Tuesday, October 6, 2009

What's new for 'Trypanosomatids' in PubMed

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PubMed Results
Items 1 -10 of 13

1: Iran J Immunol. 2009 Sep;6(3):130-40.

Cloning and Expression of Leishmania major Superoxide Dismutase B1: A Potential Target Antigen for Serodiagnosis of Leishmaniasis.

Yeganeh F, Barkhordari F, Omidi M, Samiei A, Adeli A, Mahboudi F, Kamali-Sarvestani E.

Department of Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran,e-mail: immunol2@sums.ac.ir.

Background: Leishmaniasis- a neglected public health problem- is a group of diseases affecting an estimated 12 million people worldwide. Objective: In the present study, recombinant Leishmania major superoxide dismutase B1 (rLmSODB1) has been utilized as a potential antigen for the serodiagnosis of human cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the endemic regions of southern part of Iran. Additionally, the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA-based serodiagnosis using rLmSODB1 and the soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA) were compared. Methods: For the first time, rLmSODB1 has been cloned successfully and used for ELISA-based serodiagnosis. Sera from 30 CL and 24 VL cases were included in this study. Additional studies were also done for the evaluation of cross-reactivity using sera from 41 endemic controls including normal endemic donors (n=20), systemic lupus erythematosus patients (n=5), rheumatoid arthritis patients (n=5), and patients with tuberculosis (n=11). Results: Analysis indicated that rLmSODB1 was recognized by 62.5% and 13.3% of sera from patients with VL and CL, showing a sensitivity of 72.7% and 53.6%, respectively. However 95.8% of VL and 30% of CL sera reacted with SLA, revealing sensitivities of 96% and 58.8%, respectively. Additionally, from 41 sera collected either from healthy subjects or patients affected with other diseases, 97.5% were negative with SLA or rLmSODB1 (specificity 97.6%). Conclusion: These results show that rLmSODB1 almost does not react with sera from patients with tuberculosis and autoimmune diseases and may be considered as a candidate antigen for the specific immunodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.

PMID: 19801786 [PubMed - in process]

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2: Eukaryot Cell. 2009 Oct 2. [Epub ahead of print]

Leishmania major LmaMPK7 protein kinase activity inhibits intracellular growth of the pathogenic amastigote stage.

Morales MA, Pescher P, Späth GF.

Institut Pasteur, CNRS URA 2581, Laboratory of Parasite Virulence, and the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) AVENIR Program, 75015 Paris, France.

During the infectious cycle, protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania undergo several adaptive differentiation steps that are induced by environmental factors and crucial for parasite infectivity. The genetic analysis of signalling proteins underlying Leishmania stage differentiation is often rendered difficult due to lethal null mutant phenotypes. Here, we used a transgenic strategy to gain insight into the functions of the mitogen-activated protein kinases LmaMPK7 and LmaMPK10 on parasite virulence. We established L. major and L. donovani lines expressing episomal GFP-LmaMPK7 and GFP-LmaMPK10 fusion proteins. The transgenic lines were normal in promastigote morphology, growth and the ability to differentiate into metacyclic and amastigote stages. While parasites expressing GFP-LmaMPK10 showed normal infectivity in mouse footpad analysis and macrophage infection assays, GFP-LmaMPK7 transgenic parasites displayed a strong delay in lesion formation and reduced intracellular parasite growth. Significantly, the effects of GFP-LmaMPK7 on virulence and proliferation were exclusively due to protein kinase activity, as over-expression of two kinase-dead mutants had no effect on parasite infectivity. GFP-LmaMPK7 transgenic L. donovani revealed a reversible, stage-specific growth defect in axenic amastigotes that was independent from cell death, but linked to non-synchronous growth arrest and significant reduction of de novo protein biosynthesis. Our data suggest that LmaMPK7 protein kinase activity may be implicated in parasite growth control and thus relevant for the development of non-proliferating stages during the infectious cycle.

PMID: 19801421 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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3: Arch Pediatr. 2009 Oct 2. [Epub ahead of print]

[Infantile visceral Leishmaniasis: Epidemiological, clinical and biological characteristics. About 93 case reports in the children hospital of Rabat.]

[Article in French]

Zougaghi L, Moutaj R, Chabaa L, Agoumi A.

Laboratoire de parasitologie et de mycologie, faculté de médecine et de pharmacie de Marrakech, Sidi Abbad 40000 Marrakech, Maroc.

