BACKGROUND: Schistosoma mansoni was introduced from Africa to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade and remains a major public health problem in parts of South America and the Caribbean. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of three S. mansoni strains with different geographical origins-from Liberia, Belo Horizonte and Puerto Rico. We demonstrated significant variation in virulence and host-parasite interactions. METHODS: We investigated the phenotypic characteristics of the parasite and its eggs, as well as the immunopathologic effects on laboratory mouse organ systems. RESULTS: Our results show significant differences in worm morphology, worm burden, egg size, and pathologic organ changes between these strains. The Puerto Rican strain showed the highest virulence, as evidenced by marked liver and spleen changes and advanced liver fibrosis indicated by increased collagen content. In contrast, the strains from Liberia and Belo Horizonte had a less pathogenic profile with less liver fibrosis. We found further variations in granuloma formation, cytokine expression and T-cell dynamics, indicating different immune responses. CONCLUSION: Our study emphasizes the importance of considering intra-specific variations of S. mansoni for the development of targeted therapies and public health strategies. The different virulence patterns, host immune responses and organ pathologies observed in these strains provide important insights for future research and could inform region-specific interventions for schistosomiasis control.
- MeSH
- cytokiny metabolismus MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- játra * parazitologie patologie MeSH
- myši MeSH
- Schistosoma mansoni * patogenita genetika imunologie MeSH
- schistosomiasis mansoni * parazitologie imunologie patologie MeSH
- slezina parazitologie patologie imunologie MeSH
- virulence MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- myši MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Libérie MeSH
- Portoriko MeSH
Trematodes of the order Diplostomida are well known as serious pathogens of man, and both farm and wild animals; members of the genus Schistosoma (Schistosomatidae) are responsible for human schistosomosis (schistosomiasis) affecting more than 200 million people in tropical and subtropical countries, and infections of mammals and birds by animal schistosomes are of great veterinary importance. The order Diplostomida is also rich in species parasitizing other major taxa of vertebrates. The "Aporocotylidae" sensu lato are pathogenic in fish, "Spirorchiidae" sensu lato in reptiles. All these flukes have two-host life cycles, with asexually reproducing larvae usually in mollusks and occasionally in annelids, and adults usually live in the blood vessels of their vertebrate hosts. Pathology is frequently associated with inflammatory reactions to eggs trapped in various tissues/organs. On the other hand, the representatives of Diplostomidae and Strigeidae have three- or four-host life cycles in which vertebrates often serve not only as definitive but also as intermediate or paratenic hosts. Pathology is usually associated with migration of metacercariae and mesocercariae within the host tissues. The impact of these trematode infections on both farm and wild animals may be significant.
In this review, I take the first-person perspective of a neuroscientist interested in Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908). I reflect on the value of behavioural manipulation as a perturbation tool to understand the organisation of behaviour within the brain. Toxoplasma gondii infection reduces the aversion of rats to the olfactory cues of cat presence. This change in behaviour is one of the often-discussed exemplars of host-parasite coevolution, culminating in the manipulation of the host behaviour for the benefit of the parasite. Such coevolution also means that we can use host-parasite systems as tools to derive fundamental insights about the host brain itself.
- MeSH
- chování zvířat * fyziologie MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita * MeSH
- krysa rodu rattus MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- Toxoplasma * fyziologie MeSH
- toxoplazmóza zvířat parazitologie MeSH
- toxoplazmóza parazitologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- krysa rodu rattus MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Po koupání v přírodních nádržích se v létě 2023 na několika místech v České republice objevila u lidí, zejména u dětí, cerkáriová dermatitida. Jde o imunitní reakci na průnik larvy motolice – ptačí krevničky – do kůže nesprávného hostitele. Mezi hostiteli parazita jsou plicnatí vodní plži – plovatky a okružáci – a definitivní hostitelé vodní ptáci, zejména kachny. Hodiny až dny po koupání se vyvine svědivá vyrážka, následně s puchýřky. Hojení trvá dva týdny, symptomy lze tišit antihistaminiky. Čisté vodní nádrže bez plžů jsou bezpečné a v některých přírodních nádržích po nahlášení onemocnění přistoupila samospráva nebo provozovatel koupaliště k fyzické likvidaci plžů.
