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Sent on Friday, 2011 Sep 16Search kinetoplastids OR kinetoplastid OR Kinetoplastida OR "trypanosoma brucei" OR leishmania OR brucei OR leishmaniasis OR "African trypanosomiasis"
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| PubMed Results |
| 1. | Vet Parasitol. 2011 Aug 22. [Epub ahead of print]Qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of Leishmania in spleen samples from naturally infected dogs.Solcà MD, Guedes CE, Nascimento EG, Oliveira GG, Santos WL, Fraga DB, Veras PS.SourceLaboratório de Patologia e Biointervenção, Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz - FIOCRUZ - Rua Waldemar Falcão 121, Candeal, 40296-710 Salvador, BA, Brazil. AbstractBecause infected dogs are widely considered to be the main domestic reservoir for Leishmania infantum (syn Leishmania chagasi) parasites in Brazil, the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) must be made both accurately and promptly. The present study attempted to standardize a conventional polymerase chain reaction (cPCR) protocol for the detection of L. infantum DNA in canine spleen samples. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) technique was used to confirm the presence of Leishmania DNA in the canine spleen fragments. A comparison was made between the efficacies of these molecular diagnostic techniques and conventional parasitological and serological methods. cPCR protocols for spleen samples were standardized using primers that amplify a 145bp fragment, located at the parasite kinetoplast minicircle. The genus specificity of the cPCR protocol was assessed by its inability to amplify the DNA of other common canine pathogens, such as Ehrlichia canis, Babesia canis, Toxoplasma gondii and Trypanosoma cruzi. cPCR protocol sensitivity was tested by assessing the reaction detection limit, determined to be 10fg of L. infantum reference strain DNA, which corresponds to a range of 0.03-0.1 parasites per fragment. Standardized cPCR protocol was used to detect the presence of Leishmania in 45 dog spleen samples. Our results showed that 40% of the spleen fragment cultures were positive for Leishmania parasites, 58% of the dog serum samples tested positive using ELISA, and parasite DNA was detected in 44% using qPCR, while 47% of the spleen samples using cPCR. Diagnostic methods performance was assessed and revealed a better degree of ascertainment for cPCR when compared to other diagnostic methods. The sensitivity of ELISA was 83.3%, qPCR was 83.3%, and cPCR was 88.9%; PPV for ELISA was 57.7%, qPCR was 75% and cPCR was 76.2%; the Kappa coefficients were found to be 0.40 (fair) for ELISA, 0.64 (substantial) for qPCR and 0.68 (substantial) for cPCR. In both oligosymptomatic and polysymptomatic dogs, cPCR revealed the better performance analysis when compared to other diagnostic methods. The findings presented herein establish cPCR as the most indicated test to detect Leishmania when compared to the other two diagnostic methods evaluated. Despite the fact that the qPCR protocol provides a highly accurate quantification of parasites when targeting the SSU rRNA gene, this technique does not significantly improve the diagnosis of CVL when compared with the performance of the cPCR protocol, which focused on the kinetoplast minicircle. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. |
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| 2. | Scand J Immunol. 2011 Sep 14. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2011.02619.x. [Epub ahead of print]Contribution of Innate Immune Responses Towards Resistance to African Trypanosome Infections.Namangala B.SourceThe University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Paraclinical Studies, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia. AbstractDuring the course of African trypanosomiasis, an intact monocytic cell system appears to be crucial for the initiation and maintenance of anti-trypanosome responses and could be critical for the survival of trypanosome-infected host. Monocytic cells in turn require support from other components of the innate immunity as well as adaptive immunity for effective and sustained control of trypanosome infections. In this review, the contribution of specific components of the innate immune system towards resistance to African trypanosomes is discussed in the context of host survival and the ideas presented are expected to stimulate more debate and research on host innate mechanisms of defense against African trypanosomiasis. Copyright © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
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| 3. | Parasitol Res. 2011 Sep 14. [Epub ahead of print]Evaluation of parasitological and immunological parameters of Leishmania chagasi infection in BALB/c mice using different doses and routes of inoculation of parasites.Oliveira DM, Costa MA, Chavez-Fumagalli MA, Valadares DG, Duarte MC, Costa LE, Martins VT, Gomes RF, Melo MN, Soto M, Tavares CA, Coelho EA.SourcePrograma de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31.270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. AbstractExperimental vaccines to protect against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been developed by using BALB/c mice infected with a large (10(7) to 10(8)) inoculum of parasites. Remarkably, prior literature has reported that the poor protection observed is mainly due to the high susceptibility of this strain. To determine factors inherent to mice that might abrogate vaccine-induced efficacy, the present research sought to investigate the impact of the administration of different infective inoculums of Leishmania chagasi (syn. L. infantum) in BALB/c mice, evaluating subcutaneous and intravenous routes of administration as well as parasitological and immunological parameters over different periods of time. This study shows that the injection of a highly infective inoculum in mice, through both subcutaneous and intravenous routes, results in a sustained infection. The mice developed a high parasite load in the liver; however, these values diminished over time. This result did not corroborate with the parasite load in the bone marrow and brain and proved to be expressively different in the spleen and draining lymph nodes, where the values increased over time. Mice infected with a low dose of parasites (10(3)) showed a certain resistance against infection, based mainly on the IFN-γ and oxide nitric production. Considering all the elements, it could be concluded that the models employing high doses (10(7)) of L. chagasi in BALB/c mice can bring about an imbalance in the animals' immune response, thus allowing for the development of the disease at the expense of efficacy within the vaccine candidates. |
