This message contains My NCBI what's new results from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).
Do not reply directly to this message.
Sender's message:
Sent on Wednesday, 2010 Sep 29Search kinetoplastids OR kinetoplastid OR Kinetoplastida OR "trypanosoma brucei" OR leishmania OR brucei OR leishmaniasis OR "African trypanosomiasis"
Click here to view complete results in PubMed. (Results may change over time.)
To unsubscribe from these e-mail updates click here.
| PubMed Results |
| 1. | J Clin Lab Anal. 2010 00;24(5):289-294.Immunoenzymatic assay for the diagnosis of American tegumentary leishmaniasis using soluble and membrane-enriched fractions from infectious Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis.Cataldo JI, de Queiroz Mello FC, Mouta-Confort E, de Fátima Madeira M, de Oliveira Schubach A, da Silva Genestra M, Ribeiro FC, de Fátima Moreira-Venâncio C, Passos SR.Laboratório de Vigilância em Leishmanioses, Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AbstractThe diagnosis of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is based on the visualization or isolation of the parasite, which is a time-consuming and poorly sensitive method. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy and reliability of ELISA for the diagnosis of ATL using soluble (SF) and membrane-enriched (MF) antigen fractions obtained from an infectious strain of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. A total of 152 serum samples investigated at a referral center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2005 and 2007 were studied. Each sample was tested twice with each fraction for the calculation of reliability (intraclass coefficient (ICC)). Cut-off values of 0.22 (SF) and 0.33 (MF) were defined. The use of the fractions resulted in good discrimination between patients, with a large area under the curve (P<0.0001), but no difference was observed between the two fractions (P=0.45). Sensitivity was 89.5% for each fraction, specificity was 89.5% for SF and 93.4% for MF, and the positive likelihood ratio was 8.5 for SF and 13.6 for MF. The ICCs were excellent (SF: 0.96 and MF: 0.90). The antigens tested provided precision and accuracy for the diagnosis of ATL, with SF being recommended due to its lower cost and greater practicality. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:289-294, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
| PMID: 20872561 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 2. | Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2010 Sep 23. [Epub ahead of print]Drug combinations for visceral leishmaniasis.Olliaro PL.aUNICEF/UNPD/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), Geneva, Switzerland bThe Centre for Tropical Medicine, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Vaccinology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK. AbstractPURPOSE OF REVIEW: Several attempts have been made to combine drugs for treating visceral leishmaniasis, but only recently have effective drugs become available and combinations been tested systematically. RECENT FINDINGS: Sequential treatments with liposomal amphotericin B followed by miltefosine or paromomycin (as short as 7 days), as well as the concomitant administration of miltefosine and paromomycin (for 10 days) are very effective in India (>95%). Sodium stibogluconate plus paromomycin for 17 days is more than 90% effective in East Africa. The shortened combination regimens are cost-effective in India. No combination has been tested so far in Brazil, Nepal and Bangladesh, although studies may be expected in the near future. No cost-effectiveness analysis has been done as yet outside India. SUMMARY: There is evidence of high efficacy and benefits with sequential and co-administration treatments in India. More studies are needed in other endemic areas. Introducing combinations and scaling up their use will be challenging. Experience acquired with malaria may be useful. Proper monitoring of use and effects (efficacy and safety) will be required. Currently there are no options for fixed-dose combination treatments for leishmaniasis. |
