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Turkiye Parazitolojii Dergisi May 2022Cancer is a life-threatening disease that occurs as a result of the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in any organ or tissue of the body. Parasites are dangerous...
Cancer is a life-threatening disease that occurs as a result of the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in any organ or tissue of the body. Parasites are dangerous organisms that can cause death in some cases. Parasite and cancer cells are similar in their capacity to survive and proliferate independently of exogenous growth factors, to be resistant to apoptosis, and to evade host immune mechanisms. Therefore, it is difficult for the body to completely get rid of cancer cells and parasitic agents. studies or experimental animal studies examining the parasite-cancer relationship have shown that besides parasites that can cause cancer directly, there are also parasites that can indirectly stimulate cancer development through various mechanisms. On the other hand, it is known that the immune response against some parasites can show antitumoral activity in the body. Parasitic agents can have both tumoral and antitumoral effects through regulation of immune response, prevention of metastasis and angiogenesis, inhibition of proliferative signals, and regulation of inflammatory responses that induce cancer development.
Topics: Animals; Host-Parasite Interactions; Neoplasms; Parasites
PubMed: 35604195
DOI: 10.4274/tpd.galenos.2022.30974 -
Clinical Microbiology and Infection :... Dec 2019Parasitic infections are responsible for a significant burden of disease worldwide as a result of international travel and immigration. More accurate diagnostic tools... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Parasitic infections are responsible for a significant burden of disease worldwide as a result of international travel and immigration. More accurate diagnostic tools are necessary in support to parasite control and elimination programmes in endemic regions as well as for rapid case detection in non-endemic areas. Digital PCR (dPCR) is a powerful technology with recent applications in parasitology.
AIMS
This review provides for the first time an overview of dPCR as a novel technology applied to detection of parasitic infections, and highlights the most relevant potential benefits of this assay.
SOURCES
Peer-reviewed literature pertinent to this review based on PubMed, Cochrane and Embase databases as well as laboratory experience of authors.
CONTENT
Among the 86 studies retrieved, 17 used the dPCR applied to parasites belonging to protozoa (8), helminths (8) and arthropods (1) of clinical human interest. dPCR was adopted in four studies, respectively, for Plasmodium and Schistosoma japonicum. dPCR led to clear advantages over quantitative real-time PCR in P. falciparum and spp., and in S. japonicum showing higher sensitivity; and in Cryptosporidium with higher stability to inhibitors from stool. For all parasites, dPCR allows absolute quantitation without the need of a standard curve. Various dPCR platforms were used. A few critical factors need consideration: DNA load, choice of platform and reaction optimization.
IMPLICATIONS
Owing to its sensitivity and quantitative characteristics, dPCR is a potential candidate to become an appealing new method among the molecular technologies for parasite detection and quantitative analysis in the future. In general, it has more applications than genomic DNA detection only, such as quantitation in mixed infections, gene expression and mutation analysis. dPCR should be considered in malaria screening and diagnosis as a complement to routine assays and in schistosomiasis elimination programmes. Standardized strategies and further studies are needed for the integration of dPCR in routine clinical laboratory.
Topics: Animals; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Humans; Mass Screening; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases; Parasitology; Polymerase Chain Reaction
PubMed: 31226445
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.06.009 -
Parasites & Vectors Jul 2020Diarrheal diseases caused by intestinal protozoan parasites are a major food-borne public health problem across the world. Vegetables and fruits provide important... (Review)
Review
Diarrheal diseases caused by intestinal protozoan parasites are a major food-borne public health problem across the world. Vegetables and fruits provide important nutrients and minerals, but are also common sources of some food-borne human pathogenic microorganisms. The contamination of raw vegetables and fruits with human pathogenic parasites are now a global public health threat, despite the health benefits of these foods in non-pharmacological prophylaxes against diseases. A large number of reports have documented the contamination of vegetables or fruits with human pathogenic microorganisms. In this paper, we reviewed the contamination and detection methods of human pathogenic intestinal protozoans that are frequently recovered from raw vegetables and fruits. The protozoan parasites include Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Entamoeba spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Balantioides coli, Blastocystis sp., Cystoisospora belli and Enterocytozoon bieneusi. The risk factors involved in the contamination of vegetables and fruits with parasites are also assessed.
