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Sent on Wednesday, 2011 Nov 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. | Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2011;3(1):e2011035. Epub 2011 Sep 8.A case series highlighting the relative frequencies of the common, uncommon and atypical/unusual hematological findings on bone marrow examination in cases of visceral leishmaniasis.Bhatia P, Haldar D, Varma N, Marwaha R, Varma S.SourceDepartment of Hematology. AbstractINTRODUCTION:Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy still remains as one of the vital tests for confirmation of diagnosis of visceral Leishmaniasis. The aim of the present study is to assess the relative frequency of common, uncommon and atypical hematological findings in cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis. MATERIALS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; METHODS:A total of 16 cases of Leishmaniasis diagnosed on Bone marrow examination over a period of two years (2008-2010), were retrieved from the archives and the peripheral blood smear, bone marrow aspiration smears and trephine biopsies were examined for the common, uncommon and atypical features as described in the literature. RESULTS:Out of the total of 16 cases, 10 were pediatric and 6 adult cases. The common findings like pancytopenia, peripheral blood monocytosis, increased histiocytes on aspirate smears and granulomas on biopsies were noted in 12/16 (75%), 9/16 (56.25%), 13/16 (81.2%) and 11/16 (69%) cases respectively. Amongst the uncommon findings, hemophagocytosis was noted in 12/16 (75%) cases, plasma cells with inclusions in 6/16 (37.5%) and LD bodies in cells other than histiocytes in 4/16 (25%) cases. The atypical findings included organism aggregates noted in 9/16 (56%) cases, Pelger-Heut cells seen in 4/16 (25%) cases and increased focal vascularity on biopsies in 10/16 (62.5%) cases. The average parasite density (APD) on smears was 3+ and the range of positivity was 1+ to 5+. CONCLUSION:The knowledge of these morphological clues can assist us in searching for LD bodies and correctly diagnosing the condition without excessive dependence on unnecessary and sophisticated tests. |
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| 2. | Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2011 Nov 15. [Epub ahead of print]Three new sensitive and specific heat-shock protein 70 PCRs for global Leishmania species identification.Montalvo AM, Fraga J, Maes I, Dujardin JC, Van der Auwera G.SourceParasitology Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kourí" (IPK), Havana, Cuba. AbstractThe heat-shock protein 70 gene (hsp70) has been exploited for Leishmania species identification in the New and Old World, using PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Current PCR presents limitations in terms of sensitivity, which hampers its use for analyzing clinical and biological samples, and specificity, which makes it inappropriate to discriminate between Leishmania and other trypanosomatids. The aim of the study was to improve the sensitivity and specificity of a previously reported hsp70 PCR using alternative PCR primers and RFLPs. Following in silico analysis of available sequences, three new PCR primer sets and restriction digest schemes were tested on a globally representative panel of 114 Leishmania strains, various other infectious agents, and clinical samples. The largest new PCR fragment retained the discriminatory power from RFLP, while two smaller fragments discriminated less species. The detection limit of the new PCRs was between 0.05 and 0.5 parasite genomes, they amplified clinical samples more efficiently, and were Leishmania specific. We succeeded in significantly improving the specificity and sensitivity of the PCRs for hsp70 Leishmania species typing. The improved PCR-RFLP assays can impact diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis in any setting worldwide. |
