Pub Date : 2008-05-27DOI: 10.2174/1874421400802010051
G. Mitchell, K. Davern, Tiu Wu
As judged by widespread utility in protein production from recombinant Escherichia coli and by the magnitude of royalty payments to Melbourne's Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), the expression vector pGEX, invented by Dr Donald Smith, has been a significant commercial success. It is based on the 26kDa glutathione S-transferase of Schisto- soma japonicum (Philippines) termed Sj26GST, that emerged from work throughout the 1980's on resistance to infection in a peculiar mouse strain, WEHI 129/J. Sj26GST was the lead vaccine candidate for this human helminth worm being pursued in a long-term collaboration between WEHI in Australia and Dr Edito Garcia's 1 group at the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines in Manila that commenced in 1980. The product, pGEX, is an excellent example of commercial spin-off from basic research in mouse model systems that in- deed evolved into an applied research program but with a very different goal, namely rational molecular vaccine devel- opment.
{"title":"The S. japonicum-Based pGEX Vector: Commercial Outcomes from Analysis of Model Host-Parasite Relationships in a “North-South” Collaboration","authors":"G. Mitchell, K. Davern, Tiu Wu","doi":"10.2174/1874421400802010051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400802010051","url":null,"abstract":"As judged by widespread utility in protein production from recombinant Escherichia coli and by the magnitude of royalty payments to Melbourne's Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), the expression vector pGEX, invented by Dr Donald Smith, has been a significant commercial success. It is based on the 26kDa glutathione S-transferase of Schisto- soma japonicum (Philippines) termed Sj26GST, that emerged from work throughout the 1980's on resistance to infection in a peculiar mouse strain, WEHI 129/J. Sj26GST was the lead vaccine candidate for this human helminth worm being pursued in a long-term collaboration between WEHI in Australia and Dr Edito Garcia's 1 group at the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines in Manila that commenced in 1980. The product, pGEX, is an excellent example of commercial spin-off from basic research in mouse model systems that in- deed evolved into an applied research program but with a very different goal, namely rational molecular vaccine devel- opment.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"24 1","pages":"51-54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90770480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-05-19DOI: 10.2174/1874421400802010043
M. Bidri, M. Conti, N. Hanoun, R. L. Kuen, F. Féger, Z. Taoufiq, M. Arock, D. Mazier, I. Vouldoukis
Biological functions of mast cells include a functional role in innate immunity against parasitic infections. Here, we demonstrated that mast cells could also play a role in the anti-microbial defenses regulation and might partici- pate as a parasite reservoir. We observed that Toxoplasma gondii infected massively in vitro mouse bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC), a mucosal mast cell (MMC) phenotype, followed by substantial cell lysis. This induced release of - hexosaminidase, but not of preformed or neosynthesized TNF- . Culturing MMC in the presence of recombinant mouse stem cell factor (c-kit ligand) led to their maturation into connective tissue-like mast cells (CTMC), which T. gondii was able to adhere on and to infect more. T. gondii infection did not induce release of -hexosaminidase and serotonin from BMMC. These results demonstrated that mast cells interact with T. gondii and are massively infected, especially after their maturation by c-kit ligand.
