Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians at the University of Dundee. (360G-Wellcome-090665_Z_09_Z)

£267,990

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