-
The Korean Journal of Parasitology Jun 2021The use of albendazole and mebendazole, i.e., benzimidazole broad-spectrum anthelmintics, in treatment of parasitic infections, as well as cancers, is briefly reviewed.... (Review)
Review
The use of albendazole and mebendazole, i.e., benzimidazole broad-spectrum anthelmintics, in treatment of parasitic infections, as well as cancers, is briefly reviewed. These drugs are known to block the microtubule systems of parasites and mammalian cells leading to inhibition of glucose uptake and transport and finally cell death. Eventually they exhibit ovicidal, larvicidal, and vermicidal effects on parasites, and tumoricidal effects on hosts. Albendazole and mebendazole are most frequently prescribed for treatment of intestinal nematode infections (ascariasis, hookworm infections, trichuriasis, strongyloidiasis, and enterobiasis) and can also be used for intestinal tapeworm infections (taeniases and hymenolepiasis). However, these drugs also exhibit considerable therapeutic effects against tissue nematode/cestode infections (visceral, ocular, neural, and cutaneous larva migrans, anisakiasis, trichinosis, hepatic and intestinal capillariasis, angiostrongyliasis, gnathostomiasis, gongylonemiasis, thelaziasis, dracunculiasis, cerebral and subcutaneous cysticercosis, and echinococcosis). Albendazole is also used for treatment of filarial infections (lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, loiasis, mansonellosis, and dirofilariasis) alone or in combination with other drugs, such as ivermectin or diethylcarbamazine. Albendazole was tried even for treatment of trematode (fascioliasis, clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, and intestinal fluke infections) and protozoan infections (giardiasis, vaginal trichomoniasis, cryptosporidiosis, and microsporidiosis). These drugs are generally safe with few side effects; however, when they are used for prolonged time (>14-28 days) or even only 1 time, liver toxicity and other side reactions may occur. In hookworms, Trichuris trichiura, possibly Ascaris lumbricoides, Wuchereria bancrofti, and Giardia sp., there are emerging issues of drug resistance. It is of particular note that albendazole and mebendazole have been repositioned as promising anti-cancer drugs. These drugs have been shown to be active in vitro and in vivo (animals) against liver, lung, ovary, prostate, colorectal, breast, head and neck cancers, and melanoma. Two clinical reports for albendazole and 2 case reports for mebendazole have revealed promising effects of these drugs in human patients having variable types of cancers. However, because of the toxicity of albendazole, for example, neutropenia due to myelosuppression, if high doses are used for a prolonged time, mebendazole is currently more popularly used than albendazole in anti-cancer clinical trials.
Topics: Albendazole; Animals; Anthelmintics; Antineoplastic Agents; Ascariasis; Female; Humans; Male; Mebendazole; Parasites; Trichuriasis
PubMed: 34218593
DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2021.59.3.189 -
Journal of Innate Immunity 2019
Topics: Animals; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Hymenolepiasis; Hymenolepis diminuta; Immune Evasion; Immune Tolerance; Immunity, Innate; Parkinson Disease; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcus epidermidis; alpha-Synuclein
PubMed: 30808848
DOI: 10.1159/000498950 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Apr 2018Rodents are reservoirs and hosts for several zoonotic diseases such as plague, leptospirosis, and leishmaniasis. Rapid development of industry and agriculture, as well... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Rodents are reservoirs and hosts for several zoonotic diseases such as plague, leptospirosis, and leishmaniasis. Rapid development of industry and agriculture, as well as climate change throughout the globe, has led to change or increase in occurrence of rodent-borne diseases. Considering the distribution of rodents throughout Iran, the aim of this review is to assess the risk of rodent-borne diseases in Iran.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING
We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Magiran databases up to September 2016 to obtain articles reporting occurrence of rodent-borne diseases in Iran and extract information from them. Out of 70 known rodent-borne diseases, 34 were reported in Iran: 17 (50%) parasitic diseases, 13 (38%) bacterial diseases, and 4 (12%) viral diseases. Twenty-one out of 34 diseases were reported from both humans and rodents. Among the diseases reported in the rodents of Iran, plague, leishmaniasis, and hymenolepiasis were the most frequent. The most infected rodents were Rattus norvegicus (16 diseases), Mus musculus (14 diseases), Rattus rattus (13 diseases), Meriones persicus (7 diseases), Apodemus spp. (5 diseases), Tatera indica (4 diseases), Meriones libycus (3 diseases), Rhombomys opimus (3 diseases), Cricetulus migratorius (3 diseases), and Nesokia indica (2 diseases).
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
The results of this review indicate the importance of rodent-borne diseases in Iran. Considering notable diversity of rodents and their extensive distribution throughout the country, it is crucial to pay more attention to their role in spreading infectious diseases for better control of the diseases.
