Saturday, May 30, 2009

What's new for 'Trypanosomatids' in PubMed

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Search kinetoplastids OR kinetoplastid OR Kinetoplastida OR "trypanosoma brucei" OR leishmania OR brucei OR leishmaniasis OR "African trypanosomiasis"
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PubMed Results
Items 1 -10 of 11

1: PLoS ONE. 2009 May 27;4(5):e5669.

Ancient skeletal evidence for leprosy in India (2000 B.C.).

Robbins G, Tripathy VM, Misra VN, Mohanty RK, Shinde VS, Gray KM, Schug MD.

Department of Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, United States of America.

BACKGROUND: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that affects almost 250,000 people worldwide. The timing of first infection, geographic origin, and pattern of transmission of the disease are still under investigation. Comparative genomics research has suggested M. leprae evolved either in East Africa or South Asia during the Late Pleistocene before spreading to Europe and the rest of the World. The earliest widely accepted evidence for leprosy is in Asian texts dated to 600 B.C. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report an analysis of pathological conditions in skeletal remains from the second millennium B.C. in India. A middle aged adult male skeleton demonstrates pathological changes in the rhinomaxillary region, degenerative joint disease, infectious involvement of the tibia (periostitis), and injury to the peripheral skeleton. The presence and patterning of lesions was subject to a process of differential diagnosis for leprosy including treponemal disease, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, and non-specific infection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Results indicate that lepromatous leprosy was present in India by 2000 B.C. This evidence represents the oldest documented skeletal evidence for the disease. Our results indicate that Vedic burial traditions in cases of leprosy were present in northwest India prior to the first millennium B.C. Our results also support translations of early Vedic scriptures as the first textual reference to leprosy. The presence of leprosy in skeletal material dated to the post-urban phase of the Indus Age suggests that if M. leprae evolved in Africa, the disease migrated to India before the Late Holocene, possibly during the third millennium B.C. at a time when there was substantial interaction among the Indus Civilization, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. This evidence should be impetus to look for additional skeletal and molecular evidence of leprosy in India and Africa to confirm the African origin of the disease.

PMID: 19479078 [PubMed - in process]

2: PLoS ONE. 2009 May 28;4(5):e5725.

Using biotic interaction networks for prediction in biodiversity and emerging diseases.

Stephens CR, Heau JG, González C, Ibarra-Cerdeña CN, Sánchez-Cordero V, González-Salazar C.

C3 - Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.

Networks offer a powerful tool for understanding and visualizing inter-species ecological and evolutionary interactions. Previously considered examples, such as trophic networks, are just representations of experimentally observed direct interactions. However, species interactions are so rich and complex it is not feasible to directly observe more than a small fraction. In this paper, using data mining techniques, we show how potential interactions can be inferred from geographic data, rather than by direct observation. An important application area for this methodology is that of emerging diseases, where, often, little is known about inter-species interactions, such as between vectors and reservoirs. Here, we show how using geographic data, biotic interaction networks that model statistical dependencies between species distributions can be used to infer and understand inter-species interactions. Furthermore, we show how such networks can be used to build prediction models. For example, for predicting the most important reservoirs of a disease, or the degree of disease risk associated with a geographical area. We illustrate the general methodology by considering an important emerging disease - Leishmaniasis. This data mining methodology allows for the use of geographic data to construct inferential biotic interaction networks which can then be used to build prediction models with a wide range of applications in ecology, biodiversity and emerging diseases.

PMID: 19478956 [PubMed - in process]

3: PLoS ONE. 2009 May 29;4(5):e5733.

Cooperation between Apoptotic and Viable Metacyclics Enhances the Pathogenesis of Leishmaniasis.

Wanderley JL, Pinto da Silva LH, Deolindo P, Soong L, Borges VM, Prates DB, de Souza AP, Barral A, de Freitas Balanco JM, do Nascimento MT, Saraiva EM, Barcinski MA.

Experimental Medicine Division, National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mimicking mammalian apoptotic cells by exposing phosphatidylserine (PS) is a strategy used by virus and parasitic protozoa to escape host protective inflammatory responses. With Leishmania amazonensis (La), apoptotic mimicry is a prerogative of the intramacrophagic amastigote form of the parasite and is modulated by the host. Now we show that differently from what happens with amastigotes, promastigotes exposing PS are non-viable, non-infective cells, undergoing apoptotic death. As part of the normal metacyclogenic process occurring in axenic cultures and in the gut of sand fly vectors, a sub-population of metacyclic promastigotes exposes PS. Apoptotic death of the purified PS-positive (PS(POS)) sub-population was confirmed by TUNEL staining and DNA laddering. Transmission electron microscopy revealed morphological alterations in PS(POS) metacyclics such as DNA condensation, cytoplasm degradation and mitochondrion and kinetoplast destruction, both in in vitro cultures and in sand fly guts. TUNEL(POS) promastigotes were detected only in the anterior midgut to foregut boundary of infected sand flies. Interestingly, caspase inhibitors modulated parasite death and PS exposure, when added to parasite cultures in a specific time window. Efficient in vitro macrophage infections and in vivo lesions only occur when PS(POS) and PS-negative (PS(NEG)) parasites were simultaneously added to the cell culture or inoculated in the mammalian host. The viable PS(NEG) promastigote was the infective form, as shown by following the fate of fluorescently labeled parasites, while the PS(POS) apoptotic sub-population inhibited host macrophage inflammatory response. PS exposure and macrophage inhibition by a subpopulation of promastigotes is a different mechanism than the one previously described with amastigotes, where the entire population exposes PS. Both mechanisms co-exist and play a role in the transmission and development of the disease in case of infection by La. Since both processes confer selective advantages to the infective microorganism they justify the occurrence of apoptotic features in a unicellular pathogen.