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| 3. | Intern Med. 2011;50(22):2855-8. Epub 2011 Nov 15.Visceral leishmaniasis mimicking as second line anti retroviral therapy failure.Yanamandra U , Jairam A, Shankar S, Negi R, Guleria B, Nair V.SourceDepartment of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, India. AbstractVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) has increased as a complicating infection in subjects with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in developing countries. Both infections tend to lower the cell-mediated immunity resulting in poor drug response. In HIV-positive subjects the clinical course as well as organ involvement of VL simulates tuberculosis, another very common tropical infection. We present a case of VL/HIV co-infection where the individual failed to respond to first and second line antiretroviral therapy with persistently low CD4 counts. This patient was also subjected empirically to antitubercular therapy with no clinical improvement; he was finally diagnosed as a case of VL in HIV upon revelation of amastigotes in bone marrow despite the initial negative serology on two occasions. He showed dramatic improvement in CD4 counts and clinical status on Amphotericin B therapy. In endemic areas and in HIV positive subjects a systemic and careful parasitology follow-up is necessary to ensure that no clinical form of leishmaniasis is overlooked. |
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| 4. | Parasit Vectors. 2011 Nov 14;4(1):216. [Epub ahead of print]Lulo cell line derived from Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae): a novel model to assay Leishmania spp. and vector interaction.Cortes LM, Silva RM, Pereira BA, Guerra C, Zapata AC, Bello FJ, Finkelstein LC, Madeira MF, Brazil RP, Corte-Real S, Alves CR.AbstractABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Leishmania (Vianna) braziliensis, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi are important parasites in the scenario of leishmaniasis in Brazil. During the life cycle of these parasites, the promastigote forms adhere to the midgut epithelial microvillii of phlebotomine insects to avoid being secreted along with digestive products. Lulo cells are a potential model that will help to understand the features of this adhesion phenomenon. Here, we analyze the interaction between Leishmania spp. promastigotes and Lulo cells in vitro, specifically focusing on adhesion events occurring between three Leishmania species and this cell line. METHODS:Confluent monolayers of Lulo cells were incubated with promastigotes and adhesion was assessed using both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. FINDINGS:The results indicate that species from the subgenera Leishmania and Viannia have great potential to adhere to Lulo cells. The highest adherence rate was observed for L. (L.) chagasi after 24 h of incubation with Lulo cells (27.3 +/- 1.8% of cells with adhered promastigotes), followed by L. (L.) amazonensis (16.0 +/- 0.7%) and L. (V.) braziliensis (3.0 +/- 0.7%), both after 48h. In the ultrastructural analysis, promastigote adherence was also assessed by scanning electron microscopy, showing that, for parasites from both subgenera, adhesion occurs by both the body and the flagellum. The interaction of Lulo cells with Leishmania (L.) chagasi showed the participation of cytoplasmic projections from the former closely associating the parasites with the cells. CONCLUSIONS:We present evidence that Lulo cells can be useful in studies of insect-parasite interactions for Leishmania species. |
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| 5. | Arch Dermatol. 2011 Sep;147(9):1097-102.An erythematous plaque with overlying alopecia on the scalp of a child.Fallahzadeh MK, Sari-Aslani F, Khelat R, Namazi MR.SourceShiraz Skin Research Center, Shiraz, Iran. |
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| 6. | Infect Immun. 2011 Oct;79(10):4081-7. Epub 2011 Jul 25.Neurotrophin receptor TrkC is an entry recep tor for Trypanosoma cruzi in neural, glial, and epithelial cells.Weinkauf C, Salvador R, Pereiraperrin M.SourceGraduate Program in Immunology, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA. AbstractTrypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas' disease, infects a variety of mammalian cells in a process that includes multiple cycles of intracellular division and differentiation starting with host receptor recognition by a parasite ligand(s). Earlier work in our laboratory showed that the neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) receptor TrkC is activated by T. cruzi surface trans-sialidase, also known as parasite-derived neurotrophic factor (PDNF). However, it has remained unclear whether TrkC is used by T. cruzi to enter host cells. Here, we show that a neuronal cell line (PC12-NNR5) relatively resistant to T. cruzi became highly susceptible to infection when overexpressing human TrkC but not human TrkB. Furthermore, trkC transfection conferred an ∼3.0-fold intracellular growth advantage. Sialylation-deficient Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) epithelial cell lines