Topics: Animals; Blastocystis; Cryptosporidium; Cyclospora; Entamoeba; Enterocytozoon; Food Parasitology; Fruit; Giardia lamblia; Global Health; Humans; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Parasites; Risk Factors; Toxoplasma; Vegetables
PubMed: 32727529
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04255-3 -
Current Opinion in Microbiology Dec 2020
Topics: Animals; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Immunity; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases
PubMed: 33328088
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2020.11.008 -
Nature Microbiology Jul 2023For Plasmodium falciparum, the most widespread and virulent malaria parasite that infects humans, persistence depends on continuous asexual replication in red blood...
For Plasmodium falciparum, the most widespread and virulent malaria parasite that infects humans, persistence depends on continuous asexual replication in red blood cells, while transmission to their mosquito vector requires asexual blood-stage parasites to differentiate into non-replicating gametocytes. This decision is controlled by stochastic derepression of a heterochromatin-silenced locus encoding AP2-G, the master transcription factor of sexual differentiation. The frequency of ap2-g derepression was shown to be responsive to extracellular phospholipid precursors but the mechanism linking these metabolites to epigenetic regulation of ap2-g was unknown. Through a combination of molecular genetics, metabolomics and chromatin profiling, we show that this response is mediated by metabolic competition for the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine between histone methyltransferases and phosphoethanolamine methyltransferase, a critical enzyme in the parasite's pathway for de novo phosphatidylcholine synthesis. When phosphatidylcholine precursors are scarce, increased consumption of SAM for de novo phosphatidylcholine synthesis impairs maintenance of the histone methylation responsible for silencing ap2-g, increasing the frequency of derepression and sexual differentiation. This provides a key mechanistic link that explains how LysoPC and choline availability can alter the chromatin status of the ap2-g locus controlling sexual differentiation.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Parasites; Histones; Sex Differentiation; Methylation; Epigenesis, Genetic; Malaria; Chromatin; Phosphatidylcholines; Phospholipids
PubMed: 37277533
DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01396-w -
Molecular Ecology Apr 2022Parasitic and parasitoid organisms, including nematodes, trematodes, flies, ticks and wasps, rely on chemical cues to locate a host. In previous research, these cues...
Parasitic and parasitoid organisms, including nematodes, trematodes, flies, ticks and wasps, rely on chemical cues to locate a host. In previous research, these cues were assumed to originate directly from the host, but in some cases it appears that the microbiome is responsible for emitting volatile organic compounds that can attract or repel parasites (Chavez et al., 2021; Takken & Verhulst, 2013). In a From the Cover paper in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Lutz et al. (2021) use multiscale analyses to demonstrate that members of the skin and oral, but not gut microbiome are correlated with ecto- and endoparasite occurrence in Afrotropical bats. That the microbiome may act as a beacon for searching parasites is an innovative mechanism for explaining how parasites find their host. This mechanism also changes our understanding of how evolutionary arms races occur between a host and parasite. Instead of reciprocal adaptations that allow the host to better defend and the parasite to better attack, each host and parasite may be attempting to manipulate or overcome manipulation of the microbiome that mediates the host-parasite interaction. While Lutz et al. (2021) establish that the skin and oral microbiomes are distinct between parasitized and nonparasitized individuals, they acknowledge that the directionality of this change cannot be determined from their data (i.e., does the microbiome differentially attract parasites or does the microbiome reflect the infection status of its host?). This leaves us with several interesting directions for future research. All of these future avenues of research have the potential to change our understanding of host-parasite coevolution, by necessitating that we extend our examination of this seemingly bipartite interaction to include a third actor-the microbiome.