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| 4. | Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2011 Aug;53(4):235-8.In vitro activity of the clinical pulmonary surfactant Surfacen® against Leishmania amazonens is.Blanco O, Lugones Y, Díaz E, Monzote L.SourceGrupo de Química-Farmacología-Toxicología, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria, Mayabeque, Cuba. AbstractSurfacen® is an exogenous natural lung surfactant, composed by phospholipids and hydrophobic proteins, which is applied successfully in Newborn Respiratory Distress Syndrome. In this paper, in vitro activity of Surfacen® against Leishmania amazonensis is described. The product showed activity against the amastigote form found in peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice, with an IC50 value of 17.9 ± 3.0 µg/mL; while no toxic effect on host cell was observed up to 200 µg/mL. This is the first report about the antileishmanial activity of Surfacen®. |
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| 5. | Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2011 Aug;53(4):227-9.First occurrence of an autochthonous canine case of Leishma nia (Leishmania) infantum chagasi in the municipality of Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil.Savani ES, Presotto D, Roberto T, Camargo MC, D'auria SR, Sacramento DV.SourceCentro de Controle de Zoonoses do Município de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. AbstractAn autochthonous case of visceral leishmaniasis is reported in a dog (Canis familiaris) as an apparently natural infection in a non-endemic area. DNA obtained from spleen and liver samples produced the expected fragment in a Leishmania-specific rDNA-based nested-PCR assay. The PCR product, a 490 bp fragment, was sequenced and the nucleotide sequence was identical to that of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi. These results are surprising since no autochthonous human or canine cases of visceral leishmaniasis have ever been reported in this municipality. This case suggests that natural transmission of this disease is occurring in this area. |
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| 6. | J Trop Med. 2011;2011:248914. Epub 2011 Sep 11.Prevalence and types of coinfections in sleeping sickness pat ients in kenya (2000/2009).Kagira JM, Maina N, Njenga J, Karanja SM, Karori SM, Ngotho JM.SourceDepartment of Tropical Infectious Diseases, Institute of Primate Research, P.O. Box 24481, Nairobi 00502, Kenya. AbstractThe occurrence of coinfections in human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) patients was investigated using a retrospective data of hospital records at the National Sleeping Sickness Referral Hospital in Alupe, Kenya. A total of 31 patients, 19 males and 12 females, were diagnosed with HAT between the years 2000 and 2009. The observed co-infections included malaria (100%), helminthosis (64.5%), typhoid (22.5%), urinary tract infections (16.1%), HIV (12.9%), and tuberculosis (3.2%). The species of helminthes observed included Ancylostoma duodenale (38.7%), Ascaris lumbricoides (45.7%), Strongyloides stercoralis (9.7%), and Taenia spp. (3.2%). The patients were also infected with Entamoeba spp. (32.3%) and Trichomonas hominis (22.6%) protozoan parasites. The main clinical signs observed at the point of admission included headache (74.2%), fever (48.4%), sleep disorders (45.2%), and general body pain (41.9%). The HAT patients were treated with suramin (early stage, 9/31) and melarsoprol (late stage, 22/31). In conclusion, the study has shown that HAT patients have multiple co-infections which may influence the disease pathogenesis and complicate management of HAT. |
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| 7. | Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2011 Aug;4(8):604-9.Phenology and population dynamics of sand flies in a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Azarbaijan Province, North western of Iran.Hazratian T, Rassi Y, Oshaghi MA, Yaghoobi-Ershadi MR, Fallah E, Shirzadi MR, Rafizadeh S.SourceDepartment of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. AbstractOBJECTIVE:To investigate species composition, density, accumulated degree-day and diversity of sand flies during April to October 2010 in Azarshahr district, a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in north western Iran. METHODS:Sand flies were collected using sticky traps biweekly and were stored in 96% ethanol. All specimens were mounted in Puri's medium for species identification using valid keys of sandflies. The density was calculated by the formula: number of specimens/m(2) of sticky traps and number of specimens/number of traps. Degree-day was calculated as follows: (Maximum temperature + Minimum temperature)/2-Minimum threshold. Diversity indices of the collected sand flies within different villages were estimated by the Shannon-weaver formula ( H'=∑i=1sPilog(e)Pi). RESULTS:Totally 5 557 specimens comprising 16 Species (14 Phlebotomus, and 2 Sergentomyia) were indentified. The activity of the species extended from April to October. Common sand-flies in resting places were Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus sergenti and Phlebotomus mongolensis. The monthly average density was 37.6, 41.1, 