non-infected).
Project description:The main objective of this study is to identify the list of genes differentially expressed between infected with Leishmania braziliensis and non-infected macrophage cultures based on gene expression microarray profiling The dataset is comprised by the expression profile of 6 samples from three independent experiments and each experiment had three technical replicates. 3 of the 6 samples were U937 derived macrophages infected by Leishmania braziliensis and the other 3 were U937 derived macrophages without infection with Leishmania braziliensis. A total of 18 microarrays analysis were performed.
Project description:The host immune response plays a critical role not only in protection from human leishmaniasis, but also in promoting disease severity. Although candidate gene approaches in mouse models of leishmaniasis have been extremely informative, a global understanding of the immune pathways active in lesions from human patients is lacking. To address this issue, genome-wide transcriptional profiling of Leishmania braziliensis-infected cutaneous lesions and normal skin controls was carried out. A signature of the L. braziliensis skin lesion was defined that includes over 2,000 differentially regulated genes. Pathway-level analysis of this transcriptional response revealed key biological pathways, as well as specific genes, associated with cutaneous pathology, generating a testable 'metapathway' model of immune-driven lesion pathology, and providing new insights for treatment of human leishmaniasis.