{"title":"C-Kit Ligand Promotes Mast Cell Infection by Toxoplasma gondii","authors":"M. Bidri, M. Conti, N. Hanoun, R. L. Kuen, F. Féger, Z. Taoufiq, M. Arock, D. Mazier, I. Vouldoukis","doi":"10.2174/1874421400802010043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400802010043","url":null,"abstract":"Biological functions of mast cells include a functional role in innate immunity against parasitic infections. Here, we demonstrated that mast cells could also play a role in the anti-microbial defenses regulation and might partici- pate as a parasite reservoir. We observed that Toxoplasma gondii infected massively in vitro mouse bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC), a mucosal mast cell (MMC) phenotype, followed by substantial cell lysis. This induced release of - hexosaminidase, but not of preformed or neosynthesized TNF- . Culturing MMC in the presence of recombinant mouse stem cell factor (c-kit ligand) led to their maturation into connective tissue-like mast cells (CTMC), which T. gondii was able to adhere on and to infect more. T. gondii infection did not induce release of -hexosaminidase and serotonin from BMMC. These results demonstrated that mast cells interact with T. gondii and are massively infected, especially after their maturation by c-kit ligand.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"12 1","pages":"43-50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90406537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-01-17DOI: 10.2174/1874421400802010040
J. Puente, S. Merino
Multiple invasions (MIs) are produced when the same erythrocyte is infected by more than one parasite cell. These MIs commonly occur in different haemosporidia species including Plasmodium and other malaria-like parasites. However, the frequency of MIs has been traditionally considered in studies both in vivo and in vitro as an artefact pro- duced by high parasite densities, leading most researchers to think that MIs does not have a true biological meaning but they are merely the product of chance. Other proposed explanations for the occurrence of MIs include an adaptive host strategy to reduce parasite damage and hinder parasite transmission success and an adaptive parasite strategy which fa- vours parasite transmission success. Here we review the relevant literature supporting or rejecting these hypotheses pro- posed to explain the occurrence of MIs. Although the possibility that MIs being due to higher parasite densities has re- ceived much support, more studies are clearly necessary to reveal the potential importance of host defences and parasite strategies on the occurrence of MIs in nature.
{"title":"Mini-Review: Factors Affecting Multiple Invasions of Erythrocytes in Plasmodium and other Malaria-like Parasites. A Neglected Characteristic of Infections","authors":"J. Puente, S. Merino","doi":"10.2174/1874421400802010040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400802010040","url":null,"abstract":"Multiple invasions (MIs) are produced when the same erythrocyte is infected by more than one parasite cell. These MIs commonly occur in different haemosporidia species including Plasmodium and other malaria-like parasites. However, the frequency of MIs has been traditionally considered in studies both in vivo and in vitro as an artefact pro- duced by high parasite densities, leading most researchers to think that MIs does not have a true biological meaning but they are merely the product of chance. Other proposed explanations for the occurrence of MIs include an adaptive host strategy to reduce parasite damage and hinder parasite transmission success and an adaptive parasite strategy which fa- vours parasite transmission success. Here we review the relevant literature supporting or rejecting these hypotheses pro- posed to explain the occurrence of MIs. Although the possibility that MIs being due to higher parasite densities has re- ceived much support, more studies are clearly necessary to reveal the potential importance of host defences and parasite strategies on the occurrence of MIs in nature.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"54 1","pages":"40-42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89722480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-01-17DOI: 10.2174/1874421400802010001
C. Franzen
Microsporidiology is a field of science with a rather long history beginning in the middle of the 19th century when a microsporidian infection of the silkworm devastated the European silkworm industry. Several other microsporidia, mainly in insects and fish, were later described, but these organisms seemed to be mere curiosities for several years. How- ever, when it became clear that microsporidia were causing economically important diseases in insects and fish and more recently, in mammals and even in humans with immunodeficiency, microsporidia have become a favourite subject for bi- ologists studying intracellular parasitism and molecular phylogeny. This review summarizes 150 years of microsporidian research and traces the role of the microsporidia and of microsporidiology in biology and medicine.
{"title":"Microsporidia: A Review of 150 Years of Research","authors":"C. Franzen","doi":"10.2174/1874421400802010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400802010001","url":null,"abstract":"Microsporidiology is a field of science with a rather long history beginning in the middle of the 19th century when a microsporidian infection of the silkworm devastated the European silkworm industry. Several other microsporidia, mainly in insects and fish, were later described, but these organisms seemed to be mere curiosities for several years. How- ever, when it became clear that microsporidia were causing economically important diseases in insects and fish and more recently, in mammals and even in humans with immunodeficiency, microsporidia have become a favourite subject for bi- ologists studying intracellular parasitism and molecular phylogeny. This review summarizes 150 years of microsporidian research and traces the role of the microsporidia and of microsporidiology in biology and medicine.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89659892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-01-07DOI: 10.2174/1874421400701010007
C. Bursey, S. Goldberg, F. Kraus
Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola n. gen., n. sp. from the intestines of the skink Sphenomorphus granu- latus (Scincidae) from Papua New Guinea is described and illustrated. Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola is charac- terized by a subterminal, spheroid proboscis supporting 25 hooks arranged in 10 alternating longitudinal rows of 2 and 3; apical hooks slightly shorter than medial and posterior hooks. The trunk is commaform with an anterior expansion; 2 con- tiguous ovoid testes are located in the anterior third of the trunk. Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola is sufficiently different from other species assigned to the Echinorhynchida that a new family, Sauracanthorhynchidae is erected for it.
