Parasite master

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES: Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that affects millions of people worldwide every year. With no vaccination available, early detection and treatment is critical. One-hundred-twelve countries in the world pose a risk to travelers, particularly in metropolitan areas. Laboratory diagnoses vary according to objectives, resources, and schedule, with sensitivity and specificity must be balanced for effective testing. METHODS: The current work is a cross-sectional diagnostic study and samples from suspected patients of dengue was collected from May 15 to November 15 2023 and transported to laboratory, and RT-PCR and Dengue Duo Rapid test diagnosis techniques were used on 48 clinical samples included in this study...

Staphylococcus epidermidis is part of the commensal microbiota of the skin and mucous membranes, though it can also act as a pathogen in certain scenarios, causing a range of infections, including periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Transcriptomic profiling may provide insights into mechanisms by which S. epidermidis adapts while in a pathogenic compared to a commensal state. Here, a total RNA-sequencing approach was used to profile and compare the transcriptomes of 19 paired PJI-associated S. epidermidis samples from an in vivo clinical source and grown in in vitro laboratory culture...

RNA viruses and viroids exist and evolve as quasispecies due to error-prone replication. Quasispecies consist of a few dominant master sequences alongside numerous variants that contribute to genetic diversity. Upon environmental changes, certain variants within quasispecies have the potential to become the dominant sequences, leading to the emergence of novel infectious strains. However, the emergence of new infectious variants remains unpredictable. Using mutant pools prepared by saturation mutagenesis of selected stem and loop regions, our study of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) demonstrates that mutants forming local three-dimensional (3D) structures similar to the wild type (WT) are more likely to accumulate in PSTVd quasispecies...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dichroa febrifuga Lour., a toxic but extensively used traditional Chinese medicine with a remarkable effect, is commonly called "Changshan" in China. It has been used to treat malaria and many other parasitic diseases. AIM OF THE REVIEW: The study aims to provide a current overview of the progress in the research on traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, toxicology, and methods of toxicity reduction of D. febrifuga...

UNLABELLED: The Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein MSPDBL2 is a polymorphic antigen targeted by acquired immune responses, and normally expressed in only a minority of mature schizonts. The potential relationship of MSPDBL2 to sexual commitment is examined, as variable mspdbl2 transcript levels and proportions of MSPDBL2-positive mature schizonts in clinical isolates have previously correlated with levels of many sexual stage parasite gene transcripts, although not with the master regulator ap2-g ...

XRE-cupin family proteins containing an DNA-binding domain and a cupin signal-sensing domain are widely distributed in bacteria. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, XRE-cupin transcription factors have long been recognized as regulators exclusively controlling cellular metabolism pathways. However, their potential functional roles beyond metabolism regulation remain unknown. PsdR, a typical XRE-cupin transcriptional regulator, was previously characterized as a local repressor involved solely in dipeptide metabolism...

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a nucleic acid amplification technique that can amplify specific nucleic acids at a constant temperature (63-65°C) within a short period (< 1 hour). In this study, we report the utilization of recombinase-aided LAMP to specifically amplify the 18S sRNA of Plasmodium knowlesi. The method was built on a conventional LAMP assay by inclusion of an extra enzyme, namely recombinase, into the master mixture. With the addition of recombinase into the LAMP assay, the assay speed was executed within a time frame of less than 28 minutes at 65°C...

The reliability of the resistor-capacitor (RC) time constant of a continuous-time (CT) filter has long been an obstacle with integrated circuits. Due to process and temperature variations in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the absolute value of the RC time constant may vary over ±50%, which is a big issue for many integrated continuous-time analog circuits. This study proposes an on-chip RC time constant auto-tuning scheme. The proposed scheme is based on the discrete master-slave auto-tuning concept...

BACKGROUND: The Bai people in Yunlong County, northwest Yunnan, China, have used medicinal plants and traditional remedies for ethnoveterinary practices. The Bai have mastered ethnoveterinary therapeutic methods in livestock breeding since ancient times. The Bai's traditional ethnoveterinary knowledge is now facing extinction, and their unique ethnoveterinary practices have rarely been recorded. This study documented animal diseases, EMPs, and related traditional knowledge in Yunlong County, China...

Geohelminthiases are endemic in Chad and constitute a serious public health problem. This study aimed at determing the prevalence and risk factors of intestinal geohelminthiasis in children aged 5-15 years in the city of Moundou, Chad. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study carried out in the city of Moundou. A total of 333 pupils participated in this study and it included children aged from 5 to 15 years attending three public primary schools in Moundou. A questionnaire was administered to each student after obtaining Informed Consent from either parent...

