Turkiye parazitolojii dergisi最新文献

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the presence, prevalence, and molecular characteristics of Hepatozoon spp. infection in domestic cats living in Aydın and İzmir provinces, located on the Aegean coast of Türkiye. The study specifically focuses on species identification and genotype distribution.

Methods: A total of 203 blood samples from domestic cats were analyzed for Hepatozoon spp. using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among the 67 PCR-positive samples, 10 (five for each province) were selected for sequencing, and bidirectional Sanger sequencing was performed. The obtained sequences were evaluated using basic local alignment search tool and phylogenetic analyses, and genotype identification was based on the 18S rRNA gene region. Additionally, potential risk factors such as age, sex, health status and housing type were statistically analyzed for their association with Hepatozoon spp. infection.

Results: The overall prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. in cats was determined to be 33.0% (67/203). The infection rate was 43.69% in Aydın and 22% in İzmir, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p=0.001). All 10 sequenced samples were identified as Hepatozoon felis, and all isolates belonged to Genotype I. A significant association was found between age and infection, with a particularly high infection rate of 44% observed in cats aged one year or younger (p=0.020).

Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. infection among cats in western Türkiye, with all sequenced isolates identified as Genotype I. The notably high infection rate observed in young cats raises the possibility of transplacental transmission. These findings underscore the need for further investigations to clarify the transmission routes and risk factors associated with this protozoan parasite, the epidemiology of which remains insufficiently understood.

Objective: Demodex species in the family Demodicidae are hair follicle scabies agents. Demodex species are transmitted from person to person through close contact, shared towels, make-up materials, etc. This study was conducted to obtain data on the relationship between mandatory mask use and demodicosis during the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) period.

Methods: The study included 510 students who used masks in necessary environments since the beginning of the pandemic and participated in the study voluntarily. Cellophane tapes were applied to the relevant areas three times. In addition, both eye lashes were pulled from both eyes and adhered to the cellophane tapes. The samples were examined under light microscope at different magnifications (x10, x40).

Results: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis were detected in 38 (7.5%) of 510 students. D. folliculorum was detected in 33 of the positive students and both D. folliculorum and D. brevis were detected in 5 students, 2 of whom were male and 3 of whom were female. Demodex spp. was found in 12 (4.9%) of 245 students who answered "no" to the question "Do you have acne or skin complaints on your face?" and in 26 (9.8%) of 265 students who answered "yes". While this parameter was statistically significant, the other parameters were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 period has changed people's lifestyles and habits in many ways. It has made the use of masks obligatory. During mandatory mask use, factors that may increase the presence of Demodex spp. should not be ignored.

Objective: Selecting an effective target for Leishmania vaccination requires identifying a protein antigen with low or no genetic diversity. The cysteine proteinase B (CPB) gene has emerged as a promising immunogenic target, though its diversity requires evaluation across different regions. Given Iran's status as a hyperendemic region for cutaneous leishmaniasis, this study aimed to collect and analyze 30 Leishmania major isolates from various areas of Khuzestan Province in Southwestern Iran.

Methods: The CPB gene was amplified via polymerase chain reaction, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Sequence analysis was performed using MEGA5 software, with subsequent comparison to National Center for Biotechnology Information database entries. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to compare isolated strains with reference strains from other geographic regions and species.

Results: The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the CPB gene of the isolated strains in different regions of Khuzestan province formed a clade with certain Leishmania major strains from various parts of the world. Overall, the genotypic analysis of the CPB gene in Khuzestan province indicated genetic similarity among 29 isolates. In contrast, one sample from Dezful (north of Khuzestan Province) exhibited a significant difference from the reference strain, resulting in notable amino acid changes.

Conclusion: Based on these findings, the CPB gene holds promise as a potential candidate for vaccination development against cutaneous leishmaniasis in this region.

Objective: Scabies is a contagious cutaneous infestation characterized by intense itching. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical features of scabies and the effect of scabies on quality of life, and the change in quality of life with treatment.

Methods: This prospective and cross-sectional study included 40 adults patients with classical scabies. Detailed skin examinations of the patients were performed. Dermatological life quality index (DLQI) was used to evaluate quality of life in patients with scabies. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to investigate the severity of nocturnal itching and itch-related sleep disturbance. VAS levels and DLQI scores of the patients were evaluated at baseline (week 0) and after treatment (weeks 2 and 4).