PMID: 19478944 [PubMed - in process]

4: Med Sci Monit. 2009 Jun;15(6):CR290-293.

Effect of meglumine antimoniate on the pancreas during treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in children.

Shahian M, Alborzi A.

Pediatrics Department, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Background: Pentavalent antimonials are among the first-line drugs for treating visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Acute pancreatitis is a rare toxic adverse effect of therapy with antimonial compounds in adults. This study evaluated the effect of maglumine antimoniate on the pancreas in children treated for VL.<br /> Material/Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 20 children with VL who were treated with 20 mg/kg/day maglumine antimoniate until one week after defervescence. No patient had immunosuppression caused by HIV infection, renal transplantation, or drugs. Serum levels of amylase and lipase were measured at baseline and after 2, 4, 6, 9, and12 days of therapy.<br /> Results: During therapy, all cases had normal serum levels of amylase except for one. Serum lipase levels rose to abnormal levels in five patients, two of whom had minimally (i.e. <20% above the upper limit of normal) elevated serum lipase levels at pretreatment. All the five cases had normal serum amylase levels. There were no clinical signs or symptoms of pancreatitis in the patients.<br /> Conclusions: It may be concluded that acute pancreatitis or hyperamylasemia are not potential complications with this therapeutic regime among immunocompetent children with VL and that routine monitoring of these patients for serum amylase and lipase levels is not necessary.<br />

PMID: 19478699 [PubMed - in process]

5: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Jun;80(6):947-52.

magnetic resonance imaging findings in human African Trypanosomiasis: a four-year follow-up study in a patient and review of the literature.

Kager PA, Schipper HG, Stam J, Majoie CB.

Center for Infection and Immunity, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and AIDS, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. p.a.kager@amc.uva.nl

Serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed up to 4 years after treatment in a patient with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection. Four years after treatment and cure abnormalities were still present, although the patient led a normal social life, without physical and mental impairments. The literature on MRI in human African trypanosomiasis is reviewed. The MRI is useful to discriminate between encephalitis induced by trypanosomiasis and post-treatment reactive encephalopathy, a severe and often fatal complication of treatment, in particular of treatment with arsenicals. The MRI is not useful for diagnosis of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).

PMID: 19478256 [PubMed - in process]

6: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Jun;80(6):939-40.

Drug hypersensitivity syndrome induced by meglumine antimoniate.

Jeddi F, Caumes E, Thellier M, Jauréguiberry S, Mazier D, Buffet PA.

Service de Parasitologie-Mycologie, et Service de Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. fakhri.jeddi@gmail.com

We report a case of drug hypersensitivity syndrome (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms [DRESS]) induced by parenteral meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) in a 40-year-old man who traveled to Bolivia and was treated for mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Two weeks after starting therapy, the patient had fever, joint pain, a cutaneous eruption, and hypereosinophilia (1,358 cells/mm(3)). These symptoms resolved after drug withdrawal but reappeared upon reintroduction of the drug. Pentavalent antimonials should be definitively withdrawn in patients with hypereosinophilia > 1,000 cells/mm(3) accompanied by systemic manifestations consistent with DRESS.

PMID: 19478253 [PubMed - in process]

7: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Jun;80(6):935-8.

Mucosal leishmaniasis in a sudanese patient.

Abbas K, Musatafa MA, Abass S, Kheir MM, Mukhtar M, Elamin EM, Elhassan AM.

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Orthodontics, Genetics Section, University of Khartoum, Faculty of Dentistry, Khartoum, Sudan. kamalabbas@hotmail.com

Mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) is an oral disease caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani. The disease has been proven to be pandemic in many areas of the world. It affects young men living in leishmaniasis-endemic areas. ML might be accompanied or proceeded by visceral leishmaniasis (VL), although in most of the cases seen in Sudan, ML occurs as a primary lesion. ML can mimic oral cancer or fungal infections, with ulceration as the most common finding in ML lesions. In this report, the patient came from an area known to be endemic for VL. Although the lesions were not ulcerative, the patient history was indicative for ML. Early detection and proper diagnosis were of great help in the cure and prognosis of the disease.