Topics: Animals; Disease Reservoirs; Humans; Hymenolepiasis; Iran; Leishmaniasis; Mice; Plague; Public Health; Rats; Rodent Diseases; Rodentia; Zoonoses
PubMed: 29672510
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006256 -
Infection & Chemotherapy Mar 2013Status and emerging issues in the use of praziquantel for treatment of human trematode and cestode infections are briefly reviewed. Since praziquantel was first... (Review)
Review
Status and emerging issues in the use of praziquantel for treatment of human trematode and cestode infections are briefly reviewed. Since praziquantel was first introduced as a broadspectrum anthelmintic in 1975, innumerable articles describing its successful use in the treatment of the majority of human-infecting trematodes and cestodes have been published. The target trematode and cestode diseases include schistosomiasis, clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis, paragonimiasis, heterophyidiasis, echinostomiasis, fasciolopsiasis, neodiplostomiasis, gymnophalloidiasis, taeniases, diphyllobothriasis, hymenolepiasis, and cysticercosis. However, Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica infections are refractory to praziquantel, for which triclabendazole, an alternative drug, is necessary. In addition, larval cestode infections, particularly hydatid disease and sparganosis, are not successfully treated by praziquantel. The precise mechanism of action of praziquantel is still poorly understood. There are also emerging problems with praziquantel treatment, which include the appearance of drug resistance in the treatment of Schistosoma mansoni and possibly Schistosoma japonicum, along with allergic or hypersensitivity reactions against praziquantel treatment. To cope with and overcome these problems, combined use of drugs, i.e., praziquantel and other newly introduced compounds such as triclabendazole, artemisinins, and tribendimidine, is being tried.
PubMed: 24265948
DOI: 10.3947/ic.2013.45.1.32 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2022The rat tapeworm has been shown to cause alterations in gastrointestinal tissues. Since hymenolepiasis induces a number of reactions in the host, it is reasonable to...
The rat tapeworm has been shown to cause alterations in gastrointestinal tissues. Since hymenolepiasis induces a number of reactions in the host, it is reasonable to assume that it may also be involved in the mechanisms of apoptosis in the intestines. Individual research tasks included an examination of the effect of infection on; (i) the cellular localization of the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, as well as caspase-3 and caspase-9, and (ii) the effects of the infection on the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Cas-3 and Cas-9, at the mRNA and protein levels. Molecular tests (including mRNA (qRT PCR) and the protein (Western blot) expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspases-3, -9) and immunohistochemical tests were performed during the experiment. They showed that infection activates the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in the small and large intestine of the host. infection triggered the apoptosis via the activation of the caspase cascade, including Cas-3 and Cas-9. Hymenolepiasis enhanced apoptosis in the small and large intestine of the host by increasing the expression of the pro-apoptotic gene and protein Bax and by decreasing the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene and protein Bcl-2.
Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Hymenolepiasis; Hymenolepis diminuta; Intestine, Large; RNA, Messenger; Rats; bcl-2-Associated X Protein
PubMed: 35955110
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19159753 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2018The rat tapeworm is a parasite of the small intestine of rodents (mainly mice and rats), and accidentally humans. It is classified as a non-invasive tapeworm due to the... (Review)
Review
The rat tapeworm is a parasite of the small intestine of rodents (mainly mice and rats), and accidentally humans. It is classified as a non-invasive tapeworm due to the lack of hooks on the tapeworm's scolex, which could cause mechanical damage to host tissues. However, many studies have shown that metabolites secreted by interfere with the functioning of the host's gastrointestinal tract, causing an increase in salivary secretion, suppression of gastric acid secretion, and an increase in the trypsin activity in the duodenum chyme. Our work presents the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of a parasite-host interaction, including the influence on ion transport and host intestinal microflora, morphology and biochemical parameters of blood, secretion of antioxidant enzymes, expression of Toll-like receptors, mechanisms of immune response, as well as the expression and activity of cyclooxygenases. We emphasize the interrelations between the parasite and the host at the cellular level resulting from the direct impact of the parasite as well as host defense reactions that lead to changes in the host's tissues and organs.
Topics: Animals; Gastrointestinal Tract; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Hymenolepiasis; Hymenolepis diminuta; Immunity; Inflammation; Ion Transport; Rats
PubMed: 30126154
DOI: 10.3390/ijms19082435 -
Microbiome Sep 2021Studies on the inhibition of inflammation by infection with helminth parasites have, until recently, overlooked a key determinant of health: the gut microbiota....
BACKGROUND
Studies on the inhibition of inflammation by infection with helminth parasites have, until recently, overlooked a key determinant of health: the gut microbiota. Infection with helminths evokes changes in the composition of their host's microbiota: one outcome of which is an altered metabolome (e.g., levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)) in the gut lumen. The functional implications of helminth-evoked changes in the enteric microbiome (composition and metabolites) are poorly understood and are explored with respect to controlling enteric inflammation.