Results: The most common lesion in patients was tunnel (100%), followed by papule (97.5%), crusted papule (85%) and excoriation (77.5%). The abdomen (90%) was the most common area of lesions, followed by hands (87.5%) and forearm (85%). It was determined that the quality of life of 75% of the patients was moderate to extremely large affected. There was a significant improvement in average DLQI scores of patients after treatment compared to before treatment (p<0.001, week 0: 11.50±7.81, week 2: 5.50±4.68, week 4: 1.05±2.08). The baseline VAS values of the patients for nocturnal itching and itch-related sleep disturbance were 7.22±2.80 and 6.30±3.60, respectively. A statistically significant improvement was detected in these values in the week 2 and week 4 (p<0.001). Thirty-nine of the patients were given 10% sulfur ointment (3 consecutive days) and 35 of these patients (89.7%) recovered.

Conclusion: Scabies has significant impact on quality of life in the vast majority of patients. Itch-related sleep disturbance is common in patients with scabies. Sulfur is an effective treatment choice for scabies.

Objective: In Nowadays malaria still remains the parasitic disease causing the highest number of deaths, accounting for 619,000 fatalities. The Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria have separate life cycles in both humans and female Anopheles mosquitoes, existing in various forms throughout this process. The main reason for observing the disease is that merozoites sustain their existence by invading erythrocytes. Existing drugs affect the parasite's ability to digest hemoglobin. Drug resistance is also involved in this process. In this study, have been focused to develop new drug candidate molecules for evade drug resistance. To evade drug resistance, the aim was to prevent merozoites from invading erythrocytes.

Methods: The invasion of merozoites into erythrocytes consists of several stages: Attachment, deformation, apical junction formation, and tight junction formation. For this purpose, the docking calculations have been done between the invasion proteins such as MSP1, pvDBP, phRH5, AMA1 and candidates. The candidates obtained from the malaria box set were subjected to conformational scanning and geometry optimization in the Spartan'14 program to determine their physicochemical properties. According to the obtained results from the AutoDock Vina and multiple regression analyses were conducted for each protein to examine the relationship between binding affinities and the calculated physicochemical parameters of the candidates.

Results: In the regression study of 200 molecules examined for 4 different proteins, 108 molecules were included for DBP, 96 for MSP1, 90 for AMA1 and 96 for RH5, and 21 common molecules were observed for all proteins.

Conclusion: Twenty-one molecules showed correlation with the proteins studied. Among these molecules, MMV019074, MMV019662 and MMV665881 were suggested as candidate drug leads in terms of their binding affinities, physicochemical properties and SwissADME values.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the frequency of Cryptosporidium spp. in immunosuppressed patients who were admitted with diarrhea by microscopic, serological, and molecular methods and to evaluate the results in comparison with the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) method.

Methods: We analyzed 90 stool samples from immunosuppressed patients with diarrhea. All stool samples were examined using modified acid-fast staining, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. samples examined with the DFA method were selected randomly, including samples found positive in other diagnostic tests. Stool samples that were positive in any of these diagnostic tests were evaluated by immunochromatographic card test.

Results: Our study included 90 samples, of which 44 (48.8%) and 46 (51.2%) were from male and female patients, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 37.8±27.5. Thirty-one (34.4%) of the samples were from pediatric patients and their mean age was 5.3±4.34. The methods used did not show a statistically significant difference between the positivity status and patient age and gender (p>0.05). Cryptosporidium spp. positivity was detected in five samples (5.6%), two samples (2.2%), and one sample (1.1%) by using the modified acid-fast staining, PCR, and ELISA methods, respectively. Six of 51 samples to which the DFA method was applied were detected positive. In 4 of the 7 stool samples that were found positive by any of these methods, Cryptosporidium spp. was detected positive by the immunochromatographic card test.

Conclusion: When the DFA method is accepted as the gold standard method in the diagnosis of Cryptosporidium spp., the modified acid-fast method can be used in routine diagnosis with high sensitivity and specificity. Besides, it immunochromatographic diagnostic tests thought to be useful in laboratories with intensive workflow due to their practical use and rapid results.

