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Open Veterinary Journal Mar 2024Cystic echinococcosis (CE), which is triggered by the parasite , is a global zoonotic disease that is common in rural regions in which there are frequent encounters...
BACKGROUND
Cystic echinococcosis (CE), which is triggered by the parasite , is a global zoonotic disease that is common in rural regions in which there are frequent encounters between dogs and other domestic animals. The disease can have devastating consequences, impacting the health of people and animals and leading to huge financial losses, especially in the agricultural industry. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Egypt, despite the high incidence of disease, few investigations have been conducted into the genetic variation in species of the genus .
AIM
This study sought to compare the genetic features of the hydatid cysts carried in sheep in KSA with those found in Egypt.
METHODS
DNA from the protoscolices was used in a PCR targeting the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase 1 (), cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (), and nuclear actin II () genes, and the resulting amplification products of 30 KSA and Egyptian isolates were sequenced and compared.
RESULTS
Among the sheep in KSA, the overall prevalence of CE was 0.51%. Of the sheep cyst DNA samples, 95%, 100%, and 52% were positive for the , and genes, respectively. Targeting all three genes, all KSA samples belonged to the genotype (G1), whereas all Egyptian isolates belonged to (G1) and (G6).
CONCLUSION
We conclude that isolates of from the two countries shared a common origin in Arabic North Africa, with sheep and camels as common hosts.
Topics: Animals; Echinococcus granulosus; Echinococcosis; Sheep; Egypt; Sheep Diseases; Saudi Arabia; Genotype; Prevalence
PubMed: 38682137
DOI: 10.5455/OVJ.2024.v14.i3.14 -
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology Jun 2024Freshwater snails are integral to local ecosystems as a primary food source for various vertebrate species, thereby contributing significantly to ecological food webs....
Freshwater snails are integral to local ecosystems as a primary food source for various vertebrate species, thereby contributing significantly to ecological food webs. However, their role as intermediate hosts also makes them pivotal in the transmission of parasites. In Australia, research on freshwater snails has predominantly focused on their role as intermediate hosts for livestock parasites, while there has been limited exploration of the impact of these parasites on snail health and population dynamics. The aim of this study was to determine parasitic infection in freshwater snails. This study was conducted in the south-eastern region of Australia, in 2022. A total of 163 freshwater snails from four different species were collected and examined in the Murrumbidgee catchment area in the southeastern part of Australia during the Southern Hemisphere summer and autumn months (February to May). The species included Isidorella hainesii, Glyptophysa novaehollandica, Bullastra lessoni (endemic species), and Physella acuta (an introduced species). Through the analysis of sequence data from the various regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA, we determined that the Digenea species in this study belonged to three distinct species, including Choanocotyle hobbsi, Petasiger sp. and an unidentified species belonging to Plagiorchioidea. Additionally, analysis of the sequences from Nematoda found in this study, revealed they could be categorized into two separate taxa, including Krefftascaris sp. and an unidentified nematode closely associated with plant and soil nematodes. This research holds significant implications for the future understanding and conservation of Australian freshwater ecosystems. Most parasites found in the present study complete their life cycle in snails and turtles. As many of freshwater snail and turtle species in Australia are endemic and face population threats, exploring the potential adverse impacts of parasitic infections on snail and turtle health, is crucial for advancing our understanding of these ecosystems and also paving the way for future research and conservation efforts. While none of the native snail species in the present study have been listed as endangered or threatened, this may simply be attributed to the absence of regular population surveys.
