• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제51권3호
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• pp.383-385
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• 2013

Uzbekistan is endemic of cystic echinococcosis (CE). In order to estimate endemicity of CE, we collected data from emergency surgery due to CE in 2002-2010 and also investigated the prevalence of hydatid cysts in the liver and lungs of sheep at an abattoir in Uzbekistan from July 2009 to June 2010. In 14 emergency hospitals, 8,014 patients received surgical removal or drainage of CE during 2002-2010, and 2,966 patients were found in 2010. A total of 22,959 sheep were grossly examined of their liver and lungs, and 479 (2.1%) and 340 (1.5%) of them were positive for the cyst in the liver and lungs, respectively. Echinococcus granulosus is actively transmitted both to humans and sheep, and CE is a zoonotic disease of public health priority in Uzbekistan.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.171-174
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• 2006

The status of intestinal parasitic infections and seroprevalence of cystic echinococcosis in the inhabitants In Dornod and Selenge, Mongolia, was observed with stool and serum samples from 165 and 683 residents from August 9 to August 15, 2003. A total of 10 inhabitants (6.1%) were found to be infected with protozoan cysts or oocysts by stool examinations; 7, 1 and 2 cases with Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum, respectively. A total of 62 people (9.1 %) revealed significantly high levels of specific antibodies against Echinococcus granulosus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The surveyed areas are rural areas and the sanitized tab water is not available. There is a possibility of endemic transmission of water-borne protozoan diseases in these areas. The clinical echinococcosis is needed to be searched from the seropositive inhabitants.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제57권5호
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• pp.489-497
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• 2019

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), a zoonotic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus at the larval stage, predominantly develops in the liver and lungs of intermediate hosts and eventually results in organ malfunction or even death. The interaction between E. granulosus and human body is incompletely understood. Exosomes are nanosized particles ubiquitously present in human body fluids. Exosomes carry biomolecules that facilitate communication between cells. To the best of our knowledge, the role of exosomes in patients with CE is not reported. Here, we isolated exosomes from the sera of patients with CE (CE-exo) and healthy donors and subjected them to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Proteomic analysis identified 49 proteins specifically expressed in CE-exo, including 4 proteins of parasitic origin. The most valuable parasitic proteins included tubulin alpha-1C chain and histone H4. And 8 proteins were differentially regulated in CE-exo (fold change>1.5), as analyzed with bioinformatic methods such as annotation and functional enrichment analyses. These findings may improve our understanding about the interaction between E. granulosus and human body, and may contribute to the diagnosis and prevention of CE.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.113-118
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• 2016

Hydatidosis has become a real concern for health care institutions and animal rearers in Tunisia. The Tunisian endemicity is aggravated by the growing number of dogs and the difficulty of getting rid of contaminated viscera because of the lack of equipment in most slaughterhouses. Therefore, microscopic and molecular tools were applied to evaluate the role of slaughterhouses in canine infection and Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s. l.) egg dissemination. Exposure risk to E. granulosus s. l. eggs in urban and rural areas was explored in order to implant preventive and adapted control strategies. Microscopic examinations detected taeniid eggs in 152 amongst 553 fecal samples. The copro-PCR demonstrated that 138 of 152 taeniid samples analyzed were positive for E. granulosus s. l. DNA. PCR-RFLP demonstrated that all isolated samples belonged to E. granulosus sensu stricto (s. s.). An important environmental contamination index (25.0%) by E. granulosus s. l. eggs was demonstrated. The average contamination index from the regions around slaughterhouses (23.3%; 95% CI: 17.7-28.9%) was in the same range as detected in areas located far from slaughterhouses (26.0%, 95% CI: 21.3-30.8%). Echinococcosis endemic areas were extended in both rural (29.9%, 95% CI: 24.8-34.9%) and urban locations (18.1%, 95% CI: 13.0-22.9%). The pathogen dissemination is related neither to the presence/absence of slaughterhouses nor to the location in urban or rural areas, but is probably influenced by human activities (home slaughtering) and behavior towards the infected viscera.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권3호
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• pp.291-299
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• 2016

Human hydatid disease (cystic echinococcosis, CE) is a chronic parasitic infection caused by the larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus granulosus. As the disease mainly affects the liver, approximately 70% of all identified CE cases are detected in this organ. Optical molecular imaging (OMI), a noninvasive imaging technique, has never been used in vivo with the specific molecular markers of CE. Thus, we aimed to construct an in vivo fluorescent imaging mouse model of CE to locate and quantify the presence of the parasites within the liver noninvasively. Drug-treated protoscolices were monitored after marking by JC-1 dye in in vitro and in vivo studies. This work describes for the first time the successful construction of an in vivo model of E. granulosus in a small living experimental animal to achieve dynamic monitoring and observation of multiple time points of the infection course. Using this model, we quantified and analyzed labeled protoscolices based on the intensities of their red and green fluorescence. Interestingly, the ratio of red to green fluorescence intensity not only revealed the location of protoscolices but also determined the viability of the parasites in vivo and in vivo tests. The noninvasive imaging model proposed in this work will be further studied for long-term detection and observation and may potentially be widely utilized in susceptibility testing and therapeutic effect evaluation.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.519-525
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• 2016

