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Sent on Wednesday, 2011 Jun 29Search kinetoplastids OR kinetoplastid OR Kinetoplastida OR "trypanosoma brucei" OR leishmania OR brucei OR leishmaniasis OR "African trypanosomiasis"
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| PubMed Results |
| 1. | Parasitol Res. 2011 Jun 28. [Epub ahead of print]Performance of rK39 immunochromatography and freeze-dried direct agglutination tests in the diagnosis of imported visceral leishmaniasis.El-Moamly A, El-Sweify M, Hafeez M.SourceDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine,, Suez Canal University, Ismaïlia, Egypt, dramal8@hotmail.com. AbstractVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the neglected tropical diseases that require a global policy for integrated control programs. The disease is fatal if untreated, affects ∼500,000 persons/year, and is most prevalent in poor countries. Treatment is expensive and carries a risk of toxicity. Therefore, sensitive and specific diagnosis of VL is crucial to avoid under- or overdiagnosis. Selecting an appropriate serological diagnostic test is an issue of controversy and depends on geographic location. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of two serological techniques: recombinant antigen K39 (rK39)-immunochromatographic (IC) lateral flow assay (InBios, USA) that uses a recombinant Leishmania antigen K39 and the specific IgG detection by direct agglutination test (DAT, for the diagnosis of imported VL in non-endemic region (Saudi Arabia). The diagnostic accuracy of the two assays was assessed using bone marrow aspiration, direct microscopic examination, and culture on NNN agar as the "gold standard". The bone marrow specimens from Indian, Sudanese, and Bengali patients (n = 98) with suspected VL features were cultured. Thirty-five specimens were positive (36%). The sensitivity and specificity of rK39-IC test were 89% (95% CI 78-99) and 92% (95% CI 85-99), respectively. DAT (with cutoff ≥1:1,600) showed comparable results (sensitivity 94%; 95% CI 87-101 and specificity 95%; 95% CI 90-100). To conclude, the performance of rK39-IC test and DAT is comparable. Both tests are moderately sensitive and specific and could be used to facilitate the global drive to eliminate this disease. The rK39-IC test is a rapid, easy-to-perform test and can be used as a point-of-care diagnostic method. |
| 2. | Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print]Evaluation of rk39 immunochromatographic test with urine for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.Chakravarty J, Kumar S, Kumar R, Gautam S, Rai M, Sundar S.SourceDepartment of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, U.P., India. AbstractThis study evaluates commercially available rK39 immunochromatographic strips using urine for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Freshly collected urine and serum samples of 280 parasitologically confirmed VL patients and 66 endemic healthy controls (EHC), 48 nonendemic healthy controls (NEHC) and 45 different diseases were tested with rK39 strips. The sensitivity of rK39 in urine was 96.4% while the specificity was low varying from 66.7% in EHC, 77.08% in NEHC to 62.2% in different diseases. With serum, sensitivity was 100% whereas the specificity was 100%, 92.4% and 95.55% for the respective control groups. In the present format, the immunochromatographic strips cannot be used for the diagnosis of VL using urine samples. Copyright © 2011 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| 3. | J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Jun 17. [Epub ahead of print]Encecalol angelate, an unstable chromene from Ageratum conyzoides L.: Total synthesis and investigation of its antiprotozoal activity.Harel D, Khalid SA, Kaiser M, Brun R, Wünsch B, Schmidt TJ.SourceInstitut für Pharmazeutische und Medizinische Chemie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany. AbstractIn agreement with ethnomedicinal reports, the dichloromethane extract of Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae) was recently shown to be of considerable activity against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, the etiological agent of East African Human Trypanosomiasis (East African Sleeping Sickness). Isolated compounds, namely, methoxylated flavonoids as well as the chromene derivative encecalol methyl ether, were less active than the crude extract. The activity of the extract was found to decrease considerably while stored in solution. An unstable compound was detected in the fresh extract by HPLC, which was converted rapidly into the encecalol methyl ether while stored in methanolic solution. This compound, deemed to represent a constituent with antitrypanosomal activity, could not be isolated from the extract in intact form. Its mass spectrum and NMR data of the degraded product indicated its chemical identity as encecalol angelate (1) which was eventually confirmed by its total synthesis via a linear six steps synthesis with an overall yield of 15%. This new practical approach also provides access to the related chromenes encecalin (7) and encecalol (8) with improved yields compared with reported methods. The synthesized encecalol angelate was chromatographically and spectroscopically identical with the natural product. The compound degraded in methanol with a half-life of approximately 6h to yield encecalol methyl ether (2). The antiprotozoal activity of synthetic encecalol angelate against T. brucei rhodesiense as well as T. cruzi, Leishmania donovani and Plasmodium falciparum was investigated and found to be quite low so that it is most likely not responsible for the high antitrypanosomal activity of the freshly prepared plant extract. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. |