Topics: Animals; Snails; Australia; Trematoda; Fresh Water; Nematoda
PubMed: 38679367
DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2024.108116 -
General and Comparative Endocrinology Aug 2024Estrogen receptors (ERs) are thought to be the ancestor of all steroid receptors and are present in most lophotrochozoans studied to date, including molluscs, annelids,... (Review)
Review
Estrogen receptors (ERs) are thought to be the ancestor of all steroid receptors and are present in most lophotrochozoans studied to date, including molluscs, annelids, and rotifers. A number of studies have investigated the functional role of estrogen receptors in invertebrate species, although most are in molluscs, where the receptor is constitutively active. In vitro experiments provided evidence for ligand-activated estrogen receptors in annelids, raising important questions about the role of estrogen signalling in lophotrochozoan lineages. Here, we review the concordant and discordant evidence of estradiol receptor signalling in lophotrochozoans, with a focus on annelids and rotifers. We explore the de novo synthesis of estrogens, the evolution and expression of estrogen receptors, and physiological responses to activation of estrogen receptors in the lophotrochozoan phyla Annelida and Rotifera. Key data are missing to determine if de novo biosynthesis of estradiol in non-molluscan lophotrochozoans is likely. For example, an ortholog for the CYP11 gene is present, but confirmation of substrate conversion and measured tissue products is lacking. Orthologs CYP17 and CYP19 are lacking, yet intermediates or products (e.g. estradiol) in tissues have been measured. Estrogen receptors are present in multiple species, and for a limited number, in vitro data show agonist binding of estradiol and/or transcriptional activation. The expression patterns of the lophotrochozoan ERs suggest developmental, reproductive, and digestive roles but are highly species dependent. E exposures suggest that lophotrochozoan ERs may play a role in reproduction, but no strong dose-response relationship has been established. Therefore, we expect most lophotrochozoan species, outside of perhaps platyhelminths, to have an ER but their physiological role remains elusive. Mining genomes for orthologs gene families responsible for steroidogenesis, coupled with in vitro and in vivo studies of the steroid pathway are needed to better assess whether lophotrochozoans are capable of estradiol biosynthesis. One major challenge is that much of the data are divided across a diversity of species. We propose that the polychaetes Capitella teleta or Platyneris dumerilii, and rotifer Brachionus manjavacas may be strong species choices for studies of estrogen receptor signalling, because of available genomic data, established laboratory culture techniques, and gene knockout potential.
Topics: Animals; Signal Transduction; Receptors, Estradiol; Annelida; Receptors, Estrogen; Rotifera; Estradiol
PubMed: 38677339
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2024.114519 -
Fish & Shellfish Immunology Jun 2024Wild organisms are regularly exposed to a wide range of parasites, requiring the management of an effective immune response while avoiding immunopathology. Currently,...
Wild organisms are regularly exposed to a wide range of parasites, requiring the management of an effective immune response while avoiding immunopathology. Currently, our knowledge of immunoparasitology primarily derives from controlled laboratory studies, neglecting the genetic and environmental diversity that contribute to immune phenotypes observed in wild populations. To gain insight into the immunologic variability in natural settings, we examined differences in immune gene expression of two Alaskan stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations with varying susceptibility to infection by the cestode Schistocephalus solidus. Between these two populations, we found distinct immune gene expression patterns at the population level in response to infection with fish from the high-infection population displaying signs of parasite-driven immune manipulation. Further, we found significant differences in baseline immune gene profiles between the populations, with uninfected low-infection population fish showing signatures of inflammation compared to uninfected high-infection population fish. These results shed light on divergent responses of wild populations to the same parasite, providing valuable insights into host-parasite interactions in natural ecosystems.
Topics: Animals; Smegmamorpha; Fish Diseases; Cestode Infections; Cestoda; Host-Parasite Interactions; Alaska; Immunity, Innate
PubMed: 38663464
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109580 -
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy =... Jun 2024Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent fatal neoplasias worldwide. Despite efforts to improve the early diagnosis of CRC, the mortality rate of patients is...
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent fatal neoplasias worldwide. Despite efforts to improve the early diagnosis of CRC, the mortality rate of patients is still nearly 50%. The primary treatment strategy for CRC is surgery, which may be accompanied by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The conventional and first-line chemotherapeutic agent utilized is 5-fluorouracil (5FU). However, it has low efficiency. Combination treatment with leucovorin and oxaliplatin or irinotecan improves the effectiveness of 5FU therapy. Unfortunately, most patients develop drug resistance, leading to disease progression. Here, we evaluated the effect of a potential alternative adjuvant treatment for 5FU, helminth-derived Taenia crassiceps (TcES) molecules, on treating advanced colitis-associated colon cancer. The use of TcES enhanced the effects of 5FU on established colonic tumors by downregulating the expression of the immunoregulatory cytokines, Il-10 and Tgf-β, and proinflammatory cytokines, Tnf-α and Il-17a, and reducing the levels of molecular markers associated with malignancy, cyclin D1, and Ki67, both involved in apoptosis inhibition and the signaling pathway of β-catenin. TcES+5FU therapy promoted NK cell recruitment and the release of Granzyme B1 at the tumor site, consequently inducing tumor cell death. Additionally, it restored P53 activity which relates to decreased Mdm2 expression. In vitro assays with human colon cancer cell lines showed that therapy with TcES+5FU significantly reduced cell proliferation and migration by modulating the P53 and P21 signaling pathways. Our findings demonstrate, for the first time in vivo, that helminth-derived excreted/secreted products may potentiate the effect of 5FU on established colon tumors.