| PMID: 20871400 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 3. | Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Sep 24. [Epub ahead of print]Rats as indicators of the presence and dispersal of six zoonotic microbial agents in Cyprus, an island ecosystem: a seroepidemiological study.Psaroulaki A, Antoniou M, Toumazos P, Mazeris A, Ioannou I, Chochlakis D, Christophi N, Loukaides P, Patsias A, Moschandrea I, Tselentis Y.Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, P.O. Box 1393, Heraklion, Crete 71409, Greece. AbstractA total of 622 rats (402 Rattus norvegicus and 220 R. rattus frugivorus) were collected in 51 different areas in Cyprus during 2000-2003 and used as indicators of the presence and dispersal of six zoonotic microbial agents. IgG antibodies against Rickettsia typhi (241/496, 48.6%), R. conorii (209/500, 41.8%), Toxoplasma sp. (138/494, 27.9%), Coxiella burnetti (63/494, 12.8%), Bartonella henselae (52/494, 10.5%) and Leishmania infantum (36/494, 7.3%) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence test. There was variation in the association between the seropositivity of the six microbial agents and other factors. Rat species affected R. typhi and R. conorii seropositivity, the prefecture where the rats were caught affected R. typhi, C. burnetii, B. henselae, T. gondii and L. infantum, the sampling season impacted on R. typhi, R. conorii, T. gondii and L. infantum, and the flea species affected R. typhi, R. conorii and B. henselae. These results were analysed using geographical information system (GIS) technology and the seropositivity in rats against the pathogens tested appeared to follow the occurrence of these pathogens in humans. This suggests that rats could be used as disease sentinels and, together with GIS technology, they could be a useful tool for the identification of endemic foci and high-risk areas for each pathogen. |
| PMID: 20870259 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 4. | Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Sep 24. [Epub ahead of print]Safety and effectiveness of meglumine antimoniate in the treatment of Ethiopian visceral leishmaniasis patients with and without HIV co-infection.Hailu W, Weldegebreal T, Hurissa Z, Tafes H, Omollo R, Yifru S, Balasegaram M, Hailu A.Gondar University Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia. AbstractIn sub-Saharan Africa, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is treated with either Pentostam(TM) (sodium antimony gluconate) or generic sodium stibogluconate (SSG), except in Uganda where Glucantime(®) (meglumine antimoniate) has been in use for at least a decade. Between January 2008 and February 2009, 54 Ethiopian VL patients were treated with Glucantime. The medical charts of these patients were reviewed to assess the effectiveness and safety profile of Glucantime in a routine healthcare setting. None of the patients from south Ethiopia (n=24) and 46.4% of the patients from north Ethiopia (n=30) were HIV co-infected. At completion of treatment (Day 31), cure rates were 78.6% (95% CI 59.0-91.7%) in north Ethiopia and 100% (95% CI 85.8-100%) in south Ethiopia. Thirty-three non-serious and six serious adverse events (two pancreatitis, one renal failure and three deaths) were observed in 26 patients. One-third of the non-serious adverse events were due to biochemical pancreatitis. During treatment, a case-fatality rate of 10.0% in north Ethiopia and 0.0% in south Ethiopia was noted. These data show that Glucantime can be as effective as Pentostam or SSG in HIV-negative patients. The data also point to clinical pancreatitis as a safety concern, especially in patients with HIV co-infection. |
| PMID: 20870258 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 5. | Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2010 Sep 23. [Epub ahead of print]Remodeling of protein and mRNA expression in Leishmania mexicana induced by deletion of glucose transporter genes.Feng X, Feistel T, Buffalo C, McCormack A, Kruvand E, Rodriguez-Contreras D, Akopyants NS, Umasankar PK, David L, Jardim A, Beverley SM, Landfear SM.Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA. AbstractGlucose is a major nutrient in the insect vector stage of Leishmania parasites. Glucose transporter null mutants of L. mexicana exhibit profound phenotypic changes in both insect stage promastigotes and mammalian host stage amastigotes that reside within phagolysosomes of host macrophages. Some of these phenotypic changes could be either mediated or attenuated by changes in gene expression that accompany deletion of the glucose transporter genes. To search for changes in protein expression, the profile of proteins detected on two-dimensional gels was compared for wild type and glucose transporter null mutant promastigotes. A total of 50 spots whose intensities changed significantly and consistently in multiple experiments were detected, suggesting that a cohort of proteins is altered in expression levels in the null mutant parasites. Following identification of proteins by mass spectrometry, 3 such regulated proteins were chosen for more detailed analysis: mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase, ribokinase, and hexokinase. Immunoblots employing antisera against these enzymes confirmed that their levels were upregulated, both in glucose transporter null mutants and in wild type parasites starved for glucose. Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that the levels of mRNAs encoding these enzymes were also enhanced. Global expression profiling using microarrays revealed a limited number of additional changes, although the sensitivity of the microarrays to detect modest changes in amplitude was less than that of two-dimensional gels. Hence, there is likely to be a network of proteins whose expression levels are altered by genetic ablation of glucose transporters, and much of this regulation may be reflected by changes in the levels of the cognate mRNAs. Some of these changes in protein expression may reflect an adaptive response of the parasites to limitation of glucose. |