After swimming in natural reservoirs in the summer of 2023, cercarial dermatitis or Swimmer's itch appeared in several places in the Czech Republic in people, especially in children. It is an immune reaction to the penetration of a fluke larva – a bird blood fluke into the skin of the wrong host. The intermediate hosts of the parasite are pulmonate aquatic gas- tropods – pond snails and ramshorns – and the definitive hosts are waterfowl, especially ducks. An itchy rash develops hours to days after bathing, followed by blisters. Healing takes two weeks symptoms can be calmed by antihistamines. Clean water reservoirs without snails are safe, and in some natural ones, after the disease has been reported, the municipality or the operator of the swimming pool proceeded to physically dispose of the snails.
- MeSH
- cerkárie * patogenita MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- parazitární onemocnění kůže * diagnóza prevence a kontrola terapie MeSH
- rybníky MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Leishmania species, members of the kinetoplastid parasites, cause leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, in millions of people worldwide. Leishmania has a complex life cycle with multiple developmental forms, as it cycles between a sand fly vector and a mammalian host; understanding their life cycle is critical to understanding disease spread. One of the key life cycle stages is the haptomonad form, which attaches to insect tissues through its flagellum. This adhesion, conserved across kinetoplastid parasites, is implicated in having an important function within their life cycles and hence in disease transmission. Here, we discover the kinetoplastid-insect adhesion proteins (KIAPs), which localise in the attached Leishmania flagellum. Deletion of these KIAPs impairs cell adhesion in vitro and prevents Leishmania from colonising the stomodeal valve in the sand fly, without affecting cell growth. Additionally, loss of parasite adhesion in the sand fly results in reduced physiological changes to the fly, with no observable damage of the stomodeal valve and reduced midgut swelling. These results provide important insights into a comprehensive understanding of the Leishmania life cycle, which will be critical for developing transmission-blocking strategies.
- MeSH
- buněčná adheze MeSH
- flagella * metabolismus MeSH
- hmyz - vektory parazitologie MeSH
- hmyzí proteiny metabolismus genetika MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- Leishmania * fyziologie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- leishmanióza parazitologie přenos MeSH
- protozoální proteiny metabolismus genetika MeSH
- Psychodidae * parazitologie MeSH
- stadia vývoje MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Glypthelmins quieta is a frog trematode native to North and Central America. This trematode was recently detected in Japan in the American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus, which was introduced from North America to Japan. As the first intermediate host of G. quieta, typically a snail, has not yet been identified in Japan, we conducted a snail survey in eastern Japan to screen for an intermediate host using DNA barcoding based on the nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1. We sampled 3 different snail species, Orientogalba ollula, Physella acuta, and Sinotaia quadrata histrica (157 individuals in total), and only the freshwater snail Physella acuta, which is also believed to have been introduced from North America to Japan, had sporocysts of G. quieta in its hepatopancreas. The introduction of the intermediate and definitive hosts from North America may have facilitated the invasion of G. quieta into Japan.