{"title":"New Family, New Genus, New Species of Acanthocephala (Echinorhynchida) from the Lizard, Sphenomorphus granulatus (Sauria: Scincidae), from Papua New Guinea","authors":"C. Bursey, S. Goldberg, F. Kraus","doi":"10.2174/1874421400701010007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400701010007","url":null,"abstract":"Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola n. gen., n. sp. from the intestines of the skink Sphenomorphus granu- latus (Scincidae) from Papua New Guinea is described and illustrated. Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola is charac- terized by a subterminal, spheroid proboscis supporting 25 hooks arranged in 10 alternating longitudinal rows of 2 and 3; apical hooks slightly shorter than medial and posterior hooks. The trunk is commaform with an anterior expansion; 2 con- tiguous ovoid testes are located in the anterior third of the trunk. Sauracanthorhynchus sphenomorphicola is sufficiently different from other species assigned to the Echinorhynchida that a new family, Sauracanthorhynchidae is erected for it.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"10 1","pages":"7-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84231158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-12-04DOI: 10.2174/1874421400701010001
B. E. Bassey, J. Asor, M. F. Useh
We evaluated the malaria burden in randomly selected pregnant women (PW) attending antenatal clinics in Abuja, Nigeria, to establish an association between pregnancies, malaria. Structured questionnaire was administered by the ante-natal nursing staff and a research assistant. In total, 1400 pregnant women were screened between April and Sep- tember 2004, and capillary blood samples were obtained and screened for malaria parasites in thin blood films and quanti- tative buffy coat analysis (QBC). In total, 1035 (73.9%) pregnant women were positive for Plasmodium falciparum; of which 578 (55.8%) were primigravidae; 299 (28.9%) second gravidae; and 158 (15.3%) were multigravidae, while 297 (28.7) were in their first trimester, 311 (30%) were in their second trimester, and 427 (41.3%) were in their third trimester. The highest prevalence of malaria parasite (31.6%) was found in those aged 26-30 years while the lowest prevalence (2.9%) occurred in those aged 41-46 years. Socio economically, prevalence of malaria parasite is highest in non- automobile owners 84.4%, 66% in those with monthly income less than $100, and those living in vegetable thatched houses had 46.0%, while the lowest incidence (15.6%) was found in automobile owners. Of the 760 pregnant women who sought malaria treatment only 278 (34.2%) seek intervention in hospitals, while 59.4% got treatment outside the hospital or were on self medication. This study demonstrated a high prevalence of malaria in the population evaluated, and there- fore underlines the need for urgent intervention through capacity building, implementation of intermittent preventive treat- ment (IPT), use of insecticides treated-nets (ITN) and effective case management of malaria illness. The delivery of these interventions through ante-natal clinics in Nigeria is highly critical and needs to be encouraged; strategies that encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics early and consistently need to be developed. It is also important to develop coherent and effective policies and tools to tackle malaria and poverty.
