Friday, September 11, 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 -7 of 7

1: Vet Ther. 2009 Spring-Summer;10(1-2):71-7.

Efficacy of a combination of a fipronil-(s)-methoprene spot-on formulation and a deltamethrin-impregnated collar in controlling fleas and sandflies on dogs.

Franc M, Bouhsira E.

Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse.

This study investigated the use of two commercial products, a deltamethrin-impregnated collar and a fipronil-(S)-methoprene spot-on formulation, in combination to protect dogs against sandflies and fleas when they live in or travel to leishmaniasis-enzootic areas. Interactions, tolerance, and efficacy were evaluated. The combination was well tolerated by the six treated dogs. The antifeeding effect on Phlebotomus perniciosus ranged from 89.6% (day 1) to 99.51% (day 21) and exceeded 95% from day 7 through the end of the study; the mortality effect against P. perniciosus ranged from 87.52% (day 22) to 96.82% (day 15). The combination was 100% effective in controlling Ctenocephalides felis felis infestations for 36 days after treatment. These results suggest that it is feasible and advantageous to combine these two commercial products to protect dogs against sandflies and fleas in leishmaniasis-enzootic areas.

PMID: 19742450 [PubMed - in process]

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2: PLoS One. 2009 Sep 9;4(9):e6959.

The non-canonical CTD of RNAP-II is essential for productive RNA synthesis in Trypanosoma brucei.

Das A, Bellofatto V.

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America. A.Das-dasak@umdnj.edu

The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit (RPB1) of RNA polymerase II (RNAP-II) is essential for gene expression in metazoa and yeast. The canonical CTD is characterized by heptapeptide repeats. Differential phosphorylation of canonical CTD orchestrates transcriptional and co-transcriptional maturation of mRNA and snRNA. Many organisms, including trypanosomes, lack a canonical CTD. In these organisms, the CTD is called a non-canonical CTD or pseudo-CTD (PsiCTD. In the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, the PsiCTD is approximately 285 amino acids long, rich in serines and prolines, and phosphorylated. We report that T. brucei RNAP-II lacking the entire PsiCTD or containing only a 95-amino-acid-long PsiCTD failed to support cell viability. In contrast, RNAP-II with a 186-amino-acid-long PsiCTD maintained cellular growth. RNAP-II with PsiCTD truncations resulted in abortive initiation of transcription. These data establish that non-canonical CTDs play an important role in gene expression.

PMID: 19742309 [PubMed - in process]

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3: Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Sep 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Leishmania(Leishmania) chagasi in captive wild felids in Brazil.

Dahroug MA, Almeida AB, Sousa VR, Dutra V, Turbino NC, Nakazato L, de Souza RL.

Federal University of Mato Grosso, Av. Fernando Correa da Costa s/n, 78060-900 Cuiabá, MT, Brasil.

This study used a PCR-RFLP test to determine the presence of Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi in 16 captive wild felids [seven Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771); five Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) and four Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758)] at the zoological park of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Amplification of Leishmania spp. DNA was seen in samples from five pumas and one jaguar, and the species was characterized as L. chagasi using restriction enzymes. It is already known that domestic felids can act as a reservoir of L. chagasi in endemic areas, and further studies are necessary to investigate their participation in the epidemiological chain of leishmaniasis.

PMID: 19740501 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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4: Mol Cell. 2009 Aug 28;35(4):398-400.Click here to read LinkOut
Comment on:
Mol Cell. 2009 Aug 28;35(4):490-501.

Unraveling the secrets of regulating mitochondrial DNA replication.

Klingbeil MM, Shapiro TA.

Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. klingbeil@microbio.umass.edu

In this issue, Liu et al. (2009) report that maxicircle DNA copy number in trypanosomes is regulated by proteolysis of a helicase; the complex kinetoplast DNA system yields a clear view of how mitochondrial DNA replication can be regulated.

PMID: 19716784 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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5: Mol Cell. 2009 Aug 28;35(4):490-501. Epub 2009 Jul 30.Click here to read LinkOut
Comment in:
Mol Cell. 2009 Aug 28;35(4):398-400.