40.23, 30.38 and 30.67 for Almalodash, Jaragil, Segaiesh, Amirdizaj and Germezgol villages, respectively. Accumulated degree-day from early January to late May was approximately 289 degree days. The minimum threshold temperature for calculating of accumulated degree-day was 17.32°. According on the Shannon-weaver (H'), diversity of sand flies within area study were estimated as 0.917, 1.867, 1.339, 1.673, and 1.562 in Almalodash, Jaragil, Segaiesh, Amirdizaj and Germezgol villages, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:This study is the first detailed research in terms of species composition, density, accumulated degree-day and diversity of sand flies in an endemic focus of visceral leishamaniasis in Azarshahr district. The population dynamics of sand flies in Azarshahr district were greatly affected by climatic factors. According to this study the highest activity of the collected sand fly species occurs at the teritary week of August. It could help health authorities to predicate period of maximum risk of visceral leishamaniasis transmission and implement control program. Copyright © 2011 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
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| 8. | Parasitology. 2011 Sep 14:1-14. [Epub ahead of print]Predicting the distribution of canine leishmaniasis in western Europe based on e nvironmental variables.Franco AO, Davies CR, Mylne A, Dedet JP, Gállego M, Ballart C, Gramiccia M, Gradoni L, Molina R, Gálvez R, Morillas-Márquez F, Barón-López S, Pires CA, Afonso MO, Ready PD, Cox J.SourceFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. AbstractSUMMARYThe domestic dog is the reservoir host of Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis endemic in Mediterranean Europe. Targeted control requires predictive risk maps of canine leishmaniasis (CanL), which are now explored. We databased 2187 published and unpublished surveys of CanL in southern Europe. A total of 947 western surveys met inclusion criteria for analysis, including serological identification of infection (504, 369 dogs tested 1971-2006). Seroprevalence was 23·2% overall (median 10%). Logistic regression models within a GIS framework identified the main environmental predictors of CanL seroprevalence in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, or in France alone. A 10-fold cross-validation approach determined model capacity to predict point-values of seroprevalence and the correct seroprevalence class (<5%, 5-20%, >20%). Both the four-country and France-only models performed reasonably well for predicting correctly the <5% and >20% seroprevalence classes (AUC >0·70). However, the France-only model performed much better for France than the four-country model. The four-country model adequately predicted regions of CanL emergence in northern Italy (<5% seroprevalence). Both models poorly predicted intermediate point seroprevalences (5-20%) within regional foci, because surveys were biased towards known rural foci and Mediterranean bioclimates. Our recommendations for standardizing surveys would permit higher-resolution risk mapping. |
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| 9. | ChemMedChem. 2011 Sep 13. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201100344. [Epub ahead of print]Identification of Inhibitors of the Leishmania cdc-Related Protein Kinase CRK3.Cleghorn LA, Woodland A, Collie IT, Torrie LS, Norcross N, Luksch T, Mpamhanga C, Walker RG, Mottram JC, Brenk R, Frearson JA, Gilbert IH, Wyatt PG.SourceDrug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, James Black Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH (UK), Fax: (+44) 1382 386373. AbstractNew drugs are urgently needed for the treatment of tropical parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). This work involved a high-throughput screen of a focussed kinase set of ~3400 compounds to identify potent and parasite-selective inhibitors of an enzymatic Leishmania CRK3-cyclin 6 complex. The aim of this study is to provide chemical validation that Leishmania CRK3-CYC6 is a drug target. Eight hit series were identified, of which four were followed up. The optimisation of these series using classical SAR studies afforded low-nanomolar CRK3 inhibitors with significant selectivity over the closely related human cyclin dependent kinase CDK2. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. |
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| 10. | Artif DNA PNA XNA. 2011 Apr;2(2):60-66.Sensitive detection of nucleic acids by PNA hybridization directed co-locali zation of fluorescent beads.Shiraishi T, Deborggraeve S, Büscher P, Nielsen PE.SourceDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Faculty of Health Sciences; The Panum Institute; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen N, Denmark. AbstractWe have designed a pair of biotinylated peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes targeting two sequences in 18S rRNA (from the parasite Trypanosoma brucei) at a distance of 191 nt (corresponding to maximum distance of ca. 60 nm) from each other. The PNA probes were individually bound to (strept)avidin-coated fluorescent beads, differing in size and color [green beads (1 µm) and red beads (5.9 µm)], thereby allowing distinct detection of each PNA probe by conventional fluorescence microscopy. These two PNA beads showed easily detectable co-localization when simultaneously hybridizing to a target nucleic acid. The assay detected the parasite 18S rRNA down to 1.6 fmol while there was no such co-localization visible with human 18S rRNA not containing the PNA targets. Furthermore, the assay showed positive detection with 1.6 ng of total RNA (corresponding to RNA from ca. 300 parasites). Upon further optimization this method may provide a new tool for a diagnosis of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) and it may more generally have applications within diagnostics for (neglected) infectious diseases. |
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