| PMID: 20869991 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 6. | Vet Parasitol. 2010 Sep 23. [Epub ahead of print]Feline Leishmania infection in a canine leishmaniasis endemic regio n, Portugal.Maia C, Gomes J, Cristóvão J, Nunes M, Martins A, Rebêlo E, Campino L.Unidade de Leishmanioses, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; Centro Malaria e Doenças Tropicais/IHMT/UNL, Portugal. AbstractCanine leishmaniasis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a serious zoonotic public health and veterinary problem in the Mediterranean basin. Leishmania infection in domestic cats (Felis catus domesticus) has been reported in several countries where this zoonosis is endemic, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Israel, Palestine and Brazil. The aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the role played by cats in Leishmania epidemiology, in an endemic focus of zoonotic leishmaniasis, the Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. L. infantum DNA was detected in peripheral blood of 28 out of 138 cats (20.3%). The result of PCR in blood of cats was not closely associated with the level of specific circulating antibodies in their sera. Positive serology was observed only in one cat out of 76. In the same geographic region and time period the indirect immunofluorescent test revealed 20.4% (31/152) of dogs with antibodies and PCR detected Leismania DNA on 34.9% (53/152) animals. Despite the fact that specific antibodies have been validated for diagnosis of CanL, their detection does not seem to be sensitive enough to predict Leishmania infection in cats. On the other hand, the presence of parasite DNA in cat's peripheral blood during the transmission season and out of the season suggests that these animals living in endemic areas are frequently exposed or infected with the parasite. Although dogs have been universally regarded as the major domestic/peridomestic reservoir hosts, the present data allow us to hypothesize that cats can act as an alternative reservoir host of L. infantum, rather than an accidental host. However, in order to evaluate the existence of a transmission cycle with cats sustaining and spreading zoonotic leishmaniasis is necessary to prove that these animals can transmit the parasite to the vector in nature. |
| PMID: 20869810 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 7. | Methods Cell Biol. 2010;96:175-96.Ultrastructural Investigation Methods for Trypanosoma brucei.Höög JL, Gluenz E, Vaughan S, Gull K.Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; The Boulder Laboratory for 3D Electron Microscopy of Cells, Department of MCD Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309. AbstractTrypanosoma brucei is a unicellular parasite causing African sleeping sickness in cattle and humans. Due to the ease with which these cells can be cultured and genetically manipulated, it has emerged as a model organism for the kinetoplastids.In this chapter we describe the preparation of T. brucei for transmission electron microscopy. A thorough explanation of conventional sample preparation through chemical fixation of whole cells and detergent extracted cytoskeletons followed by dehydration and Epon embedding is given. We also introduce a novel high-pressure freezing protocol, which followed by rapid freeze substitution and HM20 embedding generates T. brucei samples displaying good cell morphology, which are suitable for immunocytochemistry. |
| PMID: 20869523 [PubMed - in process] | |
| Related citations | |
