May salivary gland secretory proteins from hematophagous leeches (Hirudo verbana) reach pharmacologically relevant concentrations in the vertebrate host?

Saliva of hematophagous leeches (Hirudo sp.) contains bioactive proteins which allow the leech proper feeding and storage of ingested blood, but may also exert effects in the host. Leech therapy is used to treat many different ailments in humans, although only a small fraction of salivary proteins a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sarah Lemke, Christian Müller, Elisabeth Lipke, Gabriele Uhl, Jan-Peter Hildebrandt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24058492/pdf/?tool=EBI