- MeSH
- hlemýždi * parazitologie MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- RNA ribozomální 28S genetika MeSH
- Trematoda * genetika MeSH
- zavlečené druhy MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Japonsko MeSH
INTRODUCTION: Parasite-mediated selection is considered one of the potential mechanisms contributing to the coexistence of asexual-sexual complexes. Gibel carp (Carassius gibelio), an invasive fish species in Europe, often forms populations composed of gynogenetic and sexual specimens. METHODS: The experimental infection was induced in gynogenetic and sexual gibel carp using eye-fluke Diplostomum pseudospathaceum (Trematoda), and the transcriptome profile of the spleen as a major immune organ in fish was analyzed to reveal the differentially expressed immunity-associated genes related to D. pseudospathaceum infection differing between gynogenetic and sexual gibel carp. RESULTS: High parasite infection was found in gynogenetic fish when compared to genetically diverse sexuals. Although metacercariae of D. pseudospathaceum are situated in an immune-privileged organ, our results show that eye trematodes may induce a host immune response. We found differential gene expression induced by eye-fluke infection, with various impacts on gynogenetic and sexual hosts, documenting for the majority of DEGs upregulation in sexuals, and downregulation in asexuals. Differences in gene regulation between gynogenetic and sexual gibel carp were evidenced in many immunity-associated genes. GO analyses revealed the importance of genes assigned to the GO terms: immune function, the Notch signaling pathway, MAP kinase tyrosine/threonine/phosphatase activity, and chemokine receptor activity. KEGG analyses revealed the importance of the genes involved in 12 immunity-associated pathways - specifically, FoxO signaling, adipocytokine signaling, TGF-beta signaling, apoptosis, Notch signaling, C-type lectin receptor signaling, efferocytosis, intestinal immune network for IgA production, insulin signaling, virion - human immunodeficiency virus, Toll-like receptor signaling, and phosphatidylinositol signaling system. DISCUSSION: Our study indicates the limited potential of asexual fish to cope with higher parasite infection (likely a loss of capacity to induce an effective immune response) and highlights the important role of molecular mechanisms associated with immunity for the coexistence of gynogenetic and sexual gibel carp, potentially contributing to its invasiveness.
- MeSH
- infekce červy třídy Trematoda * veterinární imunologie parazitologie MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita imunologie MeSH
- kapři parazitologie imunologie genetika MeSH
- nemoci ryb * imunologie parazitologie MeSH
- regulace genové exprese MeSH
- rozmnožování imunologie MeSH
- stanovení celkové genové exprese MeSH
- transkriptom MeSH
- Trematoda * fyziologie MeSH
- zavlečené druhy * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor transmits and triggers viral infections that have deleterious effects on honey bee colonies worldwide. We performed a manipulative experiment in which worker bees collected at emergence were exposed to Varroa for 72 h, and their proteomes were compared with those of untreated control bees. Label-free quantitative proteomics identified 77 differentially expressed A. mellifera proteins (DEPs). In addition, viral proteins were identified by orthogonal analysis, and most importantly, Deformed wing virus (DWV) was found at high levels/intensity in Varroa-exposed bees. Pathway enrichment analysis suggested that the main pathways affected included peroxisomal metabolism, cyto-/exoskeleton reorganization, and cuticular proteins. Detailed examination of individual DEPs revealed that additional changes in DEPs were associated with peroxisomal function. In addition, the proteome data support the importance of TGF-β signaling in Varroa-DWV interaction and the involvement of the mTORC1 and Hippo pathways. These results suggest that the effect of DWV on bees associated with Varroa feeding results in aberrant autophagy. In particular, autophagy is selectively modulated by peroxisomes, to which the observed proteome changes strongly corresponded. This study complements previous research with different study designs and suggests the importance of the peroxisome, which plays a key role in viral infections.
- MeSH
- hmyzí proteiny metabolismus MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- peroxizomy * metabolismus virologie MeSH
- proteom metabolismus analýza MeSH
- proteomika metody MeSH
- RNA-viry * fyziologie MeSH
- signální transdukce MeSH
- Varroidae * virologie MeSH
- včely virologie parazitologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
An uncommon host-parasite relationship is presented: Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch, 1818 (Diptera: Carnidae) parasiting fledgling of Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758. This host association has hitherto not been recorded from the territory of Romania.
- MeSH
- Diptera * klasifikace MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- nemoci ptáků parazitologie epidemiologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Rumunsko MeSH
2., rozšířené vydání 369 stran : ilustrace (převážně barevné), portréty ; 24 cm
Publikace se zaměřuje na parazity, interakce mezi zvířaty, pararazity a lidmi, a na parazitární nemoci. Určeno odborné veřejnosti.
- MeSH
- interakce člověk - zvíře MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- parazitární nemoci MeSH
- paraziti MeSH
- Konspekt
- Buněčná biologie. Cytologie
- NLK Obory
- parazitologie
- NLK Publikační typ
- kolektivní monografie
