Leishmaniasis: The Act of Transmission

Cover Illustration for Trends in Parasitology depicting transmission of Leishmania into a host

Client: Tiago Donatelli Serafim, Ph.D., NIAID

2021

A female sand fly periodically bites to obtain a blood meal for egg development. When the sand fly is infected with Leishmania, the bite results in the egestion of a concoction of molecules alongside the parasites that play varied and critical roles in promoting disease establishment. The outcome of leishmaniasis is influenced by a cascade of events orchestrated by components of the infectious inoculum soon after vector-transmission of Leishmania by bite.

About the image:

This award-winning image depicts the infectious inoculum comprised of metacyclic promastigotes (green cells), a soluble promastigote secretory gel (green cloud), saliva (yellow cloud), microbiota (purple) and exosomes (yellow particles). The infectious inoculum recruits neutrophils to the site of tissue damage. Bites also cause extravascular leakage of red blood cells that play a part in controlling inflammation.

Ryan was a coauthor on the article (featured in Trends in Parasitology) and he produced an animated diagram illustrating how Leishmania colonize the sandfly midgut.

Drafts and final sketches were created in pencil colored in Adobe Photoshop.