Trypanosomes have six mitochondrial DNA helicases with one controlling kinetoplast maxicircle replication.

Liu B, Wang J, Yaffe N, Lindsay ME, Zhao Z, Zick A, Shlomai J, Englund PT.

Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), the trypanosome mitochondrial DNA, contains thousands of minicircles and dozens of maxicircles interlocked in a giant network. Remarkably, Trypanosoma brucei's genome encodes 8 PIF1-like helicases, 6 of which are mitochondrial. We now show that TbPIF2 is essential for maxicircle replication. Maxicircle abundance is controlled by TbPIF2 level, as RNAi of this helicase caused maxicircle loss, and its overexpression caused a 3- to 6-fold increase in maxicircle abundance. This regulation of maxicircle level is mediated by the TbHslVU protease. Previous experiments demonstrated that RNAi knockdown of TbHslVU dramatically increased abundance of minicircles and maxicircles, presumably because a positive regulator of their synthesis escaped proteolysis and allowed synthesis to continue. Here, we found that TbPIF2 level increases following RNAi of the protease. Therefore, this helicase is a TbHslVU substrate and an example of a positive regulator, thus providing a molecular mechanism for controlling maxicircle replication.

PMID: 19646907 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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6: Clin Exp Immunol. 2009 Aug;157(2):291-9.Click here to read LinkOut

Short treatment with the tumour necrosis factor-alpha blocker infliximab diminishes chronic chagasic myocarditis in rats without evidence of Trypanosoma cruzi reactivation.

Pérez AR, Fontanella GH, Nocito AL, Revelli S, Bottasso OA.

Instituto de Inmunologia, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de Rosario, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina. perez_anarosa@yahoo.com.ar

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is crucial for resistance to Trypanosoma cruzi acute infection, but there is scant information on its role during the chronic phase. To address this issue, we analysed whether a short treatment with a TNF-alpha blocker affected the course and characteristics of chronic disease in a rat experimental model of T. cruzi infection. An anti-TNF-alpha agent (infliximab) was administered during the chronic phase for a period of 4 weeks (3 mg/kg/week), while control infected rats were inoculated with saline physiological solution. Search for parasites yielded non-successful results in all infected groups, irrespective of treatment. Nevertheless, the presence of T. cruzi kDNA in heart tissue was detected in infected and infected plus treated animals. Because infliximab might induce changes in the anti-parasite cytokine response, circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-10, interferon-gamma and nitric oxide were evaluated. An increase in IL-10 levels was observed only in the infected group treated with the anti-TNF-alpha blocker compared to the remaining groups (P < 0.05). A clear attenuation of histological damage associated with a diminution of cardiac TNF-alpha mRNA expression was observed in the infected and treated animals compared to the infected and non-treated group. Blocking of TNF-alpha during a relatively short period in chronically infected rats did not lead to evident parasite reactivation but reduced myocarditis severity significantly, indicating a role of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of chronic myocardial damage.

PMID: 19604269 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC2730855 [Available on 2010/08/01]

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7: Trop Biomed. 2007 Dec;24(2):67-70.Click here to read LinkOut

Mortality of domesticated java deer attributed to Surra.

Nurulaini R, Jamnah O, Adnan M, Zaini CM, Khadijah S, Rafiah A, Chandrawathani P.

Veterinary Research Institute, 59, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 3400, Ipoh, Perak. nur1709yahoo.com

This paper reports an outbreak of trypanosomiasis due to Trypanosoma evansi in Java deer (Cervus timorensis) on a government deer farm in Lenggong, Perak. Seventeen adult female Java deer were found dead within a week. Symptoms of dullness, inappetence, anaemia, anorexia, respiratory distress and recumbency were seen prior to death in the infected Java deer. Beside trypanosomiasis, other parasitic infections such as theileriosis, helminthiasis and ectoparasite infestation were also recorded. Post mortem results showed generalized anaemia in most animals with isolated cases of jaundice. There was no significant finding with respect to bacteriological and viral investigations.

PMID: 18209710 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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