INTRODUCTION: Infantile visceral leishmaniasis (LVI) is a problem of public health in Morocco. This parasitosis rages to the state of endemic and touches the infants. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this survey is to draw up epidemiological, clinical and biologic profile of LVI in children hospitalized in the Children Hospital of Rabat, and to prove the contribution of serology in diagnosis of this illness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study concerned all LVI cases gathered in the HER during 5 years (from 1997 to 2001). For every patient included in this study, the authors collected geographical origin, age, sex, clinical data (splenomegaly, fever, hepatomegaly, paleness), and biologic data (numeration formulates red chalk, speed of sedimentation, protein in blood and electrophoresis of the proteins). The myelogram results were also exploited as well as results of serology when they were realized. RESULTS: Ninety-three LVI cases were listed with an age average of 3.5+/-3years, and a sex ratio of 1.82 (p=0.032). Patients coming from farming surroundings or semi-urban were more numerous than those from cities: 85.5% versus 14.5% (p<0.0001). Most of the patients suffered from splenomegaly, fever and paleness; anaemia was almost constant. In case of hyperprotidemy (43.5%; n=27), the albumin-globulin report was always lower than 1.2. Indirect immunofluorescence was practised among 39 patients with a positive response in 84.6% of the cases. Forty patients whose serums were analyzed by indirect hemagglutination (HAI) had all a myelogram revealing the presence of protozoon, but only 57% of them showed a positive reaction in HAI. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that the LVI touches children coming from underprivileged surroundings. The triad, splenomegaly, paleness and fever, is a good element of diagnostic orientation, whereas parasite revelation in bone marrow remains the best way to establish the diagnosis of this illness.

PMID: 19801183 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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4: Acta Trop. 2009 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Remarks on identification of amplified fragment length polymorphisms linked to SAG resistance in Leishmania.

Van der Auwera G, Bhattarai NR, Odiwuor S, Vuylsteke M.

Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

PMID: 19800857 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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5: Phytomedicine. 2009 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Efficacy of components from leaves of Calophyllum brasiliense against Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis.

Honda PA, Ferreira IC, Cortez DA, Amado CA, Silveira TG, Brenzan MA, Lonardoni MV.

Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Avenida Colombo 5790, 87020-900 Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

Leishmanicide potential of Calophyllum brasiliense leaves on promastigote and amastigote of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is evaluated. The LD(50) of dichloromethane extract and hexane fraction for promastigotes was respectively 40mug/ml and 20mug/ml. In mouse peritoneal macrophages infected with Leishmania amastigotes the Infection Index decreased respectively 100% and 84.2% in 80mug/ml and 40mug/ml concentrations of dichloromethane extract. Hexane fraction decreased infection index respectively by 98.7% and 91.3% within the same concentrations. It was found that pretreatment with dichloromethane extract or with hexane fraction of experimentally infected BALB/c mice decrease the volume of the lesions by L. (L.) amazonensis. Moreover, animals treated topically also revealed healing lesions. Besides, the parasite load in the animals' popliteal lymph nodes was significantly reduced in treated animals, showing that plant components actually control infection. Results show that crude extract and hexane fraction of C. brasiliense reveal a significant in vitro and in vivo leishmanicide activity.

PMID: 19800777 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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6: Vet Parasitol. 2009 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Occurrence of Leishmania sp. in cutaneous lesions of horses in Central Europe.

Müller N, Welle M, Lobsiger L, Stoffel MH, Boghenbor KK, Hilbe M, Gottstein B, Frey CF, Geyer C, von Bomhard W.

Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Länggass-Str. 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.

The present report describes a novel etiological agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in horses that, at least for some cases, sporadically appeared as autochthonous infections in geographically distant regions of Germany and Switzerland. The infection was initially diagnosed upon clinical and immunohistological findings. Subsequent comparative sequence analysis of diagnostic PCR products from the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of ssrRNA classified the respective isolates as neither Old World nor New World Leishmania species. However, four isolates subjected to molecular analyses all exhibited a close phylogenetic relationship to Leishmania sp. siamensis, an organism recently identified in a visceral leishmaniasis patient from Thailand. Future investigations will demonstrate if this form of leishmaniasis represents an emerging, and perhaps zoonotic, disease of European, or even global, importance.

PMID: 19800739 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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7: Vaccine. 2009 Sep 30. [Epub ahead of print]

Immunotherapy with the saponin enriched-Leishmune((R)) vaccine versus immunochemotherapy in dogs with natural canine visceral leishmaniasis.

Borja-Cabrera GP, Santos FN, Santos FB, Trivellato FA, Kawasaki JK, Costa AC, Castro T, Nogueira FS, Moreira MA, Luvizotto MC, Palatnik M, Palatnik-de-Sousa CB.