Topics: Animals; Fluorouracil; Taenia; Colonic Neoplasms; Apoptosis; Cytokines; Mice; Humans; Cell Line, Tumor; Carcinogenesis; Granzymes; Cell Proliferation; Mice, Inbred BALB C
PubMed: 38663106
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116628 -
Clinical Infectious Diseases : An... Apr 2024Control of schistosomiasis (SCH) relies on the regular distribution of preventive chemotherapy (PC) over many years. For the sake of sustainable SCH control, a decision...
BACKGROUND
Control of schistosomiasis (SCH) relies on the regular distribution of preventive chemotherapy (PC) over many years. For the sake of sustainable SCH control, a decision must be made at some stage to scale down or stop PC. These "stopping decisions" are based on population surveys that assess whether infection levels are sufficiently low. However, the limited sensitivity of the currently used diagnostic (Kato-Katz [KK]) to detect low-intensity infections is a concern. Therefore, the use of new, more sensitive, molecular diagnostics has been proposed.
METHODS
Through statistical analysis of Schistosoma mansoni egg counts collected from Burundi and a simulation study using an established transmission model for schistosomiasis, we investigated the extent to which more sensitive diagnostics can improve decision making regarding stopping or continuing PC for the control of S. mansoni.
RESULTS
We found that KK-based strategies perform reasonably well for determining when to stop PC at a local scale. Use of more sensitive diagnostics leads to a marginally improved health impact (person-years lived with heavy infection) and comes at a cost of continuing PC for longer (up to around 3 years), unless the decision threshold for stopping PC is adapted upward. However, if this threshold is set too high, PC may be stopped prematurely, resulting in a rebound of infection levels and disease burden (+45% person-years of heavy infection).
CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the potential value of more sensitive diagnostics lies more in the reduction of survey-related costs than in the direct health impact of improved parasite control.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosomiasis mansoni; Parasite Egg Count; Anthelmintics; Female; Male; Schistosomiasis; Adult; Adolescent; Child; Chemoprevention; Young Adult; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 38662699
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae020 -
Clinical Infectious Diseases : An... Apr 2024The 2030 target for schistosomiasis is elimination as a public health problem (EPHP), achieved when the prevalence of heavy-intensity infection among school-aged...
BACKGROUND
The 2030 target for schistosomiasis is elimination as a public health problem (EPHP), achieved when the prevalence of heavy-intensity infection among school-aged children (SAC) reduces to <1%. To achieve this, the new World Health Organization guidelines recommend a broader target of population to include pre-SAC and adults. However, the probability of achieving EPHP should be expected to depend on patterns in repeated uptake of mass drug administration by individuals.
METHODS
We employed 2 individual-based stochastic models to evaluate the impact of school-based and community-wide treatment and calculated the number of rounds required to achieve EPHP for Schistosoma mansoni by considering various levels of the population never treated (NT). We also considered 2 age-intensity profiles, corresponding to a low and high burden of infection in adults.
RESULTS
The number of rounds needed to achieve this target depends on the baseline prevalence and the coverage used. For low- and moderate-transmission areas, EPHP can be achieved within 7 years if NT ≤10% and NT <5%, respectively. In high-transmission areas, community-wide treatment with NT <1% is required to achieve EPHP.
CONCLUSIONS
The higher the intensity of transmission, and the lower the treatment coverage, the lower the acceptable value of NT becomes. Using more efficacious treatment regimens would permit NT values to be marginally higher. A balance between target treatment coverage and NT values may be an adequate treatment strategy depending on the epidemiological setting, but striving to increase coverage and/or minimize NT can shorten program duration.
Topics: Humans; Schistosomiasis mansoni; Child; Animals; Adolescent; Disease Eradication; Schistosoma mansoni; Adult; Prevalence; Mass Drug Administration; Public Health; Young Adult; Child, Preschool; Anthelmintics; Male; Female; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38662698
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae074 -
Acta Parasitologica Jun 2024The aim of this study was to identify Echinococcus species by morphological and molecular means.
Echinococcus granulosus Sensu Stricto and Echinococcus multilocularis in a Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in Turkey: Further Evidence for Increased Risk of Alveolar Echinococcosis in Urban Areas.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to identify Echinococcus species by morphological and molecular means.
METHODS
A dead gray wolf (Canis lupus) was found near Erzurum province and brought to the parasitology laboratory. Sedimentation and counting technique (SCT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis were conducted.