| 8. | Prev Vet Med. 2010 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print]Association between the prevalence of infestation by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis felis and the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies: A case-control study in dogs from a Brazilian endemic area.Paz GF, Ribeiro MF, de Magalhães DF, Sathler KP, Morais MH, Fiúza VO, Brandão ST, Werneck GL, Fortes-Dias CL, Dias ES.Laboratório de Leishmanioses, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, 30190-002 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. AbstractThe association between the prevalence of infestation by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis felis and the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies has been evaluated in dogs located in a city of Brazil endemic for canine visceral leishmaniasis. Blood samples from 5556 domestic dogs domiciliated in the urban area of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state) were submitted to enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFAT) assays, and 432 (7.8%) animals tested positive. Seropositive (n=200) and seronegative (n=200) dogs were randomly selected and examined for the presence of ticks and fleas, the results of which were expressed qualitatively as infested or non-infested, irrespective of the intensity of infestation. The prevalence of infestation by R. sanguineus was significantly greater (ρ=0.04) among seropositive dogs (38.5%) compared with their seronegative counterparts (29.0%). Similarly, the prevalence of infestation by C. felis felis was significantly greater (ρ<0.01) within the seropositive group (36.5%) than within the seronegative group (15.0%). Moreover, the probability of seropositivity for Leishmania was 53% higher in tick-infested dogs and 300% higher in flea-infested dogs in comparison with non-infested animals. Our data provide evidence of the vectorial capacity of these ectoparasites in transmitting Leishmania to the canine population, although further studies are needed to confirm or reject this hypothesis. |
| PMID: 20869131 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 9. | Microbes Infect. 2010 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print]Canine visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in Senegal: risk of emergence in humans?Faye B, Bañuls AL, Bucheton B, Dione MM, Bassanganam O, Hide M, Dereure Choisy JM, Ndiaye JL, Konaté O, Claire M, Senghor MW, Faye MN, Sy I, Niang AA, Molez JF, Victoir K, Marty P, Delaunay P, Knecht R, Mellul S, Diedhiou S, Gaye O.Service de Parasitologie, Mycologie, Faculté de Médecine et Pharmacie, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar. BP: 5005 Dakar Fann. AbstractIn the context of global warming and the risk of spreading arthropod-borne diseases, the emergence and reemergence of leishmaniasis should not be neglected. In Senegal, over the past few years, cases of canine leishmaniasis have been observed. We aim to improve the understanding of the transmission cycle of this zoonosis, to determine the responsible species and to evaluate the risk for human health. An epidemiological and serological study on canine and human populations in the community of Mont Rolland (Thiès area) was conducted. The data showed a high seroprevalence of canine leishmaniasis (> 40%) and more than 30% seropositive people. The dogs' seroprevalence was confirmed by PCR data (concordance > 0.85, Kappa > 0.7). The statistical analysis showed strong statistical associations between the health status of dogs and seropositivity, the number of positive PCRs, clinical signs and the number of Leishmania isolates. For the first time, the discriminative PCRs performed on canine Leishmania strains clearly evidenced that the pathogenic agent is Leishmania infantum. The results obtained show that transmission of this species is well established in this area. That the high incidence of seropositivity in humans may be a consequence of infection with this species is discussed. |
| PMID: 20868766 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] | |
| Related citations | |
| 10. | Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Sep;83(3):519-22.Infectivity, pathogenicity, and virulence of Trypanosoma cruzi Isolates from sylvatic animals and vectors, and domestic dogs from the United States in ICR strain mice and SD strain rats.Roellig DM, Yabsley MJ.Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, and D. B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA. droellig@uga.edu AbstractTrypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is widespread in the southern United States. In addition to detection in numerous wildlife host species, cases have been diagnosed in domestic dogs and humans. In the current investigation, groups of laboratory mice [Crl:CD1 (ICR)] were inoculated with one of 18 United States T. cruzi isolates obtained from a wide host range to elucidate their infectivity, pathogenicity, and virulence. In addition, laboratory rats (SD strain) were inoculated with four isolates. Mice and rats were susceptible to infection with all strains, but no morbidity or mortality was noted, which indicates that these T. cruzi isolates from the United States had low virulence for laboratory mice and rats. |
| PMID: 20810814 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] | |
| Related citations | |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment