Ixodes scapularis is a medically important tick species that transmits causative agents of
important human tick-borne diseases including borreliosis, anaplasmosis and babesiosis …

One of the recalcitrant questions regarding the evolutionary history of clitellate annelids
involves the feeding preference of the common ancestor of extant rhynchobdellid (proboscis …

Background/aim The dried whole body of the leech Whitmania pigra, a well-known
traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat thrombus diseases for …

Haemostasis is the prevention of blood fluidity in vertebrates and is the first stage of wound
healing. Haematophagous animals use the blood of vertebrates as their sole source of …

Hematophagous leeches express a broad variety of secretory factors in their salivary glands;
among them are hirudins, inhibitors of blood coagulation, and decorsins/ornatins, inhibitors …

Throughout evolution, parasites have adapted in order to successfully intervene in the host
defense, producing specific peptides and proteins. Interestingly, these peptides and proteins …

Cathepsin L (CatL) is a lysosomal cysteine protease primarily involved in the terminal
degradation of intracellular and endocytosed proteins. More specifically, in humans, CatL …

This chapter will focus on anticoagulant molecules described until now from
hematophagous animals. The evolutionary scenario for hematophagous animals is …

Innerhalb der Proteinfamilien der Antistasine und der Hirudine konnte ein breites Spektrum
von Faktoren identifiziert werden. Obwohl die Funktionen dieser Hirudin-ähnlichen Faktoren …

O caráter investigativo e visionário fez do médico Vital Brazil um grande cientista,
reconhecido nacional e internacionalmente. Vital Brazil sempre demonstrou visão …