Exploring Leishmania infection dynamics and transmission potential in the Syrian golden hamster model with emphasis on the role of glucose/insulin.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease which is transmitted through the bite of female sand flies of the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia. Leishmania infection might provoke several changes in the fly's feeding behaviour, such as an increased biting persistence and a greater tendency to feed on multiple hosts, hereby enhancing parasite transmission. However, recent evidence from malaria research now indicates that the composition of the blood meal might have an equally important impact on vector behavior and parasite transmission. Although the involvement of the host's glucose/insulin metabolism is well-accepted for malaria, its potential involvement in Leishmania infection in vivo has barely been investigated before. This project will aim to evaluate the effects of the overall infection burden in the host on (1) the glucose/insulin levels in host blood; (2) the host's attractiveness and transmission potential to naive sand flies; and (3) sand fly survival, sand fly infection dynamics and final transmission potential with emphasis on the role of glucose/insulin.

Keywords:INSULIN, PARASITE, TRANSMISSION, GLUCOSE

Disciplines:Infectious diseases, Tropical medicine