Lec1 and Lec2 also became much more permissive to T. cruzi after transfection with the trkC gene. Additionally, NT-3 specifically blocked T. cruzi infection of the TrkC-NNR5 transfectants and of naturally permissive TrkC-bearing Schwann cells and astrocytes, as did recombinant PDNF. Two specific inhibitors of Trk autophosphorylation (K252a and AG879) and inhibitors of Trk-induced MAPK/Erk (U0126) and Akt kinase (LY294002) signaling, but not an inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, abrogated TrkC-mediated cell invasion. Antibody to TrkC blocked T. cruzi infection of the TrkC-NNR5 transfectants and of cells that naturally express TrkC. The TrkC antibody also significantly and specifically reduced cutaneous infection in a mouse model of acute Chagas' disease. TrkC is ubiquitously expressed in the peripheral and central nervous systems, and in nonneural cells infected by T. cruzi, including cardiac and gastrointestinal muscle cells. Thus, TrkC is implicated as a functional PDNF receptor in cell entry, independently of sialic acid recognition, mediating broad T. cruzi infection both in vitro and in vivo. |
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| 7. | Infect Immun. 2011 Oct;79(10):3993-4001. Epub 2011 Jul 25.Differential expression and characterization of a member of the mucin-associated surface protein family secreted by Trypanosoma cruzi.De Pablos LM, González GG, Solano Parada J, Seco Hidalgo V, Díaz Lozano IM, Gómez Samblás MM, Cruz Bustos T, Osuna A.SourceInstituto de Biotecnología, Grupo de Bioquímica y Parasitología Molecular, Campus de Fuentenueva, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain. AbstractWe describe the characterization, purification, expression, and location of a 52-kDa protein secreted during interaction between the metacyclic form of Trypanosoma cruzi and its target host cell. The protein, which we have named MASP52, belongs to the family of mucin-associated surface proteins (MASPs). The highest levels of expression of both the protein and mRNA occur during the metacyclic and bloodstream trypomastigote stages, the forms that infect the vertebrate host cells. The protein is located in the plasma membrane and in the flagellar pockets of the epimastigote, metacyclic, and trypomastigote forms and is secreted into the medium at the point of contact between the parasite and the cell membrane, as well as into the host-cell cytosol during the amastigote stage. IgG antibodies specific against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the catalytic zone of MASP52 significantly reduce the parasite's capacity to infect the host cells. Furthermore, when the protein is adsorbed onto inert particles of bentonite and incubated with a nonphagocytic cell culture, the particles are able to induce endocytosis in the cells, which seems to demonstrate that MASP52 plays a role in a process whereby the trypomastigote forms of the parasite invade the host cell. |
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| 8. | PLoS One. 2011;6(7):e22011. Epub 2011 Jul 14.Subdominant/cryptic CD8 T cell epitopes contribute to resistance again st experimental infection with a human protozoan parasite.Dominguez MR, Silveira EL, de Vasconcelos JR, de Alencar BC, Machado AV, Bruna-Romero O, Gazzinelli RT, Rodrigues MM.SourceCentro de Terapia Celular e Molecular (CTCMol), Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brazil. AbstractDuring adaptive immune response, pathogen-specific CD8(+) T cells recognize preferentially a small number of epitopes, a phenomenon known as immunodominance. Its biological implications during natural or vaccine-induced immune responses are still unclear. Earlier, we have shown that during experimental infection, the human intracellular pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi restricts the repertoire of CD8(+) T cells generating strong immunodominance. We hypothesized that this phenomenon could be a mechanism used by the parasite to reduce the breath and magnitude of the immune response, favoring parasitism, and thus that artificially broadening the T cell repertoire could favor the host. Here, we confirmed our previous observation by showing that CD8(+) T cells of H-2(a) infected mice recognized a single epitope of an immunodominant antigen of the trans-sialidase super-family. In sharp contrast, CD8(+) T cells from mice immunized with recombinant genetic vaccines (plasmid DNA and adenovirus) expressing this same T. cruzi antigen recognized, in addition to the immunodominant epitope, two other subdominant epitopes. This unexpected observation allowed us to test the protective role of the immune response to subdominant epitopes. This was accomplished by genetic vaccination of mice with mutated genes that did not express a functional immunodominant epitope. We found that these mice developed immune responses directed solely to the subdominant/cryptic CD8 T cell epitopes and a significant degree of protective immunity against infection mediated by CD8(+) T cells. We concluded that artificially broadening the T cell repertoire contributes to host resistance against infection, a finding that has implications for the host-parasite relationship and vaccine development. |