RESULTS
The SCT implications indicated that the wolf had a substantial worm burden (62,720 and 49,280 parasites) due to a co-infection of E. granulosus s.l. and E. multilocularis. Genus/species-specific PCR was used to analyze DNA extracted from adult worms and confirmed as E. granulosus s.s. and E. multilocularis, utilizing COI and 12S rRNA gene sequence analysis, respectively.
CONCLUSION
This report presents the first co-detection of E. granulosus s.s. and E. multilocularis in a gray wolf found in an urban area in a highly endemic area for human echinococcosis in northeastern Turkey. The results emphasize that AE is not only a problem of rural areas, but also occurs in urban areas, which may pose a threat to public health. Therefore, surveillance in urban areas is crucial. The need to develop new control strategies for domestic and wildlife in the study area is also highlighted.
Topics: Animals; Wolves; Echinococcus multilocularis; Echinococcosis; Turkey; Echinococcus granulosus; Coinfection; Polymerase Chain Reaction; DNA, Helminth
PubMed: 38662075
DOI: 10.1007/s11686-024-00842-x -
Helminthologia Mar 2024The main goal of the current work was to describe and analyse the Digenean community structure in A total of 114 specimens of were collected from the Central Coast of...
The main goal of the current work was to describe and analyse the Digenean community structure in A total of 114 specimens of were collected from the Central Coast of Algeria at six localities. The fish were immediately transported to the laboratory to be examined for digeneans. From 107 of the 114 examined, a total of 8,722 specimens of seven species belonging to three families were recovered. Among them, and were the most prevalent and abundant species. Moreover, was found for the first time in from the coast of Algeria, and and represent new parasites to the Algerian digenean fauna that infect teleost fish. The component community of these Digeneans is characterised by as its dominant species representing 62% of the total number of collected Digeneans, as well by a Shannon diversity index (H') and Dominance Simpson index (D) of 1.03 and 2.23, respectively. According to Spearman's correlation test, and were negatively correlated to the host biological factors. On the other hand, showed a positive correlation between its mean abundance and the total length of the fish. With these findings, we provided the component structure of the Digenean fauna of and highlighted their diversity, contributing to the biodiversity of the parasitic Platyhelminthes in Algeria.
PubMed: 38659470
DOI: 10.2478/helm-2024-0006 -
Veterinary Research Apr 2024Gene expression for Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IFN-ɣ), regulatory cytokines (TGF-β and IL-10) and the transcriptional factor FoxP3 was analyzed in the liver and...
Evaluation of Th1/Th2, regulatory cytokines and transcriptional factor FoxP3 in sheep immunized with a partially protective and non-protective vaccine and challenged with Fasciola hepatica.
Gene expression for Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IFN-ɣ), regulatory cytokines (TGF-β and IL-10) and the transcriptional factor FoxP3 was analyzed in the liver and hepatic lymph nodes (HLN) from sheep immunized with partially protective and non-protective vaccine candidates and challenged with Fasciola hepatica. FoxP3 T cells were also evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHQ). The most remarkable difference between the partially protected vaccinated (V1) group and the non-protected vaccinated (V2) group was a more severe expansion of FoxP3 T cells recorded by IHQ in both the liver and HLN of the V2 group as compared to the V1 group, whereas no differences were found between the V2 group and the infected control (IC) group. Similar results were recorded for FoxP3 gene expression although significant differences among V1 and V2 groups were only significant in the HLN, while FoxP3 gene expression was very similar in the V2 and IC groups both in the liver and HLN. No significant differences for the remaining cytokines were recorded between the V1 and V2 groups, but in the liver the V2 group shows significant increases of IFN-ɣ and IL-10 as compared to the uninfected control (UC) group whereas the V1 group did not. The lower expansion of FoxP3 T cells and lower increase of IFN-ɣ and IL-10 in the partially protected vaccinated group may be related with lower hepatic lesions and fluke burdens recorded in this group as compared to the other two infected groups. The most relevant change in regulatory cytokine gene expression was the significant increase of TGF-β in the liver of IC, V1 and V2 groups as compared to the UC group, which could be related to hepatic lesions.
Topics: Animals; Fascioliasis; Fasciola hepatica; Sheep; Forkhead Transcription Factors; Sheep Diseases; Cytokines; Liver; Vaccines; Th1 Cells; Lymph Nodes; Female; Th2 Cells
PubMed: 38658996
DOI: 10.1186/s13567-024-01308-8