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 13

1.	Parasitol Res. 2010 Aug 6. [Epub ahead of print] Kennel dogs as sentinels of Leishmania infantum, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum in Majorca Island, Spain. Cabezón O, Millán J, Gomis M, Dubey JP, Ferroglio E, Almería S. Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Abstract Kennel dogs can serve as sentinels and/or reservoirs of diseases of veterinary and zoonotic interest because they have often roamed free and lived outdoors, thus being exposed to pathogens. We tested dogs from the kennel of Inca (Majorca/Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain) for evidence of infection with three protozoan parasites: Leishmania infantum, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum. Exposure to L. infantum was found in 56.3% of 48 dogs (37.5% by Western blot, 43.8% by PCR). Only 30% of infected dogs had leishmaniosis-like lesions. Seroprevalence to T. gondii was 58.7% of 46 dogs using the modified agglutination test (MAT, titer 1:25). None of the 44 dogs tested had N. caninum antibodies using a commercial competitive ELISA, probably because the surveyed dogs did not roam in the proximity of cattle farms. Results confirm the endemicity of L. infantum and also the widespread presence of T. gondii in the Mediterranean island of Majorca.
	PMID: 20689966 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

2.	PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 Aug 3;4(8):e776. Diagnostic Accuracy of the Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography for Diagnosis of Leishmaniasis in Sudan. Saad AA, Ahmed NG, Osman OS, Al-Basheer AA, Hamad A, Deborggraeve S, Büscher P, Schoone GJ, Schallig HD, Laurent T, Haleem A, Osman OF, Eltom AM, Elbashir MI, El-Safi S. Department of Biochemistry, Khartoum University, Sudan. Abstract BACKGROUND: The Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography (OC) were recently developed for simplified and standardised molecular detection of Leishmania parasites in clinical specimens. We here present the phase II evaluation of both tests for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in Sudan. METHODOLOGY: The diagnostic accuracy of the tests was evaluated on 90 confirmed and 90 suspected VL cases, 7 confirmed and 8 suspected CL cases, 2 confirmed PKDL cases and 50 healthy endemic controls from Gedarif state and Khartoum state in Sudan. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The OligoC-TesT as well as the NASBA-OC showed a sensitivity of 96.8% (95% CI: 83.8%-99.4%) on lymph node aspirates and of 96.2% (95% CI: 89.4%-98.7%) on blood from the confirmed VL cases. The sensitivity on bone marrow was 96.9% (95% CI: 89.3%-99.1%) and 95.3% (95% CI: 87.1%-98.4%) for the OligoC-TesT and NASBA-OC, respectively. All confirmed CL and PKDL cases were positive with both tests. On the suspected VL cases, we observed a positive OligoC-TesT and NASBA-OC result in 37.1% (95% CI: 23.2%-53.7%) and 34.3% (95% CI: 20.8%-50.9%) on lymph, in 72.7% (95% CI: 55.8%-84.9%) and 63.6% (95% CI: 46.6%-77.8%) on bone marrow and in 76.9% (95% CI: 49.7%-91.8%) and 69.2% (95% CI: 42.4%-87.3%) on blood. Seven out of 8 CL suspected cases were positive with both tests. The specificity on the healthy endemic controls was 90% (95% CI: 78.6%-95.7%) for the OligoC-TesT and 100% (95% CI: 92.9%-100.0%) for the NASBA-OC test. CONCLUSIONS: Both tests showed high sensitivity on lymph, blood and tissue scrapings for diagnosis of VL, CL and PKDL in Sudan, but the specificity for clinical VL was significantly higher with NASBA-OC.
	PMID: 20689822 [PubMed - in process]

3.	J Vis Exp. 2010 Jul 27;(41). pii: 1980. doi: 10.3791/1980. <em>In vivo</em> Imaging of Transgenic <em>Leishmania</em> Parasites in a Live Host. Thalhofer CJ, Graff JW, Love-Homan L, Hickerson SM, Craft N, Beverley SM, Wilson ME. Interdisciplinary Immunology Program, University of Iowa, and the VA Medical Center. Abstract Distinct species of Leishmania, a protozoan parasite of the family Trypanosomatidae, typically cause different human disease manifestations. The most common forms of disease are visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Mouse models of leishmaniasis are widely used, but quantification of parasite burdens during murine disease requires mice to be euthanized at various times after infection. Parasite loads are then measured either by microscopy, limiting dilution assay, or qPCR amplification of parasite DNA. The in vivo imaging system (IVIS) has an integrated software package that allows the detection of a bioluminescent signal associated with cells in living organisms. Both to minimize animal usage and to follow infection longitudinally in individuals, in vivo models for imaging Leishmania spp. causing VL or CL were established. Parasites were engineered to express luciferase, and these were introduced into mice either intradermally or intravenously. Quantitative measurements of the luciferase driving bioluminescence of the transgenic Leishmania parasites within the mouse were made using IVIS. Individual mice can be imaged multiple times during longitudinal studies, allowing us to assess the inter-animal variation in the initial experimental parasite inocula, and to assess the multiplication of parasites in mouse tissues. Parasites are detected with high sensitivity in cutaneous locations. Although it is very likely that the signal (photons/second/parasite) is lower in deeper visceral organs than the skin, but quantitative comparisons of signals in superficial versus deep sites have not been done. It is possible that parasite numbers between body sites cannot be directly compared, although parasite loads in the same tissues can be compared between mice. Examples of one visceralizing species (L. infantum chagasi) and one species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (L. mexicana) are shown. The IVIS procedure can be used for monitoring and analyzing small animal models of a wide variety of Leishmania species causing the different forms of human leishmaniasis.
	PMID: 20689512 [PubMed - in process]