PMID: 19478252 [PubMed - in process]

8: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Jun;80(6):929-34.

Field evaluation of rK39 test and direct agglutination test for diagnosis of visceral Leishmaniasis in a population with high prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Ethiopia.

ter Horst R, Tefera T, Assefa G, Ebrahim AZ, Davidson RN, Ritmeijer K.

Médecins Sans Frontières, Humera, Ethiopia; Kahsay Abera Hospital, Humera, Ethiopia.

Accuracy of an rK39 rapid diagnostic test (DiaMed-IT-Leish ) for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was compared with splenic aspiration and the direct agglutination test (DAT) in a population with a high prevalence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Ethiopia. There were 699 patients clinically suspected of having VL (153 parasitologically confirmed, 482 DAT confirmed, and 130 DAT negative), and 97 DAT-negative controls. A total of 84% were tested for HIV and 34% were HIV positive. Sensitivity of the rK39 test in parasitologically confirmed VL patients was 84% (77% in HIV positive and 87% in HIV negative; P = 0.25). Sensitivity of the DAT was higher (94%; P = 0.01), 89% in HIV-positive patients and 95% in HIV-negative patients; P = 0.27). Specificity of the rK39 test was 99% in DAT-negative controls and 92% in DAT-negative patients clinically suspected of having VL. A diagnostic algorithm combining DAT and the rK39 test had a sensitivity of 98% in HIV-positive VL patients and 99% in HIV-negative VL patients. Despite the lower sensitivity in a population with a high prevalence of HIV, the DiaMed-IT-Leish rK39 test enables decentralization of diagnosis. Patients clinically suspected of having VL who show negative results on the rK39 antigen test should undergo follow-up DAT testing, especially if they are HIV positive.

PMID: 19478251 [PubMed - in process]

9: J Infect Dis. 2009 May 28. [Epub ahead of print]

Interleukin 17 Production among Patients with American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Bacellar O, Faria D, Nascimento M, Cardoso TM, Gollob KJ, Dutra WO, Scott P, Carvalho EM.

Serviço de Imunologia, Hospital Universitário Prof. Edgard Santos, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador-Bahia, 2Departamento de Morfologia and 3Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil; and 4Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Interleukin 17 (IL-17) plays a critical role in inflammation and autoimmunity. Very little is known about IL-17 in protozoa infection. Here, we show that lymphocytes obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis produce higher levels of IL-17 than do lymphocytes obtained from uninfected control subjects ([Formula: see text]). There was a tendency for tissue obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis to contain a higher number of cells expressing IL-17, compared with tissue obtained from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, and there was a direct correlation between the number of cells expressing IL-17 and the presence of cellular inflammation at the lesion site ([Formula: see text]; [Formula: see text]). These data support the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory reaction in leishmaniasis.

PMID: 19476435 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

10: BMC Genomics. 2009 May 1;10:207.Click here to read Click here to read References for this PMC Article, Free in PMC, LinkOut

Transcriptional profiling of cattle infected with Trypanosoma congolense highlights gene expression signatures underlying trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility.

O'Gorman GM, Park SD, Hill EW, Meade KG, Coussens PM, Agaba M, Naessens J, Kemp SJ, MacHugh DE.

Animal Genomics Laboratory, UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, UCD College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. grace.ogorman@ucd.ie

BACKGROUND: African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) caused by tsetse fly-transmitted protozoa of the genus Trypanosoma is a major constraint on livestock and agricultural production in Africa and is among the top ten global cattle diseases impacting on the poor. Here we show that a functional genomics approach can be used to identify temporal changes in host peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression due to disease progression. We also show that major gene expression differences exist between cattle from trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible breeds. Using bovine long oligonucleotide microarrays and real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) validation we analysed PBMC gene expression in naïve trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible cattle experimentally challenged with Trypanosoma congolense across a 34-day infection time course. RESULTS: Trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle displayed a rapid and distinct transcriptional response to infection, with a ten-fold higher number of genes differentially expressed at day 14 post-infection compared to trypanosusceptible Boran cattle. These analyses identified coordinated temporal gene expression changes for both breeds in response to trypanosome infection. In addition, a panel of genes were identified that showed pronounced differences in gene expression between the two breeds, which may underlie the phenomena of trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility. Gene ontology (GO) analysis demonstrate that the products of these genes may contribute to increased mitochondrial mRNA translational efficiency, a more pronounced B cell response, an elevated activation status and a heightened response to stress in trypanotolerant cattle. CONCLUSION: This study has revealed an extensive and diverse range of cellular processes that are altered temporally in response to trypanosome infection in African cattle. Results indicate that the trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle respond more rapidly and with a greater magnitude to infection compared to the trypanosusceptible Boran cattle. Specifically, a subset of the genes analyzed by real time qRT-PCR, which display significant breed differences, could collectively contribute to the trypanotolerance trait in N'Dama.

PMID: 19409086 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC2685408

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