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Infection and Drug Resistance 2023Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by that infects humans and many types of mammals and birds.
BACKGROUND
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by that infects humans and many types of mammals and birds.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and (Pd) extracts loaded on SeNPs as a new agent to combat chronic infections in murine model as an alternative method to standard Spiramycin drug therapy.
METHODS
A total of 64 female mice were randomly divided into eight groups: GI: Normal control, GII: Positive control, GIII: infected and treated with Spiramycin, GIV: infected and treated with SeNPs, GV: infected and treated with aqueous extract of Pd, GVI: infected and treated with methanolic extract of Pd, GVII: infected and treated with aqueous extract of Pd loaded on SeNPs, GVIII: infected and treated with methanolic extract of Pd loaded on SeNPs. Date palm () fruits were identified and collected from the farms of Saudi Arabia. Preparation and characterization of SeNPs were done. The parasitological, histopathological examinations and biochemical changes were evaluated in all groups.
RESULTS
Parasitological results showed significant differences in GVII in comparison to GII while GVIII showed significant differences in comparison to GII and GIII. The histopathological section of the cerebral cortex showed obvious alterations in the infected compared with untreated control groups. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of loaded on SeNPs treatment showed improvement that indicated by few perivascular cuffing with few inflammatory cell infiltrations. Few granule cells with mild intracellular vacuolation and edema few deformed neurons with deep pyknotic nuclei. Microglia cells expression of Iba-1 and inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10 and INF-γ) in serum of all groups was higher in GII and lowest in GVIII followed by GVII.
CONCLUSION
SeNPs and extracts loaded on SeNPs could be a potent agent to combat infections.
PubMed: 38144223
DOI: 10.2147/IDR.S443047 -
Pharmacological Research Dec 2023Carrimycin is a potential immune-regulating agent for sepsis in patients with tumors. In this study, we investigated its effects on inflammation and immune function in... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Carrimycin is a potential immune-regulating agent for sepsis in patients with tumors. In this study, we investigated its effects on inflammation and immune function in tumor patients with sepsis. In total, 120 participants were randomized to receive either carrimycin treatment (400 mg/day) (n = 62) or placebo (n = 58) for 7 days. The primary outcomes were immune-related indicators. Subsequently, patients were stratified into two subgroups (CD4 < 38.25% and CD8 < 25.195%). Ninety-nine participants were analyzed: 47 and 52 in the carrimycin and placebo groups, respectively. HLA-DR levels were rapidly increased in the carrimycin group; however, the placebo group initially experienced a decline in HLA-DR level at 1 day after administration. In the subgroup with CD4 < 38.25%, the carrimycin group exhibited significantly higher HLA-DR levels than the placebo group (2.270, P = 0.023) 1 day after administration and the degree of increase in HLA-DR in the carrimycin group was higher than that in the placebo group (2.057, P = 0.040). In the CD8 < 25.195% subgroup, the carrimycin group demonstrated significantly higher levels of CD8 T cells than the placebo group at 3 (2.300P = 0.027) and 5 (2.106, P = 0.035) days after administration. Carrimycin intervention led to significant reductions in the SOFA, APACHE II, PCT, and CRP levels. No adverse events were observed. In tumor patients with sepsis, particularly in those experiencing immunological suppression, carrimycin effectively regulates immune responses by increasing HLA-DR and CD8 T cell levels and plays an anti-infective role, reducing disease severity. (Chictr.org.cn, ID Number: ChiCTR2000032339).
Topics: Humans; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Biomarkers; HLA-DR Antigens; Sepsis; Inflammation; Immunity; Neoplasms; Double-Blind Method
PubMed: 37984505
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106991 -
Parasite Immunology Dec 2023This study investigated a 'de Novo' medicinal herb, Ferula asafetida (FA), against toxoplasma encephalitis either alone or combined with spiramycin (SP). Female...