{"title":"Profile of Malaria in Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Rural Community in Nigeria","authors":"B. E. Bassey, J. Asor, M. F. Useh","doi":"10.2174/1874421400701010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400701010001","url":null,"abstract":"We evaluated the malaria burden in randomly selected pregnant women (PW) attending antenatal clinics in Abuja, Nigeria, to establish an association between pregnancies, malaria. Structured questionnaire was administered by the ante-natal nursing staff and a research assistant. In total, 1400 pregnant women were screened between April and Sep- tember 2004, and capillary blood samples were obtained and screened for malaria parasites in thin blood films and quanti- tative buffy coat analysis (QBC). In total, 1035 (73.9%) pregnant women were positive for Plasmodium falciparum; of which 578 (55.8%) were primigravidae; 299 (28.9%) second gravidae; and 158 (15.3%) were multigravidae, while 297 (28.7) were in their first trimester, 311 (30%) were in their second trimester, and 427 (41.3%) were in their third trimester. The highest prevalence of malaria parasite (31.6%) was found in those aged 26-30 years while the lowest prevalence (2.9%) occurred in those aged 41-46 years. Socio economically, prevalence of malaria parasite is highest in non- automobile owners 84.4%, 66% in those with monthly income less than $100, and those living in vegetable thatched houses had 46.0%, while the lowest incidence (15.6%) was found in automobile owners. Of the 760 pregnant women who sought malaria treatment only 278 (34.2%) seek intervention in hospitals, while 59.4% got treatment outside the hospital or were on self medication. This study demonstrated a high prevalence of malaria in the population evaluated, and there- fore underlines the need for urgent intervention through capacity building, implementation of intermittent preventive treat- ment (IPT), use of insecticides treated-nets (ITN) and effective case management of malaria illness. The delivery of these interventions through ante-natal clinics in Nigeria is highly critical and needs to be encouraged; strategies that encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics early and consistently need to be developed. It is also important to develop coherent and effective policies and tools to tackle malaria and poverty.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"17 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73896464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-02-25DOI: 10.2174/1874421400802010035
I. Rodríguez-González, C. Marín, G. Pérez-Cordón, R. Gutiérrez-Sánchez, M. Sánchez-Moreno
In this study, we report the characterization of seven trypanosome stocks isolated in different geographical ar- eas of Latin America and from different vector species, by analysis of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) restriction fragment- length polymorphism, using five different restriction endonucleases, and genomic DNA by duplex PCR assay. According to the statistical study, the stocks were grouped into three clusters: cluster 1 held the three stocks of T. cruzi used as refer- ences. Very close to these were the stocks isolated in the Peruvian Amazon (TP702, TP704 and TP706), which constituted cluster 2. This cluster also included stock TP504, although this would be a hybrid between T. cruzi and T. rangeli. Cluster 3 consisted of the trypanosomes isolated from salivary glands (TRa, TRa605, TRa606 and TM5), these four stocks being the same as T. rangeli, and the phylogenetic separation observed could be due to having been isolated T. cruzi.
{"title":"Identification of Trypanosoma Strains Isolated in Central and South America by Endoncleases Cleavage and Duplex PCR of Kinetoplast-DNA","authors":"I. Rodríguez-González, C. Marín, G. Pérez-Cordón, R. Gutiérrez-Sánchez, M. Sánchez-Moreno","doi":"10.2174/1874421400802010035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874421400802010035","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we report the characterization of seven trypanosome stocks isolated in different geographical ar- eas of Latin America and from different vector species, by analysis of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) restriction fragment- length polymorphism, using five different restriction endonucleases, and genomic DNA by duplex PCR assay. According to the statistical study, the stocks were grouped into three clusters: cluster 1 held the three stocks of T. cruzi used as refer- ences. Very close to these were the stocks isolated in the Peruvian Amazon (TP702, TP704 and TP706), which constituted cluster 2. This cluster also included stock TP504, although this would be a hybrid between T. cruzi and T. rangeli. Cluster 3 consisted of the trypanosomes isolated from salivary glands (TRa, TRa605, TRa606 and TM5), these four stocks being the same as T. rangeli, and the phylogenetic separation observed could be due to having been isolated T. cruzi.","PeriodicalId":89294,"journal":{"name":"The open parasitology journal","volume":"5 1","pages":"35-39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79499732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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