Tuesday, September 22, 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 10

1: Neotrop Entomol. 2009 Jul-Aug;38(4):556-9.

[Two new populations of Lutzomyia pseudolongipalpis Arrivillaga & Feliciangeli (Diptera: Phlebotominae) vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Venezuela.]

[Article in Spanish]

Arrivillaga J, Marrero R.

Lab. Genética de Poblaciones, Dept. de Estudios Ambientales, Univ. Simón Bolívar, Sartenejas, Venezuela, jarrivillaga@usb.ve.

Two new populations of Lutzomyia pseudolongipalpis Arrivillaga & Feliciangeli, species belonging to the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) complex, are reported in Venezuela on diagnostic isoenzymes.

PMID: 19768281 [PubMed - in process]

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2: Can J Microbiol. 2009 Jun;55(6):705-713.

The IL-6-deficient mouse exhibits impaired lymphocytic responses to a vaccine combining live Leishmania major and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides.

Wu W, Weigand L, Mendez S.

James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

We have previously reported that vaccination with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides delivered concomitantly with live Leishmania major (Lm/CpG) eliminates lesions associated with live vaccination in C57BL/6 mice. The absence of lesions is at least in part a result of the CpG DNA-mediated activation of dermal dendritic cells to produce cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice and IL-6−/− mice were immunized with the Lm/CpG vaccine and monitored for the development of lesions. IL-6−/− mice developed extensive, nonhealing lesions following live vaccination. The analysis of the inoculation site and draining lymph nodes of the IL-6−/− mice revealed a constitutive reduction in lymphocyte numbers, particularly CD4+ T cells. Live vaccination resulted in the specific expansion of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in the knockout mice, and in a decrease of CD4+ IFN-γ -producing cells. These results indicate that IL-6−/− mice may have collateral immune defects that could influence the development of the natural immune response to pathogens, vaccines, or other inflammatory stimuli.

PMID: 19767842 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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3: J Biol Chem. 2009 Sep 19. [Epub ahead of print]

Three redox states of trypanosoma brucei alternative oxidase identified by infrared spectroscopy and electrochemistry.

Marechal A, Kido Y, Kita K, Moore AL, Rich PR.

University College London, United Kingdom;

Electrochemistry coupled with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the redox properties of recombinant alternative ubiquinol oxidase (rTAO) from Trypanosoma brucei, the organism responsible for African sleeping sickness. Stepwise reduction of the fully oxidized resting state of rTAO revealed two distinct IR redox difference spectra. The first of these, signal 1 titrates in the reductive direction as an n=2 Nernstian component with an apparent midpoint potential of +80 mV at pH 7.0. However, reoxidation of signal 1 in the same potential range under anaerobic conditions did not occur and only began with potentials in excess of +500 mV. Reoxidation by introduction of oxygen was also unsuccessful. Signal 1 contained clear features that can be assigned to protonation of at least one carboxylate group, further perturbations of carboxylic and histidine residues, bound ubiquinone and a negative band at 1554 cm-1 that might arise from a radical in the fully oxidized protein. A second distinct IR redox difference spectrum, signal 2, appeared more slowly once signal 1 had been reduced. This component could be reoxidized with potentials above +100 mV. In addition, when both signals 1 and 2 were reduced, introduction of oxygen caused rapid oxidation of both components. These data are interpreted in terms of the possible active site structure and mechanism of oxygen reduction to water.

PMID: 19767647 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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4: Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2009 Sep 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Maternal and perinatal outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) treated with sodium stibogluconate in eastern Sudan.

Adam GK, Abdulla MA, Ahmed AA, Adam I.

Gadarif University, Gadarif, Sudan.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate maternal and perinatal outcomes when pregnant women with visceral leishmaniasis (VL, also known as kala-azar) are treated with the antimonial sodium stibogluconate. METHOD: Forty-two pregnant women with VL were treated with sodium stibogluconate at Gadarif Hospital, Gadarif, Sudan, and mother and child were followed up for 1year. RESULTS: The treatment began at a mean+/-SD of 24.4+/-9.2weeks of pregnancy. None of the patients had malaria or HIV. Two (4.7%) who received the treatment in the first trimester had miscarriages; 4 (4.9%) died from hepatic encephalopathy during the second week of treatment; and 2 (4.7%) had preterm deliveries. One of the newborns had a myelomeningocele and died at 2 hours, and the other died from VL at 2months. CONCLUSION: Preventive measures against VL should be employed in the region, and more research on VL and its treatment during pregnancy is needed.

