-
Archives of Iranian Medicine Jun 2020
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Child, Preschool; Cholecystectomy; Combined Modality Therapy; Common Bile Duct; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Humans; Male; Treatment Outcome; Triclabendazole; Ultrasonography
PubMed: 32536180
DOI: 10.34172/aim.2020.36 -
Clinical Microbiology and Infection :... May 2004Fasciola hepatica, a zoonotic liver fluke, can also cause disease in humans. Common symptoms are epigastric pain, upper abdominal pain and malaise. Fever and arthralgia...
Fasciola hepatica, a zoonotic liver fluke, can also cause disease in humans. Common symptoms are epigastric pain, upper abdominal pain and malaise. Fever and arthralgia are common in acute fascioliasis. Eosinophilia is the predominant laboratory finding, especially in patients with the acute form of the disease. Diagnosis and treatment is not easy, as physicians rarely encounter this disease, and effective drugs are not available in many countries. Human fascioliasis may be underestimated. Patients with eosinophilia and abdominal pain should be evaluated for F. hepatica infestation by parasitological, radiological and serological tests.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Albendazole; Animals; Antibodies, Helminth; Antiplatyhelmintic Agents; Benzimidazoles; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Praziquantel; Triclabendazole
PubMed: 15113313
DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2004.00820.x -
Trends in Parasitology Dec 2022In the past decade significant advances in our understanding of liver fluke biology have been made through in-depth interrogation and analysis of evolving Fasciola... (Review)
Review
In the past decade significant advances in our understanding of liver fluke biology have been made through in-depth interrogation and analysis of evolving Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica omics datasets. This information is crucial for developing novel control strategies, particularly vaccines necessitated by the global spread of anthelmintic resistance. Distilling them down to a manageable number of testable vaccines requires combined rational, empirical, and collaborative approaches. Despite a lack of clear outstanding vaccine candidate(s), we must continue to identify salient parasite-host interacting molecules, likely in the secretory products, tegument, or extracellular vesicles, and perform robust trials especially in livestock, using present and emerging vaccinology technologies to discover that elusive liver fluke vaccine. Omics tools are bringing this prospect ever closer.
Topics: Animals; Fascioliasis; Fasciola hepatica; Fasciola; Vaccines; Anthelmintics
PubMed: 36270885
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.09.009 -
International Journal For Parasitology.... Apr 2020Liver flukes include Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica, Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis spp., Fascioloides magna, Gigantocotyle explanatum and Dicrocoelium spp.... (Review)
Review
Liver flukes include Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica, Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis spp., Fascioloides magna, Gigantocotyle explanatum and Dicrocoelium spp. The two main species, F. hepatica and F. gigantica, are major parasites of livestock and infections result in huge economic losses. As with C. sinensis, Opisthorchis spp. and Dicrocoelium spp., they affect millions of people worldwide, causing severe health problems. Collectively, the group is referred to as the Food-Borne Trematodes and their true significance is now being more widely recognised. However, reports of resistance to triclabendazole (TCBZ), the most widely used anti-Fasciola drug, and to other current drugs are increasing. This is a worrying scenario. In this review, progress in understanding the mechanism(s) of resistance to TCBZ is discussed, focusing on tubulin mutations, altered drug uptake and changes in drug metabolism. There is much interest in the development of new drugs and drug combinations, the re-purposing of non-flukicidal drugs, and the development of new drug formulations and delivery systems; all this work will be reviewed. Sound farm management practices also need to be put in place, with effective treatment programmes, so that drugs can be used wisely and their efficacy conserved as much as is possible. This depends on reliable advice being given by veterinarians and other advisors. Accurate diagnosis and identification of drug-resistant fluke populations is central to effective control: to determine the actual extent of the problem and to determine how well or otherwise a treatment has worked; for research on establishing the mechanism of resistance (and identifying molecular markers of resistance); for informing treatment options; and for testing the efficacy of new drug candidates. Several diagnostic methods are available, but there are no recommended guidelines or standardised protocols in place and this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Drug Resistance; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Liver; Triclabendazole
PubMed: 32179499
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2019.11.003 -
Clinical Microbiology Reviews Dec 2022Fascioliasis is a plant- and waterborne zoonotic parasitic disease caused by two trematode species: (i) Fasciola hepatica in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and... (Review)
Review
Fascioliasis is a plant- and waterborne zoonotic parasitic disease caused by two trematode species: (i) Fasciola hepatica in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania and (ii) , which is restricted to Africa and Asia. Fasciolid liver flukes infect mainly herbivores as ruminants, equids, and camelids but also omnivore mammals as humans and swine and are transmitted by freshwater Lymnaeidae snail vectors. Two phases may be distinguished in fasciolid evolution. The long predomestication period includes the origin in east-southern Africa around the mid-Miocene, the origin in the Near-Middle East of Asia around the latest Miocene to Early Pliocene, and their subsequent local spread. The short postdomestication period includes the worldwide spread by human-guided movements of animals in the last 12,000 years and the more recent transoceanic anthropogenic introductions of into the Americas and Oceania and of into several large islands of the Pacific with ships transporting livestock in the last 500 years. The routes and chronology of the spreading waves followed by both fasciolids into the five continents are redefined on the basis of recently generated knowledge of human-guided movements of domesticated hosts. No local, zonal, or regional situation showing disagreement with historical records was found, although in a few world zones the available knowledge is still insufficient. The anthropogenically accelerated evolution of fasciolids allows us to call them "peridomestic endoparasites." The multidisciplinary implications for crucial aspects of the disease should therefore lead the present baseline update to be taken into account in future research studies.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Swine; Fascioliasis; Fasciola; Fasciola hepatica; Zoonoses; Middle East; Mammals
PubMed: 36468877
DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00088-19 -
Molecular Biology Reports Oct 2018Cell free protein synthesis has become a powerful method for the high-throughput production of proteins that are difficult to express in living cells. The protein SAP2...