Instituto de Microbiologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, PO Box 68040, CEP 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Leishmune((R)), the first licensed vaccine for prophylaxis against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) and is also immunotherapeutic when used with double saponin adjuvant concentration. The Leishmune((R)) therapeutic vaccine was assessed for immunotherapy (IT) in 31 infected dogs and for immunochemotherapy (ICT) in combination with allopurinol or amphotericinB/allopurinol, in 35 dogs. Compared to infected untreated control dogs, at month 3, both treatments increased the proportion of dogs showing intradermal response to Leishmania antigen to a similar extent (from 8 to 67%, in the IT and to 76%, in the ICT groups), and conversely reduced from 100 to 38% (IT) and to 18% (ICT) the proportion of symptomatic cases, from 54 to 12% (IT) and to 15% (ICT) the proportion of parasite evidence in lymph nodes and from 48 to 19% (IT) and 12% (ICT) the proportion of deaths, indicating that the immunotherapy with enriched-Leishmune((R)) vaccine promotes the control of the clinical and parasitological signs of CVL rendering most dogs asymptomatic although PCR positive. By month 8, negative lymph node PCR results were obtained in 80% of the ICT-treated dogs, but only in 33% of the IT group (p=0.0253), suggesting that the combination of additional chemotherapy with Leishmune((R))-enriched saponin vaccination abolished, not only the symptoms but also the latent infection condition, curing the dogs. The animals were followed up until 4.5 years after the beginning of the experiment and, compared to the untreated control group at month 3 (12/25 dogs; 48%), a decrease in the rate of CVL deaths was only seen after ICT treatment (7/35 dogs; 20%; 0.0273) but not after IT treatment (10/31 dogs; 32%; p=0.278), pointing out an additional advantage of the ICT treatment with the enriched-Leishmune((R)) in the control and cure of CVL.

PMID: 19800443 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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8: J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2009 Sep 20. [Epub ahead of print]

Separation of Leishmania-infected macrophages by step-SPLITT fractionation.

Hoyos M, Niño A, Camargo M, Díaz JC, León S, Camacho M.

Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR7636 CNRS, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.

After a primary infection protocol of macrophages with Leishmania amazonensis, the percentage of infection drops as infection progresses and the uninfected population of macrophages mask the effects of infection for electrophysiological studies. In order to increase or maintain the infection percentage, we introduce an enrichment process after primary infection, which increases the possibility of following the infection longer times than any known process. A membraneless separation technique, step-SPLITT fractionation, implying flow and transverse gravity field in a ribbon-like channel, was used for enriching samples of macrophages infected with particles and with L. amazonensis. We demonstrate the capability of the s-SPLITT of generating, from a mixture resulting from a primary infection, an enriched and a depleted fraction with infected cells, without using any selective labeling pre-processing. It is also shown that a continuous sorting is possible without damaging cells and the losses of matter into the separation chamber is minimal.

PMID: 19800303 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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9: Infect Genet Evol. 2009 Sep 29. [Epub ahead of print]

First isolation of Enterobacter, Enterococcus, and Acinetobacter spp. as inhabitants of the tsetse fly (Glossina palpalis palpalis) midgut.

Geiger A, Fardeau ML, Grebaut P, Vatunga G, Josénando T, Herder S, Cuny G, Truc P, Ollivier B.

UMR 177, IRD-CIRAD, CIRAD TA A-17/G, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.

This paper reports the first evidence of the presence of bacteria, other than the three previously described as symbionts, Wigglesworthia glossinidia, Wolbachia, and Sodalis glossinidius, in the midgut of Glossina palpalis palpalis, the tsetse fly, a vector of the chronic form of human African trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan African countries. Based on morphological, nutritional, physiological, and phylogenetic results, we identified Enterobacter, Enterococcus, and Acinetobacter spp. as inhabitants of the midgut of the tsetse fly. Enterobacter spp. was the most frequently isolated. The role of these bacteria in the gut, in terms of vector competence of the tsetse fly, is discussed, as is the possibility of using these bacteria to produce in situ trypanolytic molecules.

PMID: 19800031 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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10: FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2009 Sep 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Correlation of parasitic load with interleukin-4 response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania tropica.

Kumar R, Bumb RA, Salotra P.

Institute of Pathology (ICMR), Safdarjung Hospital Campus, New Delhi, India.

Abstract We have established the association between parasite burden and localized immune response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania tropica. Real-time PCR was used to measure parasitic load in tissue lesions of CL patients at the pretreatment (n=26) and at the post-treatment stage (n=10). Leishmania tropica was detected in all CL lesions with a mean value of 118 357 parasites g(-1) of dermal tissue. Following treatment, only one out of 10 patients showed residual parasites (100 parasites g(-1) tissue). Parasite load was high (mean, 306 000 parasites g(-1) tissue) in acute infections (early lesions) and low (mean, 1081 parasites g(-1) tissue) in chronic infections (late lesions). Intralesional transcripts of interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-8, IL-10 and IL-4 were investigated in early lesions (</=2 months, n=14) and late lesions (>2 months, n=15) by reverse transcriptase-PCR, where IL-4 was found to be significantly upregulated in early lesions (P<0.02). Further, the levels of parasite burden and IL-4 were distinctly correlated in various clinical forms of CL. Other cytokines were at comparable levels in early/late lesions and in different clinical forms. Upregulation of IL-4 was correlated with a higher parasite burden in early lesions of CL, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of CL by inhibiting a protective immune response.

PMID: 19799628 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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