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| 9. | Parasit Vectors. 2011 Jul 18;4:140.Population genetics of Glossina palpalis palpalis from central African sleeping sickness foci.Melachio TT, Simo G, Ravel S, De Meeûs T, Causse S, Solano P, Lutumba P, Asonganyi T, Njiokou F.SourceUniversité de Yaoundé I, Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Ecologie, Faculté des Sciences, BP 812, Yaoundé, Cameroun. AbstractBACKGROUND:Glossina palpalis palpalis (Diptera: Glossinidae) is widespread in west Africa, and is the main vector of sleeping sickness in Cameroon as well as in the Bas Congo Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, little is known on the structure of its populations. We investigated G. p. palpalis population genetic structure in five sleeping sickness foci (four in Cameroon, one in Democratic Republic of Congo) using eight microsatellite DNA markers. RESULTS:A strong isolation by distance explains most of the population structure observed in our sampling sites of Cameroon and DRC. The populations here are composed of panmictic subpopulations occupying fairly wide zones with a very strong isolation by distance. Effective population sizes are probably between 20 and 300 individuals and if we assume densities between 120 and 2000 individuals per km2, dispersal distance between reproducing adults and their parents extends between 60 and 300 meters. CONCLUSIONS:This first investigation of population genetic structure of G. p. palpalis in Central Africa has evidenced random mating subpopulations over fairly large areas and is thus at variance with that found in West African populations of G. p. palpalis. This study brings new information on the isolation by distance at a macrogeographic scale which in turn brings useful information on how to organise regional tsetse control. Future investigations should be directed at temporal sampling to have more accurate measures of demographic parameters in order to help vector control decision. |
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| 10. | Prev Vet Med. 2011 Sep 1;101(3-4):163-72. Epub 2011 Jul 1.Trends of selected cattle diseases in eastern Zambia between 1988 and 2008.Mubamba C, Sitali J, Gummow B.SourceVeterinary Officer, Box 560010, Petauke, Eastern Province, Zambia. chrisbornmw@yahoo.com AbstractLivestock diseases have long been a challenge to livestock production and public health in sub-Saharan Africa and Zambia in particular. The Eastern Province of Zambia is one area in Zambia that is not spared by this challenge. Among various livestock diseases affecting cattle in this region, the most prominent are East Coast Fever (ECF) and African Animal Trypanasomiasis (AAT). Since little has been published on the epidemiological trends of these diseases in eastern Zambia, a retrospective epidemiological study was carried out using reports that were submitted to the provincial veterinary office over the past 20 years. This paper assists in evaluating the impact of some of these aid programmes. Data was analysed using Excel(©), SPSS(®), Epi Info(©), and Epi Map(©) software. Apparent prevalence of AAT in cattle had decreased in the study period from estimates as high as 50% in Katete and Petauke district in 1990 and 1992 respectively to just below 3% (Petauke and Katete) in 2008, thereby, reducing the provincial apparent prevalence from 20% in 1992 to just below 3% in 2008. AAT apparent prevalence dropped from estimates as high as 17% in Chadiza district and 6% in Chipata district in 1990 to just below 1% in 2008 thereby reducing the provincial mean prevalence of East Coast Fever from 6% (1990) to 1% (2008). The inclusion of donor assistance in disease control programmes for both AAT and ECF appeared to have a significant impact on the prevalence of both diseases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
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