The liver fluke Opisthorchis felineus is a clinically important food-borne parasite of humans. Infection with O. felineus in mammals is associated with liver morbidities such as periductal fibrosis, bile duct neoplasia, and chronic inflammation. Previously we have shown that excretory-secretory products (ESP) can stimulate the healing of skin wounds in mice, which may be due to stimulated angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling. However, there are no studies analyzing the angiogenic character of O...

Arbitrium-coding phages use peptides to communicate and coordinate the decision between lysis and lysogeny. However, the mechanism by which these phages establish lysogeny remains unknown. Here, focusing on the SPbeta phage family's model phages phi3T and SPβ, we report that a six-gene operon called the "SPbeta phages repressor operon" (sro) expresses not one but two master repressors, SroE and SroF, the latter of which folds like a classical phage integrase. To promote lysogeny, these repressors bind to multiple sites in the phage genome...

BACKGROUND: Rhizocephalan interaction with their decapod hosts is a superb example of host manipulation. These parasites are able to alter the host's physiology and behavior. Host-parasite interaction is performed, presumably, via special modified rootlets invading the ventral ganglions. METHODS: In this study, we focus on the morphology and ultrastructure of these special rootlets in Polyascus polygeneus (Lützen & Takahashi, 1997), family Polyascidae, invading the neuropil of the host's nervous tissue...

Honey bees, like other livestock, may be affected by infectious, parasitic, and abiotic diseases that need proper sanitary monitoring and control. Currently, there are limited opportunities for undergraduate students to receive education in Honey Bee Veterinary Medicine (HBVM) as part of their regular degree program, despite the professional requirements for veterinarians to carry out the increasing tasks related to honey bee health and production. Additionally, postgraduate training and specialization in HBVM is also underdeveloped...

The parasitic oomycete Aphanomyces astaci is the causative agent of crayfish plague, a devastating disease for European freshwater crayfish. Species specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) can offer rapid detection of the pathogen. However, the well established A. astaci qPCR assay recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) amplifies the recently described Aphanomyces fennicus. Consequently, false-positive results may occur. This calls for the improvement of the established species specific A...

MOTIVATION: Leishmaniasis is a global concern especially in underdeveloped and developing subtropical and tropical regions. The extent of infectivity in host is majorly dependent on functional polarization of macrophages. Classically activated M1 macrophage can eliminate parasite through production of iNOS and alternatively activated M2 macrophages can promote parasite growth through by providing shelter and nutrients to parasite. The biological processes involved in immune signaling and metabolism of host and parasite might be responsible for deciding fate of parasite...

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II is dynamically expressed on mucosal epithelial cells and is induced in response to inflammation and parasitic infections, upon exposure to microbiota, and is increased in chronic inflammatory diseases. However, the regulation of epithelial cell-specific MHC II during homeostasis is yet to be explored. We discovered a novel role for IL-22 in suppressing epithelial cell MHC II partially via the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, using animals lacking the interleukin-22-receptor (IL-22RA1), primary human and murine intestinal and respiratory organoids, and murine models of respiratory virus infection or with intestinal epithelial cell defects...

UNLABELLED: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects a broad spectrum of hosts and can colonize many organs and cell types. The ability to reside within a wide range of different niches requires substantial adaptability to diverse microenvironments. Very little is known about how this parasite senses various milieus and adapts its metabolism to survive, replicate during the acute stage, and then differentiate to the chronic stage. Most eukaryotes, from yeast to mammals, rely on a nutrient sensing machinery involving the TORC complex as master regulator of cell growth and cell cycle progression...

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum represses transcription of the gene encoding AP2-G, which is the master regulator of germ cell differentiation, via heterochromatin condensation following histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3). Although H3K9me3-marked heterochromatin is typically constitutive and its establishment depends on the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway in fission yeast centromeres, malaria parasites lack molecular members essential for RNAi. We developed a strategy to assess heterochromatin establishment on artificial chromosomes introduced into P...

Cluster of differentiation (CD4+ ) T cells consist of multiple subtypes, defined by expression of lineage-specific transcription factors, that contribute to the control of infectious diseases by providing help to immune and nonimmune target cells. In the current study, we examined the role of B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-6, a transcriptional repressor and master regulator of T follicular helper cell differentiation, in T cell-mediated host defense against intestinal and systemic parasitic infections. We demonstrate that while Bcl-6 expression by CD4+ T cells is critical for antibody-mediated protective immunity against secondary infection with the nematode Heligmosoides polygyrus bakeri, it paradoxically compromises worm expulsion during primary infection by limiting the generation of interleukin-10 (IL-10)-producing Gata3+ T helper 2 cells...