Vaccination in Leishmaniasis: A Review Article

Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan Leishmania parasites that are transmitted through female sandfly bites. The disease is predominantly endemic to the tropics and semi-tropics and has been reported in more than 98 countries. Due to the side effects of anti-Leishmania drugs and the emergence of drug-resistant isolates, there is currently no encouraging prospect of introducing an effective therapy for the disease. Hence, it seems that the key to disease control management is the introduction of an effective vaccine, particularly against its cutaneous form. Advances in understanding underlying immune mechanisms are feasibale using a variety of candidate antigens, including attenuated live parasites, crude antigens, pure or recombinant Leishmania proteins, Leishmania genes encoding protective proteins, as well as immune system activators from the saliva of parasite vectors. However, there is still no vaccine against different types of human leishmaniasis. In this study, we review the works conducted or being performed in this field. Key Words: Immune response, Leishmaniasis, Vaccination     

Responses of Growth and Chemical Composition of Pistachio Seedling to Phosphorus Fertilization Under Saline Conditions

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate effects of phosphorus (P) levels (0, 50 and 100 mg kg^?1 soil) under saline (0, 1000 and 2000 mg sodium chloride (NaCl) kg^?1 soil) conditions on growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings (Pistacia vera L.) cv. ‘Badami-zarand’ in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Results showed that salinity application decreased leaf, stem, and root dry weights, number of leaf, length of stem and leaf area, while this effect diminished with P fertilization. By increasing salinity levels, all of the nutrients concentration in leaf, stem and root except sodium (Na) content were reduced. P application increased P and potassium (K) concentrations in the leaves, stem and root, while decreased Na and Zinc (Zn) leaf, stem and root concentrations. However, the results indicated that proline accumulation and reducing sugar content were increased by salinity, P and their interaction application. The results suggest that fertilization of phosphorus can diminish some adverse effects of high salinity on growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings.     

Presence of β-glucanase activity in wheat and dairy ingredients and use of organic salts as potential enzyme inhibitors

Depolymerization of mixed linkage cereal β-glucans has been observed during the mixing and fermentation of multigrain breads. To maintain the bioactivity of β-glucans in bread and other foods, control of β-glucanase activity during production is needed. β-Glucanase activity in wheat and dairy ingredients was determined by adding them to β-glucan solutions and following the change in the molecular weight of β-glucan at 50 °C for 60 min. The activities in six wheat and six dairy ingredients ranged from undetectable to a 98% reduction in molecular weight. Calcium propionate, potassium sorbate, and sodium benzoate are salts of organic acids commonly used as food preservatives. Low concentrations of these additives (0.1–1.0%) were found to have an inhibitory effect on the β-glucanases found in wheat flour and whey protein isolate. The depolymerization rate of β-glucan was reduced by up to 76% by the three additives.     

Effects of Salinity and Pistachio Waste Application on Growth and Physiological Responses of Pistachio Seedlings

Low organic matter and high salinity are widespread throughout all pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) growing areas of Iran. The objective of this study was conducted to investigate effect of pistachio waste (PW), salinity, and their interaction on growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings. The experiment was carried out based on factorial and completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. The treatments contained salinity in three levels [0, 1000, and 2000 mg sodium chloride (NaCl) kg^?1 soil] and PW in three levels (0, 3, and 6%). The results indicated that salinity application decreased leaf, stem, and root dry weights; leaf area; and length of stem, while this effect diminished with 3% PW application. Application of PW at the rate of 6% significantly reduced these parameters and accelerated effect of salinity levels. Leaf, stem, and root potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) concentrations were decreased by salinity application, while leaf, stem, and root sodium (Na) concentrations was increased. However, PW application increased these nutrient concentrations in the leaves, stem, and root, but significantly diminished the effect of salinity. The results showed that proline accumulation and reducing sugar content in the leaves were increased by salinity, PW, and their combination application. The results suggest that application of PW, especially at rate of 3%, can reduce some adverse effects of salinity on growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings.     

Differential Response to Salt Stress Within and Among Iranian Melilotus Species

This paper explores the salt-tolerance response of Melilotus species, a forage legume, based on tolerance/susceptibility indices, leaf water relations, leaf/root ion concentrations and multivariate (factor and function discriminate) analyses. In a greenhouse experiment, salinity-susceptibility of 12 accessions of Melilotus (M. albus, M. indicus, M. officinalis) in addition, two controls (alfalfa and Persian clover) were evaluated at 0 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, and 300 mM of sodium chloride (NaCl). The experiment was conducted in a split plot design with two replications. Stress tolerance score (STS) was calculated based on tolerance/susceptibility indices. Salt-tolerant accessions were identified. An extracted bi-plot based on factor analysis confirmed the results of tolerance/susceptibility indices. There were significant correlations between STS and multivariate statistics. Root potassium cation (K⁺) concentration was higher in Melilotus species than the control species in all the salinity treatments. STS, root K⁺ concentration, leaf turgidity, and leaf succulence characteristics can be used for screening salinity-tolerance in Melilotus accessions. In all treatments, M. officinalis, M. indicus, and M. albus were salinity-tolerant species in descending order.

Abbreviations: Total biomass yield under control (Yp) and stress (Ys) mediums, geometric mean productivity (GMP), leaf area (LA), leaf tissue density (LTD), linear regression coefficient (b), mean productivity (MP), relative water content (RWC%), Succulence (S), specific leaf area (SLA), stress susceptibility index (SSI), stress tolerance index (STI), tolerance (TOL), water content at saturation (WCS), water saturation deficit (WSD), sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium cation (K⁺), sodium cation (Na⁺), analysis of variance (ANOVA), least significant difference (LSD), alfalfa control accession (CHA), Persian clover control accession (CHC), coefficient of variation (CV), statistics of factor (F) and discriminate function (D)