Objective: Blastocystis sp. is an intestinal Stramenopile that can infect both humans and animals. Genetic variability of Blastocystis has been investigated with a variety of molecular methods and different subtypes (ST) have been identified. The present study aimed to characterize microsatellite loci and population structure for Blastocystis sp. ST3, the most common ST in human faecal samples.

Methods: The genome of Blastocystis sp. ST3 in GenBank was analyzed for the presence of microsatellites containing at least eight repeat units. Specific primers were designed for each locus and polymorphisms were identified using bioinformatics tools. The population structure was determined, and microsatellite typing was conducted on 18 Blastocystis sp. ST3 genomic DNA samples from the routine laboratory at Aydın Adnan Menderes University Hospital.

Results: The whole-genome scan of Blastocystis sp. ST3 revealed 12 microsatellite loci with at least eight repeats. All loci were successfully amplified with the designed primers and eight of them were selected for genotyping. Microsatellite polymorphism analysis showed that each isolate had a unique profile (18 isolates, 18 different microsatellite types). Furthermore, the isolates were grouped into two distinct population clusters.

Conclusion: Blastocystis sp. ST3 isolates exhibited significant variability in their microsatellite repeats. The polymorphic microsatellite loci offer a novel approach to study the detailed genetic diversity and population structure of Blastocystis sp. ST 3.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the Culicoides species distributed across different districts of İzmir province, reveal their molecular characterization, and assess their vector potential for the transmission of avian haemosporidian parasites.

Methods: The study material comprised 800 female Culicoides specimens collected from Bergama, Ödemiş, Kemalpaşa, and Foça districts between May and August 2016. Following morphological identification, specimens from each identified species underwent molecular analyses. The mt-COI gene region of genomic DNA isolates from the specimens was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to sequence analyses to reveal their molecular characterization and phylogenetic relationships. Haemosporidian DNA was investigated by nested PCR in the gDNA isolates of head/thorax (HTP) and abdomen pools, constituted from specimens separated by species and location. Molecular characterization of identified parasites was performed using sequence analyses.

Results: Morphological identification revealed that C. circumscriptus (39.4%) and C. imicola (33.8%) were the most common species in the research areas, followed by Culicoides sp. (ERU-Izm-Culi1) (9.1%), C. nubeculosus complex (7.6%), C. obsoletus (4.3%), C. gejgelensis (2.3%), C. punctatus (1.9%), and C. newsteadi (1.8%). A total of 175 polymorphic sites were distributed among the COI sequences of the obtained isolates, leading to the detection of 18 different haplotypes. The highest haplotype diversity was observed in C. circumscriptus, C. punctatus, and C. newsteadi. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the characterized haplotypes of Culicoides species into three major groups. Haemoproteus sp. GAGLA05 and H. minutus TURDUS2 lineages were detected in C. circumscriptus HTP genomic DNA isolates, providing evidence of this species' vector potential for Haemoproteus lineages in the research area.

Conclusion: This study determined the Culicoides species distributed in the İzmir Region using an integrated morphological and molecular diagnostic approach, providing original data for the molecular epidemiology of these important flies. Furthermore, the results suggest the potential importance of C. circumscriptus in the transmission dynamics of Haemoproteus lineages.

Objective: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease that causes fluid-filled cysts in internal organs and is a major public health problem worldwide. The lack of standardized methods for the diagnosis/follow-up of CE disease necessitates the development of new non-invasive diagnostic tools, such as the determination of changes in the expression levels of circulating microRNAs (miRNA). In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of miR-146a in archived serum samples of CE patients for the first time and to evaluate its potential role in the diagnosis and follow-up of CE over a three-year period.

Methods: This study included archived serum samples from 39 CE patients, 56 follow-up samples from 14 CE patients, and 3 healthy controls, and expression levels of miR-146a were evaluated in each group using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Due to the small and unbalanced control group, bootstrapped confidence intervals were used; time-dependent changes in follow-up patients were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model and Welch's F test to address variance heterogeneity.

Results: The miR146 gene was found to be significantly upregulated in archived serum samples of patients with CE compared to healthy control samples. Additionally, the expression level of the miR146 gene in follow-up serum samples significantly decreased in the third year post-surgery compared to follow-up blood samples taken in previous years (p<0.05).

Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it was concluded that miR-146a can be recommended as a diagnostic biomarker in the diagnosis and follow-up of CE, and archived materials of CE patients can be utilized in new biomarker research.