4.	Parasitol Int. 2010 Aug 2. [Epub ahead of print] Trypanosome alternative oxidase, a potential therapeutic target for sleeping sickness, is conserved among Trypanosoma brucei subspecies. Nakamura K, Fujioka S, Fukumoto S, Inoue N, Sakamoto K, Hirata H, Kido Y, Yabu Y, Suzuki T, Watanabe YI, Saimoto H, Akiyama H, Kita K. Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; National Institute of Health Sciences, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan. Abstract Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense are known causes of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or "sleeping sickness," which is deadly if untreated. We previously reported that a specific inhibitor of trypanosome alternative oxidase (TAO), ascofuranone, quickly kills African trypanosomes in vitro and cures mice infected with another subspecies, non-human infective T. b. brucei, in in vivo trials. As an essential factor for trypanosome survival, TAO is a promising drug target due to the absence of alternative oxidases in the mammalian host. This study found TAO expression in HAT-causing trypanosomes; its amino acid sequence was identical to that in non-human infective T. b. brucei. The biochemical understanding of the TAO including its 3 dimensional structure and inhibitory compounds against TAO could therefore be applied to all three T. brucei subspecies in search of a cure for HAT. Our in vitro study using T. b. rhodesiense confirmed the effectiveness of ascofuranone (IC(50) value: 1 nM) to eliminate trypanosomes in human infective strain cultures. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
	PMID: 20688188 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

5.	Protein Expr Purif. 2010 Aug 2. [Epub ahead of print] Production of soluble, active acetyl serotonin methyl transferase in Leishmania tarentolae. Ben-Abdallah M, Bondet V, Fauchereau F, Béguin P, Goubran-Botros H, Pagan C, Bourgeron T, Bellalou J. Institut Pasteur, Platform 5 Production of Recombinant Proteins and Antibodies, 25-28, rue du Dr. Roux 75724 Paris cedex 15 France. Abstract N-acetyl serotonin methyl transferase (ASMT) is the last enzyme in the melatonin synthesis pathway. Evidence linking autism-related disorders with disorders of melatonin metabolism, and, more specifically, with mutations of the gene encoding ASMT, prompted us to investigate the properties and localization of this enzyme. As a first step, we undertook to overproduce the protein in a recombinant host. Early attempts to produce ASMT in recombinant Escherichia coli yielded only insoluble and heavily degraded material. However, recombinant ASMT (rASMT) could be produced in soluble, active form and purified in milligram amounts when the gene was cloned and expressed in Leishmania tarentolae. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.
	PMID: 20688166 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

6.	Vaccine. 2010 Aug 2. [Epub ahead of print] A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine when used in combination with meglumine antimoniate for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Nascimento E, Fernandes DF, Vieira EP, Campos-Neto A, Ashman JA, Alves FP, Coler RN, Bogatzki LY, Kahn SJ, Beckmann AM, Pine SO, Cowgill KD, Reed SG, Piazza FM. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais e Centro de Ensino e Pesquisa do Hospital Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Ambulatorio de Leishmaniose, Hospital Municipal de Januaria, MG, Brazil. Abstract Forty-four adult patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, controlled, dose-escalating clinical trial and were randomly assigned to receive three injections of either the LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine (consisting of 5, 10, or 20mug recombinant Leishmania polyprotein LEISH-F1 antigen+25mug MPL((R))-SE adjuvant) (n=27), adjuvant alone (n=8), or saline placebo (n=9). The study injections were given subcutaneously on Days 0, 28, and 56, and the patients were followed through Day 336 for safety, immunological, and clinical evolution endpoints. All patients received chemotherapy with meglumine antimoniate starting on Day 0. The vaccine was safe and well tolerated. Nearly all vaccine recipients and no adjuvant-alone or placebo recipients demonstrated an IgG antibody response to LEISH-F1 at Day 84. Also at Day 84, 80% of vaccine recipients were clinically cured, compared to 50% and 38% of adjuvant-alone and placebo recipients. The LEISH-F1+MPL-SE vaccine was safe and immunogenic in CL patients and appeared to shorten their time to cure when used in combination with meglumine antimoniate chemotherapy. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
	PMID: 20688040 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

7.	PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 May 25;4(5):e715. "Piggy-backing" on diagnostic platforms brings hope to neglected diseases: the case of sleeping sickness. Ndung'u JM, Bieler S, Roscigno G. Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland. joseph.ndungu@finddiagnostics.org PMCID: PMC2876120 Free PMC Article
	PMID: 20520801 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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8.	PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 May 25;4(5):e609. Controlling sleeping sickness--"when will they ever learn?". Molyneux D, Ndung'u J, Maudlin I. Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom. David.Molyneux@liv.ac.uk PMCID: PMC2876118 Free PMC Article
	PMID: 20520799 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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9.	PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 May 18;4(5):e688. Chagas cardiomyopathy in the context of the chronic disease transition. Hidron AI, Gilman RH, Justiniano J, Blackstock AJ, Lafuente C, Selum W, Calderon M, Verastegui M, Ferrufino L, Valencia E, Tornheim JA, O'Neal S, Comer R, Galdos-Cardenas G, Bern C; Chagas Disease Working Group in Peru and Bolivia. Collaborators: Quispe S, Hinojosa E, Selum N, de LaFuente E, Bastos M, Maguire J, Cabrera L, Levy M, Rojas T, Pomari R, Valencia E, Chavez E. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients with Chagas disease have migrated to cities, where obesity, hypertension and other cardiac risk factors are common. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study included adult patients evaluated by the cardiology service in a public hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Data included risk factors for T. cruzi infection, medical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and contact 9 months after initial data collection to ascertain mortality. Serology and PCR for Trypanosoma cruzi were performed. Of 394 participants, 251 (64%) had confirmed T. cruzi infection by serology. Among seropositive participants, 109 (43%) had positive results by conventional PCR; of these, 89 (82%) also had positive results by real time PCR. There was a high prevalence of hypertension (64%) and overweight (body mass index [BMI] >25; 67%), with no difference by T. cruzi infection status. Nearly 60% of symptomatic congestive heart failure was attributed to Chagas cardiomyopathy; mortality was also higher for seropositive than seronegative patients (p = 0.05). In multivariable models, longer residence in an endemic province, residence in a rural area and poor housing conditions were associated with T. cruzi infection. Male sex, increasing age and poor housing were independent predictors of Chagas cardiomyopathy severity. Males and participants with BMI </=25 had significantly higher likelihood of positive PCR results compared to females or overweight participants. CONCLUSIONS: Chagas cardiomyopathy remains an important cause of congestive heart failure in this hospital population, and should be evaluated in the context of the epidemiological transition that has increased risk of obesity, hypertension and chronic cardiovascular disease. PMCID: PMC2872643 Free PMC Article
	PMID: 20502520 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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10.	PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 May 18;4(5):e687. Lineage analysis of circulating Trypanosoma cruzi parasites and their association with clinical forms of Chagas disease in Bolivia. del Puerto R, Nishizawa JE, Kikuchi M, Iihoshi N, Roca Y, Avilas C, Gianella A, Lora J, Velarde FU, Renjel LA, Miura S, Higo H, Komiya N, Maemura K, Hirayama K. Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. Abstract BACKGROUND: The causative agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is divided into 6 Discrete Typing Units (DTU): Tc I, IIa, IIb, IIc, IId and IIe. In order to assess the relative pathogenicities of different DTUs, blood samples from three different clinical groups of chronic Chagas disease patients (indeterminate, cardiac, megacolon) from Bolivia were analyzed for their circulating parasites lineages using minicircle kinetoplast DNA polymorphism. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Between 2000 and 2007, patients sent to the Centro Nacional de Enfermedades Tropicales for diagnosis of Chagas from clinics and hospitals in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, were assessed by serology, cardiology and gastro-intestinal examinations. Additionally, patients who underwent colonectomies due to Chagasic magacolon at the Hospital Universitario Japonés were also included. A total of 306 chronic Chagas patients were defined by their clinical types (81 with cardiopathy, 150 without cardiopathy, 100 with megacolon, 144 without megacolon, 164 with cardiopathy or megacolon, 73 indeterminate and 17 cases with both cardiopathy and megacolon). DNA was extracted from 10 ml of peripheral venous blood for PCR analysis. The kinetoplast minicircle DNA (kDNA) was amplified from 196 out of 306 samples (64.1%), of which 104 (53.3%) were Tc IId, 4 (2.0%) Tc I, 7 (3.6%) Tc IIb, 1 (0.5%) Tc IIe, 26 (13.3%) Tc I/IId, 1 (0.5%) Tc I/IIb/IId, 2 (1.0%) Tc IIb/d and 51 (25.9%) were unidentified. Of the 133 Tc IId samples, three different kDNA hypervariable region patterns were detected; Mn (49.6%), TPK like (48.9%) and Bug-like (1.5%). There was no significant association between Tc types and clinical manifestations of disease. CONCLUSIONS: None of the identified lineages or sublineages was significantly associated with any particular clinical manifestations in the chronic Chagas patients in Bolivia. PMCID: PMC2872639 Free PMC Article
	PMID: 20502516 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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