PMID: 19766208 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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5: Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2009 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Expression and cellular localisation of calpain-like proteins in Trypanosoma brucei.

Liu W, Apagyi K, McLeavy L, Ersfeld K.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK.

Calpains are a ubiquitous family of calcium-dependent cysteine proteases involved in a wide range of cell regulatory and differentiation processes. In many protozoan organisms, atypical calpains have been discovered that lack the characteristic calcium-binding penta-EF-hand motif of typical vertebrate calpains and most of these novel calpain-like proteins are non-enzymatic homologues of typical calpains. The gene family is particularly expanded in ciliates and kinetoplastids, comprising 25 members in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Unique to kinetoplastids, some calpain-like proteins contain N-terminal dual myristoylation/palmitoylation signals, a protein modification involved in protein-membrane associations. We analysed the expression of calpain-like proteins in the insect (procyclic) and bloodstream-stage of T. brucei using quantitative real time PCR and identified the differential expression of some of the calpain genes. We also present a comprehensive analysis of the subcellular localisation of selected members of this protein family in trypanosomes. Here, of particular interest is the role of protein acylation for targeting to the flagellum. We show that, although acylation is important for flagellar targeting, additional signals are required to specify the precise subcellular localisation.

PMID: 19766148 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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6: Int J Exp Pathol. 2009 Oct;90(5):538-48.

Hepatic extracellular matrix alterations in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi.

Melo FA, Moura EP, Ribeiro RR, Alves CF, Caliari MV, Tafuri WL, Calabrese Kda S, Tafuri WL.

Depto. de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

Summary The aim of this work was to study alterations in the extracellular matrix of liver in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi that are correlated with clinical aspects and with histological, parasitological and immunological findings. The study was carried out on 30 dogs, 10 uninfected (control group) and 20 infected. The infected animals were further divided into two groups: an asymptomatic group of 10 dogs without clinical signs of the disease; and a symptomatic group of 10 dogs with classical clinical signs. All thirty animals were mongrel dogs of undefined age, obtained from the municipality of Belo Horizonte, MG, metropolitan area. During necropsy, liver fragments were collected and fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde for histological examination. Paraffined sections of the tissues were stained with haematoxylin-eosin, Gomori's ammoniacal silver stain for reticular fibres and strepto-avidin peroxidase for immunohistochemical detection of Leishmania amastigotes. Frozen tissue sections were stained by immunofluorescence for fibronectin (FN) and laminin (LN). Liver collagen deposition was significantly greater in the infected than the control animals and differed significantly between the symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs. There was a positive correlation between the parasite load and liver collagen deposition. The increased collagen deposition in infected animal livers may be associated with the parasite burden. Adhesive FN and LN fibres were significantly more highly expressed in the livers of symptomatic than of asymptomatic dogs. Our results demonstrate that canine visceral leishmaniasis causes fibrogenesis in liver, associated with the parasite load and degenerative processes.

PMID: 19765108 [PubMed - in process]

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7: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Sep;81(3):404-6.Click here to read LinkOut

Update on seroprevalence of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies among blood donors in northeast Mexico.

Galavíz-Silva L, Molina-Garza DP, González-Santos MA, Mercado-Hernández R, González-Galavíz JR, Rosales-Encina JL, Molina-Garza ZJ.

Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico. lgs12167@yahoo.com

Chagas disease has become frequent in non-endemic areas, where it can be transmitted by blood transmission. Therefore, we explored seroprevalence of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies among blood donors at the Cardiology Hospital, Mexican Institute of Social Security at Monterrey, Nuevo León, by both an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect hemagglutination. Blood samples from 1,000 healthy blood donors were selected. A seropositivity of 2.8% was shown among the studied population, of which 2.59% (21/809) were inhabitants of Nuevo León, whereas 3.07% (2/65) and 3.96% (5/126) were from Coahuila and Tamaulipas, respectively. Our result is higher than that of a previous study from 1998, where a prevalence of 0.5% was reported. This once again corroborates the importance of installing a surveillance program to detect and prevent the transfusion of T. cruzi from asymptomatic blood donors in blood banks located in urban cities recognized as non-endemic.