This study investigated a 'de Novo' medicinal herb, Ferula asafetida (FA), against toxoplasma encephalitis either alone or combined with spiramycin (SP). Female Swiss-Webster mice (n = 72) were divided into three batches. Batch-I received no DMS to serve as an immunocompetent control, batch-II was immune-suppressed with the DMS (0.25 mg/g/day) for 14 days pre-infection, whilst batch-III was immune-suppressed with the DMS on the same day of infection. All experimental mice were inoculated with Toxoplasma gondii ME49 cysts (n = 75). Each batch was split into four subgroups: Mono-SP, mono-FA, combined drug (SP + FA), or neither. Therapies were administered on day zero of infection in batches (I and II) and 35 days post-infection in batch (III). Treatments lasted for 14 days, and mice were sacrificed 60 days post-infection. Histopathological changes, cysts load, and CD4 and CD8 T-cells were counted in brain tissues. The cyst-load count in mice receiving SP + FA was significantly (p < .0001) the least compared to the mono treatments in all protocols. Interestingly, the combined therapy demolished the T-cell subsets to zero in immunocompetent and immunocompromised infected mice. In conclusion, F. asafetida might be a powerfully natural, safe vehicle of SP in the digestive system and/or across the brain-blood barrier to control toxoplasmosis even through immunodeficient conditions.
Topics: Female; Mice; Animals; Toxoplasma; Spiramycin; Ferula; Brain; Toxoplasmosis, Animal; Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral; Encephalitis
PubMed: 37807942
DOI: 10.1111/pim.13014 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Oct 2023The control of toxoplasmosis, a rampant one health disease, has been focussed on conventional antitoxoplasmic agents with their adverse outcomes, including serious side...
The control of toxoplasmosis, a rampant one health disease, has been focussed on conventional antitoxoplasmic agents with their adverse outcomes, including serious side effects, treatment failure and emergence of drug resistant strains. Nanobiotechnology may provide a strong impetus for versatile alternative therapies against toxoplasmosis. Bionanofactory Ochrobactrum sp. strain CNE2 was recruited for the biosynthesis of functionalized magnetite iron nanoparticles (MNPs) and nanozerovalent iron (nZVI) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and their therapeutic efficacy was evaluated against acute toxoplasmosis in murine model. The formation of self-functionalized spherical nanoparticles varied in size, identity and surface properties were substantiated. Mice were orally administered 20 mg/kg of each formulation on the initial day of infection and continued for seven consecutive days post infection (PI). Parasitological, ultrastructural, immunological, and biochemical studies were performed for assessment of therapeutic activity of biogenic iron nanoparticles (INPs). Parasitologically, MNPs showed the highest antitoxoplasmic efficacy in terms of 96.82% and 91.87% reduction in mean tachyzoite count in peritoneal fluid and liver impression smears, respectively. Lesser percentage reductions were recorded in nZVI-treated infected subgroup (75.44% and 69.04%). In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination revealed remarkable reduction in size and extensive damage to the surface of MNPs-treated tachyzoites. MNPs-treated infected mice revealed a statistically significant increase in the serum levels of both interferon gamma (IFN-γ) to 346.2 ± 4.6 pg/ml and reduced glutathione (GSH) to 8.83 ± 0.30 mg/dl that subsequently exerted malondialdehyde (MDA) quenching action. MNPs showed a superior promising antitoxoplasmic activity with respect to both spiramycin (SPI) and nZVI. To best of our knowledge, this is the first study of a bio-safe oral iron nanotherapeutic agent fabricated via an eco-friendly approach that offers promising potential against acute experimental toxoplasmosis.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Ferrosoferric Oxide; Antioxidants; Iron; Toxoplasmosis; Nanoparticles
PubMed: 37801440
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011655 -
The New Zealand Medical Journal Oct 2023
Topics: Humans; Diagnosis, Differential; Electroencephalography; New Zealand; Seizures; Spiramycin; Syncope
PubMed: 37797258
DOI: No ID Found -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Sep 2023Companion animals are increasingly being recognised as important contributors to the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The present work aimed to measure the...