Topics: Animals; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Host-Parasite Interactions; Microbiota; Nematoda; Parasites
PubMed: 35119140
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16381 -
Parasite Immunology Mar 2022The special edition of Parasite Immunology 'Parasites-The importance of time' embraces the intersection between three established research disciplines-parasitology,... (Review)
Review
The special edition of Parasite Immunology 'Parasites-The importance of time' embraces the intersection between three established research disciplines-parasitology, immunology, and circadian biology. Each of these research areas has a longstanding history littered with landmark discoveries with the intersect between the three bringing exciting findings and new questions and perhaps even a greater sense of awe in terms of how parasites have evolved to interact and live with their hosts.
Topics: Animals; Host-Parasite Interactions; Parasites
PubMed: 35092020
DOI: 10.1111/pim.12906 -
Research in Veterinary Science May 2021Parasites, including helminths and protists, are pathogens responsible for waterborne and foodborne illnesses in both developed and developing countries. Their global...
Parasites, including helminths and protists, are pathogens responsible for waterborne and foodborne illnesses in both developed and developing countries. Their global incidence is difficult to estimate, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated the global disease burden of 11 waterborne and foodborne parasitic diseases, is responsible for causing over 407 million illnesses resulting in an estimated of 94 K deaths and 11 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Nevertheless, compared with bacteria and viruses, parasites are often overlooked as etiological agents of foodborne or waterborne disease; this is due to a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of their identification in environmental matrices and because many have a prolonged period between infection and symptoms, making it difficult to implicate infection vehicles. This Special Issue comprises 17 articles that include the more significant waterborne and foodborne parasites of zoonotic importance due to their relevance, with all groups of parasites (protist, cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes) being represented. Each chapter covers relevant aspects regarding -the importance of the parasite in food and water, including an overview of outbreaks where relevant, information on fundamental epidemiological aspects such as transmission, lifecycle and host range, clinical aspects such as pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment, a summary of prospects for control in water or the food chain, and, finally, providing the authors' opinions regarding future research or studies required to improve control of transmission to people via food or water.
Topics: Animals; Disease Outbreaks; Food Parasitology; Foodborne Diseases; Humans; Incidence; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases, Animal; Veterinarians; Water; Zoonoses
PubMed: 33684793
DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.02.020 -
Turkiye Parazitolojii Dergisi Jun 2020MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as epigenetic regulators, are small non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression in eukaryotes at the post-transcriptional level to control biological... (Review)
Review
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as epigenetic regulators, are small non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression in eukaryotes at the post-transcriptional level to control biological functions. MicroRNAs play a role in development, physiology, infection, immunity and the complex life cycles of parasites. Also, parasite infection can alter host miRNA expression that might result in either parasite clearance or infection. Over the past 20 years, thousands of miRNAs have been identified in the nematode and other parasites. Thus, miRNA pathways are potential targets for the diagnostic and therapeutic control of parasitic diseases. Here, we review the current status and potential functions of miRNAs related to protozoans, helminths, and arthropods.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Caenorhabditis elegans; Helminths; Humans; MicroRNAs; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases; RNA, Protozoan
PubMed: 32482043
DOI: 10.4274/tpd.galenos.2020.6776 -
Trends in Parasitology May 2021Protozoan parasites acquire essential ions, nutrients, and other solutes from their insect and vertebrate hosts by transmembrane uptake. For intracellular stages, these... (Review)
Review
Protozoan parasites acquire essential ions, nutrients, and other solutes from their insect and vertebrate hosts by transmembrane uptake. For intracellular stages, these solutes must cross additional membranous barriers. At each step, ion channels and transporters mediate not only this uptake but also the removal of waste products. These transport proteins are best isolated and studied with patch-clamp, but these methods remain accessible to only a few parasitologists due to specialized instrumentation and the required training in both theory and practice. Here, we provide an overview of patch-clamp, describing the advantages and limitations of the technology and highlighting issues that may lead to incorrect conclusions. We aim to help non-experts understand and critically assess patch-clamp data in basic research studies.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Cell Membrane; Eukaryota; Parasites; Parasitology; Patch-Clamp Techniques
PubMed: 33640269
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.02.002