Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have shown a possible beneficial role for muscle wasting in mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei, a parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. The team assessed the impact of both fat and muscle wasting on survival of mice with T. brucei infection. They found that while fat wasting appeared to have no impact on survival, mice that were unable to undergo muscle wasting died more quickly from the infection than those that experienced muscle loss.

An mRNA vaccine candidate that acts in the liver by recruiting memory T cells could be the key against malaria, according to a study in mice that demonstrated its efficacy by including a natural killer T (NKT) cell agonist.

Although huge strides have been made with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and prevention since HIV was first reported 42 years ago, there is still not an effective preventive vaccine or a scalable cure for those living with HIV. But broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) look to be a further step down the pathway to a cure, speakers said during the International AIDS Society meeting held July 23 to 26 in Brisbane, Australia.

Sandfly bites transmit the intracellular protozoan Leishmania to cause leishmaniasis that exhibits with clinical presentations ranging from a cutaneous ulcer to treatment-resistant lethal systemic disease (visceral leishmaniasis; VL). VL reportedly kills 20,000 to 30,000 every year according to the World Health Organization, where current medications are limited by side effects and evolving antibiotic resistance. Accordingly, there is a great need to develop alternatives.

Researchers from Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently reported the discovery and preclinical evaluation of a novel pleconaril-based molecule, 11526092, being develop as an antiviral agent against enteroviruses.

In a recent publication, researchers from Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology and affiliated organizations described a novel group of antitubercular agents with an improved safety profile.

Giardia lamblia is a protozoan pathogen that colonizes the gastrointestinal tract and results in giardiasis. Recently, researchers from the University of California San Diego aimed to identify potent proteasome inhibitors that selectively target G. lamblia, as potential antigiardiasis therapeutics with low toxicity.