| 4. | FEBS Lett. 2011 Jun 24. [Epub ahead of print]Identification of substrates of an S-phase cell cycle kinase from Leishmania donovani.Maity AK, Goswami A, Saha P.SourceCrystallography and Molecular Biology Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Sector I, Block AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064, India. AbstractDespite the importance of cyclin-Cdk related kinases (CRK) in regulation of cell and life cycle of kinetoplastida parasites, only limited knowledge about their substrates are presently available. Here, the potential substrates were searched for an S-phase LdCyc1-CRK3 complex from Leishmania donovani based on the presence of Cdk target phosphorylation site together with the cyclin interacting Cy-motif in genome-derived putative protein sequences. Three substrates could be identified with one of them being a unique protein with no known homologues. Another identified substrate is similar to MYST family of histone acetyl transferase and the third one contains Ku-70 related conserved domains. All the substrates interact directly with LdCyc1 and are phosphorylated in a Cy-motif dependent manner suggesting the importance of Cy-motif for their functions. STRUCTURED SUMMARY OF PROTEIN INTERACTIONS: LdCyc1physically interacts with Ld14.0140L by pull down(View interaction). LdCyc1physically interacts with Ld28.0070L by pull down(View interaction). LdCyc1physically interacts with Ld29.1050L by pull down(View interaction). Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. |
| 5. | Future Microbiol. 2011 Jun;6:677-91.Development of novel drugs for human African trypanosomiasis.Brun R, Don R, Jacobs RT, Wang MZ, Barrett MP.SourceDrugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, Geneva, Switzerland. AbstractHuman African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or 'sleeping sickness' is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Novel models for funding pharmaceutical development against HAT are beginning to yield results. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) rediscovered a nitroimidazole, fexinidazole, which is currently in Phase I clinical trials. Novel benzoxaboroles, discovered by Anacor, Scynexis and DNDi, have good pharmacokinetic properties in plasma and in the brain and are curative in a murine model of stage two HAT with brain infection. The Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development (CPDD) has identified a series of dicationic compounds that can cure a monkey model of stage two HAT. With other screening programs yielding hits, the pipeline for new HAT drugs might finally begin to fill. |
| 6. | Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2011 May;42(3):502-8.Glucantime efficacy in the treatment of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis.Pourmohammadi B, Motazedian MH, Handjani F, Hatam GH, Habibi S, Sarkari B.SourceDepartment of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. AbstractPentavalent antimony (SbV) compounds are still considered the first line of treatment for all forms of leishmaniasis. There have been reports of drug resistance and unresponsiveness to treatment with these drugs. We investigated the clinical response to treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with glucantime, the drug of choice for all forms of leishmaniasis in Iran. All individuals suspected of cutaneous leishmaniasis from October 2007 to March 2008 were included in the study if met specific criteria. After laboratory diagnosis and parasite identification by PCR, 43 patients agreed to participate and complete the protocol for treatment. Meglumine antimoniate (glucantime) was given at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day for 20 days (two 10-day periods) according to a World Health Organization (WHO) recommended protocol. Response to treatment was evaluated 6 weeks after initiation of treatment. Fifteen patients (34.9%) were clinically unresponsive to glucantime treatment while the remaining 28 patients (65.1%) responded to treatment. There were no statistically significant differences by occupation, gender, chronicity of the disease before starting treatment, number of lesions, or age between the glucantime sensitive and resistant patients. Our study showed a significant level of unresponsiveness to glucantime among patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in Iran. These findings highlight the need for new treatment regimens. |
| 7. | IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2011 Mar;58(3):814-7.A highly sensitive rapid diagnostic test for Chagas disease that utilizes a recombinant Trypanosoma cruzi antigen.Barfield CA, Barney RS, Crudder CH, Wilmoth JL, Stevens DS, Mora-Garcia S, Yanovsky MJ, Weigl BH, Yanovsky J.SourcePATH, Seattle, WA 98121, USA. cbarfield@path.org AbstractImproved diagnostic tests for Chagas disease are urgently needed. A new lateral flow rapid test for Chagas disease is under development at PATH, in collaboration with Laboratorio Lemos of Argentina, which utilizes a recombinant antigen for detection of antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi. To evaluate the performance of this test, 375 earlier characterized serum specimens from a region where Chagas is endemic were tested using a reference test (the Ortho T. cruzi ELISA, Johnson & Johnson), a commercially available rapid test (Chagas STAT-PAK, Chembio), and the PATH-Lemos rapid test. Compared to the composite reference tests, the PATH-Lemos rapid test demonstrated an optimal sensitivity of 99.5% and specificity of 96.8%, while the Chagas STAT-PAK demonstrated a sensitivity of 95.3% and specificity of 99.5%. These results indicate that the PATH-Lemos rapid test shows promise as an improved and reliable tool for screening and diagnosis of Chagas disease. |
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