Cell free protein synthesis has become a powerful method for the high-throughput production of proteins that are difficult to express in living cells. The protein SAP2 of Fasciola hepatica (FhSAP2), which has demonstrated to be both, an excellent vaccine candidate against experimental fascioliasis and a good antigen for serodiagnosis of human chronic fascioliasis, is a typical example of a molecule that is difficult to produce. This is mainly due to its tendency to get over-expressed in inclusion bodies by prokaryotes. FhSAP2 expressed in an Escherichia coli-based expression system is poorly glycosylated, insoluble and often undergoes improper folding leading it to reduced immunogenicity. In this work, FhSAP2 was expressed in vitro using the eukaryote cell free system, TNT T7 Quick coupled transcription/translation, that has been designed for the expression of PCR-generated DNA templates. FhSAP2 was expressed in micro-volumes and purified by an affinity chromatography method, which gave a protein yield of 500 µg/ml as determined by bicinchoninic acid assay method. Circular dichroism, Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis were used to confirm the secondary structure, purity and integrity of protein. Results demonstrate that FhSAP2 can be expressed in a cell-free system retaining its main conformational and antigenic properties. The protein purified could be used in immunization experiments and immunodiagnostic techniques.
Topics: Animals; Antibody Formation; Cell-Free System; Chromatography, Affinity; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Helminth Proteins; Humans; Inclusion Bodies; Protein Engineering; Saposins
PubMed: 30032380
DOI: 10.1007/s11033-018-4251-3 -
Virulence Dec 2021Fasciolosis caused by the liver flukes and is one of the most important neglected parasitic diseases of humans and animals. The ability of the parasites to infect and...
Fasciolosis caused by the liver flukes and is one of the most important neglected parasitic diseases of humans and animals. The ability of the parasites to infect and multiply in their intermediate snail hosts, and their adaptation to a wide variety of mammalian definitive hosts contribute to their high transmissibility and distribution. Within the mammalian host, the trauma caused by the immature flukes burrowing through the liver parenchyma is associated with most of the pathogenesis. Similarly, the feeding activity and the physical presence of large flukes in the bile ducts can lead to anemia, inflammation, obstruction and cholangitis. The high frequency of non-synonymous polymorphisms found in spp. genes allows for adaptation and invasion of a broad range of hosts. This is also facilitated by parasite's excretory-secretory (ES) molecules that mediate physiological changes that allows their establishment within the host. ES contains cathepsin peptidases that aid parasite invasion by degrading collagen and fibronectin. In the bile ducts, cathepsin-L is critical to hemoglobin digestion during feeding activities. Other molecules (peroxiredoxin, cathepsin-L and Kunitz-type inhibitor) stimulate a strong immune response polarized toward a Treg/Th2 phenotype that favors fluke's survival. Helminth defense molecule, fatty acid binding proteins, -specific glycans and miRNAs modulate host pro-inflammatory responses, while antioxidant scavenger enzymes work in an orchestrated way to deter host oxidant-mediated damage. Combining these strategies spp. survive for decades within their mammalian host, where they reproduce and spread to become one of the most widespread zoonotic worm parasites in the world.
Topics: Animals; Cathepsins; Fasciola; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Mammals; Virulence; Zoonoses
PubMed: 34696693
DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2021.1996520 -
Parasites & Vectors Jun 2011Liver flukes belonging to the genus Fasciola are among the causes of foodborne diseases of parasitic etiology. These parasites cause significant public health problems... (Review)
Review
Liver flukes belonging to the genus Fasciola are among the causes of foodborne diseases of parasitic etiology. These parasites cause significant public health problems and substantial economic losses to the livestock industry. Therefore, it is important to definitively characterize the Fasciola species. Current phenotypic techniques fail to reflect the full extent of the diversity of Fasciola spp. In this respect, the use of molecular techniques to identify and differentiate Fasciola spp. offer considerable advantages. The advent of a variety of molecular genetic techniques also provides a powerful method to elucidate many aspects of Fasciola biology, epidemiology, and genetics. However, the discriminatory power of these molecular methods varies, as does the speed and ease of performance and cost. There is a need for the development of new methods to identify the mechanisms underpinning the origin and maintenance of genetic variation within and among Fasciola populations. The increasing application of the current and new methods will yield a much improved understanding of Fasciola epidemiology and evolution as well as more effective means of parasite control. Herein, we provide an overview of the molecular techniques that are being used for the genetic characterization, detection and genotyping of Fasciola spp..
Topics: Animals; DNA, Helminth; Fasciola; Fascioliasis; Genotype; Humans; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Parasitology
PubMed: 21658284
DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-4-101 -
Infection, Genetics and Evolution :... Apr 2022Parthenogenetic Fasciola is the causative agent of fascioliasis in animals and humans and is widely distributed in Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, China,...
Parthenogenetic Fasciola is the causative agent of fascioliasis in animals and humans and is widely distributed in Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. Parthenogenetic Fasciola geographically originated from central and eastern China, where it exists between the habitats of Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica; it likely appeared thousands of years ago following hybridization between F. hepatica and F. gigantica. Parthenogenetic Fasciola consists of diploids and triploids that possess nuclear genome of both F. hepatica and F. gigantica and mitochondrial genome of either F. hepatica or F. gigantica. Maternal parents of parthenogenetic Fasciola are either F. hepatica having Fh-C4 haplotype or F. gigantica having Fg-C2 haplotype in mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) nucleotide sequences. Parthenogenetic Fasciola flukes with the Fh-C4 haplotype have spread from China to South Korea and Japan, whereas the flukes with the Fg-C2 haplotype have not only spread to Korea and Japan but also southward to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. Parthenogenetic Fasciola can be distinguished from F. hepatica and F. gigantica using combinational DNA sequence analysis of nuclear phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pepck) and DNA polymerase delta (pold) along with mitochondrial ND1 markers. The establishment of parthenogenetic Fasciola is expected as follows: parthenogenetic diploids with the Fh-C4 and Fg-C2 haplotypes first appeared based on single or multiple interspecific hybridization events; subsequently, parthenogenetic triploids emerged via backcross events between the maternal parthenogenetic diploid and either paternal bisexual F. hepatica or F. gigantica. Parthenogenetic Fasciola diploids and triploids then survived for thousands of years by clonal parthenogenetic reproduction, and generated descendants with ND1 haplotypes, which were derived from the Fh-C4 and Fg-C2 due to nucleotide substitution. Thus, the emergence of parthenogenetic Fasciola may be due to extremely uncommon and accidental events. Parthenogenetic Fasciola should be treated as a new asexual hybrid species.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Fasciola; Fasciola hepatica; Fascioliasis; Humans; NADH Dehydrogenase; Parthenogenesis; Thailand; Triploidy
PubMed: 35183754
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105248 -
Systematic Reviews Jul 2022Fascioliasis is an emerging public health threat in a number of regions worldwide, including Southeast Asia. Up to now, a summary of current knowledge on the occurrence...
BACKGROUND
Fascioliasis is an emerging public health threat in a number of regions worldwide, including Southeast Asia. Up to now, a summary of current knowledge on the occurrence and the distribution in Southeast Asia is lacking. We therefore aim to gather recent information on the distribution and prevalence of and the associated risk factors for Fasciola spp. infections in humans, animals, and plant carriers in Southeast Asia.
METHODS
Bibliographic and gray literature databases as well as reference lists of important review articles will be searched for relevant records that are published between January 1, 2000, and the search date. The systematic review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting systematic reviews. The primary outcomes will be both the prevalence of Fasciola spp. in the human and animal hosts, and on plant carriers in Southeast Asia, and the risk factors for occurrence of Fasciola spp. Secondary outcomes are the prevalence of Fasciola spp. in subpopulations (e.g., children and patients visiting clinics), the mapping of different diagnostic tests used, and the occurrence of the different Fasciola spp. in the study region. A descriptive statistical analysis will be conducted, and a meta-analysis will be run to estimate the prevalence of human and animal fascioliasis respectively, in Southeast Asia.
DISCUSSION
This systematic review will summarize the current knowledge on the epidemiology of Fasciola spp. infections in Southeast Asia.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
This systematic review has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), reference number: CRD42021261104 .
Topics: Animals; Asia, Southeastern; Fasciola; Fascioliasis; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Prevalence; Public Health; Systematic Reviews as Topic
PubMed: 35790977
DOI: 10.1186/s13643-022-02013-3