Companion animals are increasingly being recognised as important contributors to the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The present work aimed to measure the antimicrobial drug prescribing in dogs and cats in the Campania Region, Italy by analysing the Veterinary Electronic Prescriptions (VEPs) between 2019 and 2020. The medical records associated with antimicrobial drug prescriptions were collected according to the drug administration (systemic or topical) and the rationale for the treatment chosen. In the period under investigation, 166,879 drugs were prescribed of which 129,116 (73.4%) were antimicrobial. A total of 83,965 (65%) antibiotics were prescribed to dogs, 40,477 (31.4%) to cats, and 4674 (3.6%) to other companion animals. In dogs, 90.5% of VEPs prescribed for systemic treatment included an antimicrobial Critically Important or Highly Important or Important for human medicine (WHO, 2018). The most widely prescribed class was fluoroquinolones. The antimicrobials prescribed were mainly metronidazole-spiramycin (29.7%), amoxicillin-clavulanic (19.6%), enrofloxacin and cephalexin in dogs (16.5%) and enrofloxacin (22.6%) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (21.4%) in cats. Based on the results, the widespread use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and the use of molecules for which limitations should be observed according to the EMA guidelines has emerged.
PubMed: 37760269
DOI: 10.3390/ani13182869 -
Food and Waterborne Parasitology Sep 2023The current study assessed the anti-parasitic impact of probiotics on infection either solely or challenged with diabetes in Swiss albino mice. The study design...
The current study assessed the anti-parasitic impact of probiotics on infection either solely or challenged with diabetes in Swiss albino mice. The study design encompassed group-A (diabetic), group-B (non-diabetic), and healthy controls (C). Each group was divided into infected-untreated (subgroup-1); infected and spiramycin-treated (subgroup-2); infected and probiotictreated (subgroup-3); infected and spiramycin+ probiotic-treated (subgroup-4). Diabetic-untreated animals exhibited acute toxoplasmosis and higher cerebral parasite load. Overall, various treatments reduced intestinal pathology, improved body weight, and decreased mortalities; nevertheless, probiotic + spiramycin exhibited significant differences. On day 7 post-infection both PD-1 and IL-17A demonstrated higher scores in the intestine of diabetic-untreated mice compared with non-diabetics and healthy control; whereas, claudin-1 revealed worsening expression. Likewise, on day 104 post-infection cerebral PD-1 and IL-17A showed increased expressions in diabetic animals. Overall, treatment modalities revealed lower scores of PD-1 and IL-17A in non-diabetic subgroups compared with diabetics. Intestinal and cerebral expressions of IL-17A and PD-1 demonstrated positive correlations with cerebral parasite load. In conclusion, toxoplasmosis when challenged with diabetes showed massive pathological features and higher parasite load in the cerebral tissues. Probiotics are a promising adjunct to spiramycin by ameliorating IL-17A and PD-1 in the intestinal and cerebral tissues, improving the intestinal expression of claudin-1, and efficiently reducing the cerebral parasite load.
PubMed: 37719029
DOI: 10.1016/j.fawpar.2023.e00201 -
Heliyon Aug 2023In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles-coated with eugenol (ZnO@Eug) were synthesized and evaluated as a nanosuspension (NSus) formulation against in vitro and in vivo.
BACKGROUND
In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles-coated with eugenol (ZnO@Eug) were synthesized and evaluated as a nanosuspension (NSus) formulation against in vitro and in vivo.
METHODS
An anti- activity assay for ZnO@Eug NSus was conducted in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of ZnO@Eug NSus by detecting several functional groups involved; EDX and SEM demonstrated the grain of ZnO-NPs embedded with Eug and compositional purity.
RESULTS
Surface charge (ZP) and size distribution (DLS) of ZnO@Eug NSus were determined to be -22.7 mV and 109.6 nm, respectively. According to the release kinetics, approximately 60% of the ZnO-NPs and Eug were released in the first 45 min. In the cytotoxicity assay, ZnO-NPs, Eug, and ZnO@Eug NSus had IC values of 71.85, 22.39, and 2.02 mg/mL, respectively. The therapeutic efficacy of ZnO@Eug against was 56.3%, which was not significantly different from that of spiramycin (58.9%) (Positive-control). The tissue tachyzoites in the liver, spleen, and peritoneum were less than 50% in groups treated with Eug, spiramycin, and ZnO@Eug NSus compared to the control. ZnO@Eug-treated groups showed a survival rate of up to 13 days.
CONCLUSIONS
The ZnO@Eug NSus demonstrated antiparasitic activity against with minimal toxic effects and high efficiency in increasing the survival of infected mice. The nanoformulations of ZnO-NPs incorporated with Eug could, in the future, be considered for treating toxoplasmosis in humans and animals if a detailed study was conducted to determine the precise dose and measure side effects.
PubMed: 37654466
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19295 -
Journal of Separation Science Nov 2023This work describes the innovative experimental design-assisted development of a green gradient chromatographic method for concomitant analysis of metronidazole (MTR)...
This work describes the innovative experimental design-assisted development of a green gradient chromatographic method for concomitant analysis of metronidazole (MTR) and spiramycin (SPR). Two different designs including fractional factorial and Box-Behnken designs were implemented for screening and optimization steps, respectively. The optimum chromatographic conditions involved a mobile phase consisting of ethanol and 20 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate solution (pH adjusted to 2.5) in the ratio 2:98 (v/v) for 2 min then the ratio changed to 30:70 (v/v). The flow rate was 1.3 mL/minute. Separation and analysis were performed on X-bridge C18 (150 mm × 4.6 mm × 3.5 μm) column with diode array detector set at 230 nm. Column oven temperature was 40°C. A linear response was acquired over the range of 5-125 μg/mL for both drugs. Detection and quantitation limits were 0.86 and 2.62 μg/mL for MTR and 0.92 and 2.83 μg/mL for SPR, respectively. The method was implemented for determination of both drugs in three tablet formulations. The method was proved to be green as evaluated by three assessment tools. The application of experimental designs assists in development of a robust green chromatographic method in gradient elution mode for determination of both drugs within reasonable time.
Topics: Metronidazole; Spiramycin; Research Design; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Tablets
PubMed: 37654046
DOI: 10.1002/jssc.202300216 -
Iranian Journal of Public Health Jul 2023infection is caused by , which is an intracellular protozoan parasite. This infection consequently lead various congenital disabilities during pregnancy in patients....
BACKGROUND
infection is caused by , which is an intracellular protozoan parasite. This infection consequently lead various congenital disabilities during pregnancy in patients. Spiramycin (Spi), a macrolide antibiotic, is typically recommended for infection in pregnant women. We aimed to prepare the nanoemulsion of spiramycin (NE-Spi) and to evaluate the activity of this formulation in tachyzoites of , RH strain.
METHODS
This study was conducted in 2019-2021 at the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. NE-Spi was prepared by spontaneous emulsification. The effects of this nanoemulsion on the viability of cultured cells were measured using MTT assay. To estimate the effects of NE-Spi on tachyzoites of , RH strain, different concentrations of NE-Spi, S-Spi (suspension of spiramycin), and NE (nanoemulsion without any spiramycin) were added to tachyzoites and then stored for 30, 60, 90, 120 min and 24 h in 250 µg/ml concentration at room temperature. Finally, Tachyzoites mortality rates were evaluated by trypan blue staining. Of note, flow cytometry was conducted to confirm the obtained results.
RESULTS
The final particle size of NE-Spi was calculated to be 11.3 nm by DLS and TEM. Thereafter, using MTT assay, in 62.5 µg/ml concentration of NE-Spi, the Vero cells viability was obtained as 82%. The highest mortality rates of tachyzoites of , RH strain were observed at 250 µg/ml concentration and after 120 min of exposure, but it was not significantly different from 24 h of exposure.
CONCLUSION
NE-Spi has lethal efficacy on RH strain in-vitro.
PubMed: 37593518
DOI: 10.18502/ijph.v52i7.13252