Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians at the University of Dundee. (360G-Wellcome-090665_Z_09_Z)
The incidence of resistance to antimonials, the first line treatment for visceral leishmaniasis, is rising steadily in Bihar, India. 28% of the tubewells in Bihar district are contaminated with arsenic at levels above the WHO recommended guideline. Arsenite has previously been used in laboratory settings to explore mechanisms of drug resistance to antimony. We propose that the arsenic contamination in the ground water in this area may have induced drug resistance in Leishmania donovani to antimonials. Furthermore arsenic's immunosuppressive properties may increase the severity of leishmaniasis and reduce the efficacy of antimonials through suppression of their immunological mechanisms of action. This study aims to explore the relationship between arsenic contamination of groundwater, leishmaniasis and antimonial resistance by answering the following questions. - Is it possible to induce cross resistance to antimonials in vitro by creating an arsenite resistant strain using concentrations of inorganic arsenic present in tube well water in Bihar? - How does the immunotoxicity of chronic exposure in vivo to arsenic affect the host's immune response to Leishmania? - How does the immunotoxicity of chronic exposure to arsenic in vivo affect the efficacy of antimonials?
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Grant Details
Amount Awarded | 267990 |
Applicant Surname | Perry |
Approval Committee | Neurosciences And Mental Health |
Award Date | 2009-10-20T00:00:00+00:00 |
Financial Year | 2009/10 |
Grant Programme: Title | PhD Training Fellowship for Clinicians |
Internal ID | 090665/Z/09/Z |
Lead Applicant | Dr Meghan Perry |
Partnership Value | 267990 |
Planned Dates: End Date | 2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00 |
Planned Dates: Start Date | 2009-09-07T00:00:00+00:00 |
Recipient Org: Country | United Kingdom |
Region | Scotland |
Sponsor(s) | Prof Doreen Cantrell |