scholarly journals Zoonotic Implications of Onchocerca Species on Human Health

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 761
Author(s):  
Maria Cambra-Pellejà ◽  
Javier Gandasegui ◽  
Rafael Balaña-Fouce ◽  
José Muñoz ◽  
María Martínez-Valladares

The genus Onchocerca includes several species associated with ungulates as hosts, although some have been identified in canids, felids, and humans. Onchocerca species have a wide geographical distribution, and the disease they produce, onchocerciasis, is generally seen in adult individuals because of its large prepatency period. In recent years, Onchocerca species infecting animals have been found as subcutaneous nodules or invading the ocular tissues of humans; the species involved are O. lupi, O. dewittei japonica, O. jakutensis, O. gutturosa, and O. cervicalis. These findings generally involve immature adult female worms, with no evidence of being fertile. However, a few cases with fertile O. lupi, O. dewittei japonica, and O. jakutensis worms have been identified recently in humans. These are relevant because they indicate that the parasite’s life cycle was completed in the new host—humans. In this work, we discuss the establishment of zoonotic Onchocerca infections in humans, and the possibility of these infections to produce symptoms similar to human onchocerciasis, such as dermatitis, ocular damage, and epilepsy. Zoonotic onchocerciasis is thought to be an emerging human parasitic disease, with the need to take measures such as One Health Strategies, in order to identify and control new cases in humans.

Author(s):  
G. A. Sofronov ◽  
E. L. Patkin

One of the complex problems of modern experimental toxicology remains the molecular mechanism of formation of human health disorders separated at different time periods from acute or chronic exposure to toxic environmental pollutants (ecotoxicants). Identifying and understanding what epigenetic changes are induced by the environment, and how they can lead to unfavorable outcome, are vital for protecting public health. Therefore, we consider it important a modern understanding of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the life cycle of mammals and assess available data on the environmentally caused epigenetic toxicity and, accordingly fledging epigenenomic (epigenetic) regulatory toxicology.


2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-267
Author(s):  
Kiwamu Fujita ◽  
Yoshihiro Murakami ◽  
Takenori Miyashita
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifat Ofir-Birin ◽  
Hila Ben Ami Pilo ◽  
Abel Cruz Camacho ◽  
Ariel Rudik ◽  
Anna Rivkin ◽  
...  

AbstractPathogens are thought to use host molecular cues to control when to initiate life-cycle transitions, but these signals are mostly unknown, particularly for the parasitic disease malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. The chemokine CXCL10 is present at high levels in fatal cases of cerebral malaria patients, but is reduced in patients who survive and do not have complications. Here we show a Pf ‘decision-sensing-system’ controlled by CXCL10 concentration. High CXCL10 expression prompts P. falciparum to initiate a survival strategy via growth acceleration. Remarkably, P. falciparum inhibits CXCL10 synthesis in monocytes by disrupting the association of host ribosomes with CXCL10 transcripts. The underlying inhibition cascade involves RNA cargo delivery into monocytes that triggers RIG-I, which leads to HUR1 binding to an AU-rich domain of the CXCL10 3’UTR. These data indicate that when the parasite can no longer keep CXCL10 at low levels, it can exploit the chemokine as a cue to shift tactics and escape.


Author(s):  
V. Russo ◽  
A. E. Strever ◽  
H. J. Ponstein

Abstract Purpose Following the urgency to curb environmental impacts across all sectors globally, this is the first life cycle assessment of different wine grape farming practices suitable for commercial conventional production in South Africa, aiming at better understanding the potentials to reduce adverse effects on the environment and on human health. Methods An attributional life cycle assessment was conducted on eight different scenarios that reduce the inputs of herbicides and insecticides compared against a business as usual (BAU) scenario. We assess several impact categories based on ReCiPe, namely global warming potential, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial toxicity, freshwater toxicity, marine toxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity and human non-carcinogenic toxicity, human health and ecosystems. A water footprint assessment based on the AWARE method accounts for potential impacts within the watershed. Results and discussion Results show that in our impact assessment, more sustainable farming practices do not always outperform the BAU scenario, which relies on synthetic fertiliser and agrochemicals. As a main trend, most of the impact categories were dominated by energy requirements of wine grape production in an irrigated vineyard, namely the usage of electricity for irrigation pumps and diesel for agricultural machinery. The most favourable scenario across the impact categories provided a low diesel usage, strongly reduced herbicides and the absence of insecticides as it applied cover crops and an integrated pest management. Pesticides and heavy metals contained in agrochemicals are the main contributors to emissions to soil that affected the toxicity categories and impose a risk on human health, which is particularly relevant for the manual labour-intensive South African wine sector. However, we suggest that impacts of agrochemicals on human health and the environment are undervalued in the assessment. The 70% reduction of toxic agrochemicals such as Glyphosate and Paraquat and the 100% reduction of Chlorpyriphos in vineyards hardly affected the model results for human and ecotoxicity. Our concerns are magnified by the fact that manual labour plays a substantial role in South African vineyards, increasing the exposure of humans to these toxic chemicals at their workplace. Conclusions A more sustainable wine grape production is possible when shifting to integrated grape production practices that reduce the inputs of agrochemicals. Further, improved water and related electricity management through drip irrigation, deficit irrigation and photovoltaic-powered irrigation is recommendable, relieving stress on local water bodies, enhancing drought-preparedness planning and curbing CO2 emissions embodied in products.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parviz Mammadzada ◽  
Juliette Bayle ◽  
Johann Gudmundsson ◽  
Anders Kvanta ◽  
Helder André

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can provide insight into the pathophysiological states of ocular tissues such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). In this study, differences in miRNA expression in vitreous from PDR patients with and without incidence of recurrent vitreous hemorrhage (RVH) after the initial pars-plana vitrectomy (PPV) were analyzed, with the aim of identifying biomarkers for RVH. Fifty-four consented vitreous samples were analyzed from patients undergoing PPV for PDR, of which eighteen samples underwent a second surgery due to RVH. Ten of the sixty-six expressed miRNAs (miRNAs-19a, -20a, -22, -27a, -29a, -93, -126, -128, -130a, and -150) displayed divergences between the PDR vitreous groups and to the control. A significant increase in the miRNA-19a and -27a expression was determined in PDR patients undergoing PPV as compared to the controls. miRNA-20a and -93 were significantly upregulated in primary PPV vitreous samples of patients afflicted with RVH. Moreover, this observed upregulation was not significant between the non-RVH and control group, thus emphasizing the association with RVH incidence. miRNA-19a and -27a were detected as putative vitreous biomarkers for PDR, and elevated levels of miRNA-20a and -93 in vitreous with RVH suggest their biomarker potential for major PDR complications such as recurrent hemorrhage incidence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 577 ◽  
pp. 113-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Pini ◽  
Federica Bondioli ◽  
Rita Montecchi ◽  
Paolo Neri ◽  
Anna Maria Ferrari

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