scholarly journals Creation of a comprehensive repeat library for a newly sequenced parasitic worm genome

Author(s):  
Avril Coghlan ◽  
Avril Coghlan ◽  
Isheng Jason Tsai ◽  
Matthew Berriman
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 686
Author(s):  
Raquel Porto ◽  
Ana C. Mengarda ◽  
Rayssa A. Cajas ◽  
Maria C. Salvadori ◽  
Fernanda S. Teixeira ◽  
...  

The intravascular parasitic worm Schistosoma mansoni is a causative agent of schistosomiasis, a disease of great global public health significance. Praziquantel is the only drug available to treat schistosomiasis and there is an urgent demand for new anthelmintic agents. Adopting a phenotypic drug screening strategy, here, we evaluated the antiparasitic properties of 46 commercially available cardiovascular drugs against S. mansoni. From these screenings, we found that amiodarone, telmisartan, propafenone, methyldopa, and doxazosin affected the viability of schistosomes in vitro, with effective concentrations of 50% (EC50) and 90% (EC90) values ranging from 8 to 50 µM. These results were further supported by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Subsequently, the most effective drug (amiodarone) was further tested in a murine model of schistosomiasis for both early and chronic S. mansoni infections using a single oral dose of 400 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg daily for five consecutive days. Amiodarone had a low efficacy in chronic infection, with the worm and egg burden reduction ranging from 10 to 30%. In contrast, amiodarone caused a significant reduction in worm and egg burden in early infection (>50%). Comparatively, treatment with amiodarone is more effective in early infection than praziquantel, demonstrating the potential role of this cardiovascular drug as an antischistosomal agent.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fátima Jorge ◽  
Nolwenn M. Dheilly ◽  
Céline Froissard ◽  
Eleanor Wainwright ◽  
Robert Poulin

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Ebihara ◽  
Ichiro Taniuchi

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are tissue-resident cells and are a major source of innate TH2 cytokine secretion upon allergen exposure or parasitic-worm infection. Accumulating studies have revealed that transcription factors, including GATA-3, Bcl11b, Gfi1, RORα, and Ets-1, play a role in ILC2 differentiation. Recent reports have further revealed that the characteristics and functions of ILC2 are influenced by the physiological state of the tissues. Specifically, the type of inflammation strongly affects the ILC2 phenotype in tissues. Inhibitory ILC2s, memory-like ILC2s, and ex-ILC2s with ILC1 features acquire their characteristic properties following exposure to their specific inflammatory environment. We have recently reported a new ILC2 population, designated as exhausted-like ILC2s, which emerges after a severe allergic inflammation. Exhausted-like ILC2s are featured with low reactivity and high expression of inhibitory receptors. Therefore, for a more comprehensive understanding of ILC2 function and differentiation, we review the recent knowledge of transcriptional regulation of ILC2 differentiation and discuss the roles of the Runx transcription factor in controlling the emergence of exhausted-like ILC2s. The concept of exhausted-like ILC2s sheds a light on a new aspect of ILC2 biology in allergic diseases.


1969 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 885-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kurelec ◽  
Marija Rijavec ◽  
R. Klepac

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abena S. Amoah ◽  
Daniel A. Boakye ◽  
Maria Yazdanbakhsh ◽  
Ronald van Ree

2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 1123-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Sudo ◽  
Yoshiaki J. Hirano ◽  
Yayoi M. Hirano

An endoparasitic platyhelminth from six species of sacoglossan opisthobranchs was collected at several localities of temperate to subtropical waters in Japan. Poecilostomatoid copepods (all species of Splanchnotrophidae and several species of Philoblennidae) and a few digenean flukes had been the only endoparasitic metazoans known for opisthobranch hosts. The newly discovered parasite was 1 to 15 mm in length and had no eyes, mouth, pharynx, or intestine. It had no external organs for parasitic life (e.g. attachment organs) and inhabited the haemocoel of the host. When mature, it emerged from the host and secreted a silky substance around itself to form a cocoon. The cocoon contained egg capsules with 19–42 eggs. Larvae, hatched from the capsule, had a ciliated body and a pair of eye spots. They were negatively phototactic and capable of invading suitable hosts. These morphological and life history features suggest this parasitic worm may belong to the family Fecampiidae (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria), one of a few obligate parasite taxa in Turbellaria. Molluscan hosts which are common for parasitic Platyhelminthes have not previously been known for this family. The newly discovered parasite may be important for understanding the evolution of parasitism in Platyhelminthes.


Weed Science ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 33-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Parker

The use of nematodes as biological control agents has been met with skepticism, partly due to the newness of the approach and also to the potential difficulties of using a parasitic worm as a control organism. Most of the attention directed towards nematodes as biological control agents has been focused on several species that act as insect parasites. Considerable headway has been achieved with several of these parasites, especially with those parasitic on wood-boring insect larvae. The insect gallery of wood-boring larvae provides an optimum microclimate for the nematode to survive and seek out its larval insect host. A system where this strategy has proved successful involves the use of the insect parasitic nematodeNeoaplectana carpocapsaeWeiser as a biological control agent for carpenterworms (Prionoxystus robinaePeck) in fig (Ficus cariaL.) orchards in California (6). Similar systems are being developed both here and abroad with the same nematode or a closely related genus or species. Many of these systems show promise (5).


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A.H. Draycott ◽  
M.I.A. Woodburn ◽  
D.E. Ling ◽  
R.B. Sage

AbstractIn Great Britain free-living common pheasantsPhasianus colchicusare often managed at high densities owing to their popularity as a quarry species. They are prone to infection by a range of parasite species includingHeterakis gallinarum,Capillariaspp. andSyngamus trachea. In 1995 the efficacy of an indirect anthelmintic technique for controlling parasitic worm burdens of pheasants was determined in a pilot study on a shooting estate in the south of England. Between 2000 and 2003 a large-scale field experiment was conducted on nine estates in eastern England to determine the effect of the technique on parasite burden and pheasant breeding success. In the absence of anthelmintic treatment worm burdens increased rapidly through March and April, whereas birds given anthelmintic-treated grain had lower worm burdens during the same period. The breeding success of pheasants was significantly higher on plots provided with anthelmintic treatment, although no long-term increases in population densities were observed. The burdens of the most common parasiteH. gallinarumwere significantly lower in pheasants from treatment plots six weeks after the anthelmintic treatment had ceased, but spring treatment did not influence parasite burden in the following winter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document