METHODS
Antibiotic-treated wild-type, germ-free (GF) and free fatty-acid receptor-2 (ffar2) deficient mice were infected with the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta, then challenged with DNBS-colitis and disease severity and gut expression of the il-10 receptor-α and SCFA receptors/transporters assessed 3 days later. Gut bacteria composition was assessed by 16 s rRNA sequencing and SCFAs were measured. Other studies assessed the ability of feces or a bacteria-free fecal filtrate from H. diminuta-infected mice to inhibit colitis.
RESULTS
Protection against disease by infection with H. diminuta was abrogated by antibiotic treatment and was not observed in GF-mice. Bacterial community profiling revealed an increase in variants belonging to the families Lachnospiraceae and Clostridium cluster XIVa in mice 8 days post-infection with H. diminuta, and the transfer of feces from these mice suppressed DNBS-colitis in GF-mice. Mice treated with a bacteria-free filtrate of feces from H. diminuta-infected mice were protected from DNBS-colitis. Metabolomic analysis revealed increased acetate and butyrate (both or which can reduce colitis) in feces from H. diminuta-infected mice, but not from antibiotic-treated H. diminuta-infected mice. H. diminuta-induced protection against DNBS-colitis was not observed in ffar2 mice. Immunologically, anti-il-10 antibodies inhibited the anti-colitic effect of H. diminuta-infection. Analyses of epithelial cell lines, colonoids, and colon segments uncovered reciprocity between butyrate and il-10 in the induction of the il-10-receptor and butyrate transporters.
CONCLUSION
Having defined a feed-forward signaling loop between il-10 and butyrate following infection with H. diminuta, this study identifies the gut microbiome as a critical component of the anti-colitic effect of this helminth therapy. We suggest that any intention-to-treat with helminth therapy should be based on the characterization of the patient's immunological and microbiological response to the helminth.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Colitis; Helminths; Hymenolepiasis; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C
PubMed: 34517928
DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01146-2 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2013
Review
Topics: Angola; Animals; Communicable Disease Control; Humans; Hymenolepiasis; Hymenolepis; Prevalence; Topography, Medical
PubMed: 24205412
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002321 -
Cureus Jan 2019Hymenolepiasis is an infection caused by () and ( ). Hymenolepiasis is prevalent throughout the world with human infections with being frequently reported in...
Hymenolepiasis is an infection caused by () and ( ). Hymenolepiasis is prevalent throughout the world with human infections with being frequently reported in the literature as compared to . Hymenolepiasis is more frequent among children, and most human infections remain asymptomatic and self-limited. Symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting are frequently noted in the cases of heavy infections. We report a case of hymenolepiasis caused by in a pregnant woman.
PubMed: 30868024
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.3810 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2018In cestodiasis, mechanical and molecular contact between the parasite and the host activates the immune response of the host and may result in inflammatory processes,...
In cestodiasis, mechanical and molecular contact between the parasite and the host activates the immune response of the host and may result in inflammatory processes, leading to ulceration and intestinal dysfunctions. The aim of the present study was to identify antigenic proteins of the adult cestode by subjecting the total protein extracts from adult tapeworms to 2DE immunoblotting (two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with immunoblotting) using sera collected from experimentally infected rats. A total of 36 protein spots cross-reacting with the rat sera were identified using LC-MS/MS. As a result, 68 proteins, including certain structural muscle proteins (actin, myosin, and paramyosin) and moonlighters (heat shock proteins, kinases, phosphatases, and glycolytic enzymes) were identified; most of these were predicted to possess binding and/or catalytic activity required in various metabolic and cellular processes, and reported here as potential antigens of the adult cestode for the first time. As several of these antigens can also be found at the cell surface, the surface-associated proteins were extracted and subjected to in-solution digestion for LC-MS/MS identification (surfaceomics). As a result, a total of 76 proteins were identified, from which 31 proteins, based on 2DE immunoblotting, were predicted to be immunogenic. These included structural proteins actin, myosin and tubulin as well as certain moonlighting proteins (heat-shock chaperones) while enzymes with diverse catalytic activities were found as the most dominating group of proteins. In conclusion, the present study shed new light into the complexity of the enteric cestodiasis by showing that the somatic proteins exposed to the host possess immunomodulatory functions, and that the immune response of the host could be stimulated by diverse mechanisms, involving also those triggering protein export via yet unknown pathways.
Topics: Animals; Antigens, Helminth; Cells, Cultured; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Hymenolepiasis; Hymenolepis diminuta; Immunologic Factors; Immunomodulation; Intestine, Small; Life Cycle Stages; Male; Membrane Proteins; Proteomics; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew; Stomach Ulcer
PubMed: 30483248
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02487