PMID: 19706904 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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8: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Sep;81(3):396-403.Click here to read LinkOut

Transmission dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi determined by low-stringency single primer polymerase chain reaction and southern blot analyses in four indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.

Rodríguez IB, Botero A, Mejía-Jaramillo AM, Marquez EJ, Ortiz S, Solari A, Triana-Chávez O.

Grupo Biología y Control de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.

This study attempted to evaluate the transmission dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi in four indigenous communities of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), Colombia. Low-stringency single primer-polymerase chain reaction (LSSP-PCR) of the minicircles and Southern blot analyses were used to characterize samples from patients, vectors, and reservoirs in these communities. The LSSP-PCR profiles revealed a high genetic variability but with similarities among the parasites present in the samples of vectors, patients, and reservoirs of the same and different communities. Cluster and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analyses of data derived from LSSP-PCR and Southern blot suggest a gene flux among populations of T. cruzi circulating in patients, vectors, and reservoirs. The results support the idea that the domestic and wild transmission cycles overlap in the SNSM, with Rhodnius prolixus as the main vector and Triatoma dimidiata playing an important role in the transmission of Chagas disease in this zone, making the vector control strategy by spraying unsuccessful.

PMID: 19706903 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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9: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Sep;81(3):390-5.Click here to read LinkOut

Trypanosoma cruzi circulating in the southern region of the State of Mexico (Zumpahuacan) are pathogenic: a dog model.

Barbabosa-Pliego A, Díaz-Albiter HM, Ochoa-García L, Aparicio-Burgos E, López-Heydeck SM, Velásquez-Ordoñez V, Fajardo-Muñoz RC, Díaz-González S, De Oca-Jimenez RM, Barbosa-Mireles M, Guzmán-Bracho C, Estrada-Franco JG, Garg NJ, Vázquez-Chagoyán JC.

Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, México.

Here we describe clinical and pathologic evidence of Chagas disease caused in dogs by circulating Trypanosoma cruzi from a newly recognized endemic area in Mexico. We show that the Zumpahuacan isolate, although less virulent than the Sylvio-X10 reference strain that caused acute myocarditis and death, was pathogenic in dogs. Dogs infected with the Zumpahuacan isolate exhibited electrocardiographic alterations, left- and right-ventricle dilation, and hydropericardium. Histologically, diffused perimysial and endomysial lymphoplasmacytic cell infiltration, cardiomyocyte necrosis, and amastigote nests were noted in Zumpahuacan-infected dogs. These findings suggest that the risk of T. cruzi infection and Chagas disease is present in the State of Mexico, and further research is needed to identify the T. cruzi bio-types circulating in southern State of Mexico.

PMID: 19706902 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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10: Parasitol Res. 2009 Sep;105(3):743-9. Epub 2009 May 13.Click here to read LinkOut

Major cysteine protease (cruzipain) in Z3 sylvatic isolates of Trypanosoma cruzi from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gomes SA, Misael D, Silva BA, Feder D, Silva CS, Gonçalves TC, Santos AL, Santos-Mallet JR.

Setor de Morfologia e Ultraestrutura e Bioquímica de Artrópodes e Parasitos, Laboratório de Transmissores de Leishmanioses, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. saogomes@ioc.fiocruz.br

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas' disease, is represented by a set of parasites which circulate between man, vectors, domestic and wild animals. Recently, our group isolated from Triatoma vitticeps strains of T. cruzi that were characterized as belonging to the Z3 phylogenetic lineage. Since very little is known about the biological and/or biochemical markers of sylvatic Z3 isolates, we have studied the protein and protease profiles of distinct Z3 isolates designated as SMM10, SMM53, SMM88, and SMM98. By means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, both quantitative and qualitative differences were observed in the protein profiles of these strains. All strains produced an acidic cysteine protease of 45 kDa, resembling cruzipain activity. The strain SMM10 synthesized an additional 55 kDa metalloprotease. Using Western blotting and anti-cruzipain antibody to detect cruzipain-like molecules, a 40-kDa reactive molecule was identified in all strains; in the strain SMM10, an 80-kDa protein was also reacted. Studies about cruzipain isoforms from sylvatic parasites could be valuable tools in the comprehension of the genetic variability in the pathogenesis of Chagas' disease.

PMID: 19437041 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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