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MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY
presentation
The Unit of Medical Parasitology (UMP) in-
tegrates professors and researchers with
multidisciplinary experience and expertise,
working together in pedagogic and sci-
entific, intra-institutional and international
collaboration. In 2015, the unit carried out
postgraduate 2nd and 3rd cycle teach-
ing, human resources capacity building,
of national and International cooperation,
and specialized services to the community,
ranging from laboratorial diagnosis of para-
sitic diseases, to surveillance and control
of insect vectors; scientific research on the
thematic areas of its expertise, through the
development of projects on vector-borne
diseases, population genetics of these
vectors, as well as intermediate hosts,
neglected diseases, (re)emergent infec-
tions, opportunistic infections, including
the study of drug resistances, new thera-
peutic or prophylactic approaches, control
of vectors or intermediate hosts. The UMP
has participated in international consult-
ing, namely with the WHO; research and
teaching activities in collaboration with
foreign universities, international partner-
ship projects, with 53% of its publications
with international co-authorship. The Unit
has also collaborated in the organization of
several scientific events, namely in the 3rd
National Congress on Tropical Medicine
and 1st Portuguese-Speaking Congress
on Vector-Borne Diseases, as well as in
the “Summer with Ciência Viva” program
of the National Agency for Scientific and
Technological Culture.
MAIN RESEARCH topics
Evaluation of potential serum candidates
for the diagnosis of
Pneumocystis jirovecii
pneumonia (PPc) has revealed (1-3)-β-D-
glucan (BG) to be the most reliable bio-
marker, whilst the combination of BG/KL-6
was the most promising approach for the
diagnostic among HIV-positive and -nega-
tive patients.
Hemozoin increases resistance of
Ano-
pheles gambiae
mosquitoes to
Plas-
modium berghei
infection, which was
associated with REL2 regulation of im-
mune-related genes.
Culex theileri, Cx. pipiens, An. maculipen-
nis
s.l.,
An. atroparvus, Ae. caspius
and
Ae. detritus
s.l. mosquitos were identified
as potential vectors of Dirofilaria immitis in
Portugal.
After the dengue outbreak in Madeira,
there were a shift in myths, evidencing the
positive influence of the assimilation of pre-
ventive behaviour concepts, proving that
monitoring public perceptions is crucial to
prevention campaigns’ success.
Artemisinin-derived Trioxolanes exhibited
in vitro
activity against
Leishmania infan-
tum
, constituting potential candidates
for anti-leishmanial therapy. Detection
of
Leishmania
DNA and identification of
blood meals in phlebotomine sand flies
has revealed to be a powerful epidemio-
logic tool.
The study of 2 mitochondrial cytochrome
oxidase markers suggests that the settle-
ment of
Sergentomyia minuta
populations
in the Mediterranean basin may have oc-
curred at the same time as
Phlebotomus
perniciosus
and
P. ariasi
, with coherent hap-
TOP 5 PUBLICAÇÕES
PUBLICATIONS
Esteves F, Calé SS, Badura R, De Boer
MG, Maltez F, Calderon E J, Van Der Rei-
jden TJ, Marquez-Martin E, Antunes F,
Matos O:
Diagnosis of Pneumocystis
pneumonia: evaluation of four serologic
biomarkers
. Clinical Microbiology and In-
fection, 2015, 21(4): 379.e1–379.e10.
Ferreira CAC, de Pinho Mixao V, Novo
MTLM, Calado MMP, Goncalves LAP,
Belo SMD, de Almeida APG:
First mo-
lecular identification of mosquito vec-
tors of Dirofilaria immitis in continen-
tal Portugal
. Parasites & Vectors, 2015,
8:760-760.
Guerra-Guimarães L, Tenente R, Pin-
heiro C, Chaves I, Silva MC, Cardoso
FMH, Planchon S, Barros DR, Renaut J,
Ricardo CP:
Proteomic analysis of apo-
plastic fluid of Coffea arabica leaves
highlights novel biomarkers for resist-
ance against Hemileia vastatrix
. Fron-
tiers in Plant Science, 2015, 6, 478.
Cortes S, Albuquerque A, Cabral LIL,
Lopes L, Campino L, Cristiano MLS:
In Vitro Susceptibility of Leishmania
infantum to Artemisinin Derivatives
and Selected Trioxolanes
. Antimicro-
bial agents and chemotherapy 2015,
59:5032-5035.
Nazareth T, Sousa CA, Porto G, Gon-
calves L, Seixas G, Antunes L, Silva AC,
Teodosio R:
Impact of a Dengue Out-
break Experience in the Preventive
Perceptions of the Community from
a Temperate Region: Madeira Island,
Portugal
. Plos Neglected Tropical Dis-
eases, 2015, 9.
lotyte spatial distribution and phylogenetics.
Laboratory model of
Rhipicephalus bursa
infection with
Babesia ovis
was established
and the sialotranscriptome of
Rhipicepha-
lus annulatus
and
R. bursa
was obtained.
Pgp-like SMDR2 transporters are likely to
be involved in the
Schistosoma mansoni
to
Praziquantel drug-resistance mechanism.
Proteomic analysis of apoplastic fluid of
Cof-
fea arabica
leaves allowed to identify can-
didate biomarkers for resistance against
Hemileia vastatrix
to be used in coffee-
breeding programs to assist in the selec-
tion of resistant cultivars.
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