To investigate the potential role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}1$ in liver fibrosis during Echinococcus granulosus infection, 96 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 2 groups, experimental group infected by intraperitoneal injection with a metacestode suspension and control group given sterile physiological saline. The liver and blood samples were collected at days 2, 8, 30, 90, 180, and 270 post infection (PI), and the expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ mRNA and protein was determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. We also evaluated the pathological changes in the liver during the infection using hematoxylin and eosin (H-E) and Masson staining of the liver sections. Pathological analysis of H-E stained infected liver sections revealed liver cell edema, bile duct proliferation, and structural damages of the liver as evidenced by not clearly visible lobular architecture of the infected liver, degeneration of liver cell vacuoles, and infiltration of lymphocytes at late stages of infection. The liver tissue sections from control mice remained normal. Masson staining showed worsening of liver fibrosis at the end stages of the infection. The levels of TGF-${\beta}1$ did not show significant changes at the early stages of infection, but there were significant increases in the levels of TGF-${\beta}1$ at the middle and late stages of infection (P<0.05). RT-PCR results showed that, when compared with the control group, TGF-${\beta}1$ mRNA was low and comparable with that in control mice at the early stages of infection, and that it was significantly increased at day 30 PI and remained at high levels until day 270 PI (P<0.05). The results of this study suggested that increased expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ during E. granulosus infection may play a significant role in liver fibrosis associated with E. granulosus infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권6호
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• pp.759-768
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• 2016

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) treatment urgently requires a novel drug. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a family of Ser/Thr protein kinases, but still have to be characterized in Echinococcus granulosus. We identified a 1,107 bp cDNA encoding a 368 amino acid MAPK protein (Egp38) in E. granulosus. Egp38 exhibits 2 distinguishing features of p38-like kinases: a highly conserved T-X-Y motif and an activation loop segment. Structural homology modeling indicated a conserved structure among Egp38, EmMPK2, and H. sapiens $p38{\alpha}$, implying a common binding mechanism for the ligand domain and downstream signal transduction processing similar to that described for $p38{\alpha}$. Egp38 and its phosphorylated form are expressed in the E. granulosus larval stages vesicle and protoscolices during intermediate host infection of an intermediate host. Treatment of in vitro cultivated protoscolices with the p38-MAPK inhibitor ML3403 effectively suppressed Egp38 activity and led to significant protoscolices death within 5 days. Treatment of in vitro-cultivated protoscolices with $TGF-{\beta}1$ effectively induced Egp38 phosphorylation. In summary, the MAPK, Egp38, was identified in E. granulosus, as an anti-CE drug target and participates in the interplay between the host and E. granulosus via human $TGF-{\beta}1$.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.483-493
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• 1989

Echinococcal or hydatid cyst is one of the most important zoonoses and commonly seen throughout the world, especially sheep and cattle raising areas, but rare in Korea. The causative organism, Echinococcus granulosus, is a small tapeworm and dogs are the usual source of infestation. Lung is the second most common focus for this disease, after liver. Recently, with increasing numbers of Koreans visiting to those endemic countries especially Middle East, the reports of hydatidosis are increasing. Authors experienced two cases of pulmonary hydatid cyst in the 31 year old male and 44 year old male who had a history of spending 2 * 3 years in Middle East. we found them in incidental routine chest X-ray.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.53-56
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• 2012

Treatment of hydatid disease is mainly surgical, with medical treatment being reserved as a coadjuvant treatment. Use of effective scolicidal agents during surgery of cystic echinococcosis is essential to reduce the recurrence rate. The goal of this study was to evaluate the in vitro scolicidal effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of $Satureja$ $khuzestanica$ leaves and aqueous extracts of $Olea$ $europaea$ leaves on hydatid cyst protoscolices. $Echinococcus$ $granulosus$ protoscolices were collected from the liver of sheep infected with the hydatid cyst. Various concentrations of plant extracts were used in different exposure times for viability assay of protoscolices. Among the olive leaf extracts tested, 0.1% and 0.01% concentrations had strong scolicidal effects in 120 min. $S.$ $khuzestanica$ 0.1% had very strong scolicidal effects in 30, 60, and 120 min of exposure times and the mortality rate decreased with the lower concentration. The finding have shown that the scolicidal activity of $S.$ $khuzestanica$ against cystic echinococosis protoscolices were more effective, while the $O.$ $europaea$ extract showed less effects.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.55-60
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• 2016

The aim of the present study is to determine the characteristics of genotype and phenotype of Echinococcus granulosus derived from wild sheep and to compare them with the strains of E. granulosus sensu stricto (sheep-dog) and E. granulosus camel strain (camel-dog) in Iran. In Khojir National Park, near Tehran, Iran, a fertile hydatid cyst was recently found in the liver of a dead wild sheep (Ovis orientalis). The number of protoscolices (n=6,000) proved enough for an experimental infection in a dog. The characteristics of large and small hooks of metacestode were statistically determined as the sensu stricto strain but not the camel strain (P=0.5). To determine E. granulosus genotype, 20 adult worms of this type were collected from the infected dog. The second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and cytochrome c oxidase 1 subunit (COX1) of the mitochondrial DNA were amplified from individual adult worm by PCR. Subsequently, the PCR product was sequenced by Sanger method. The lengths of ITS2 and COX1 sequences were 378 and 857 bp, respectively, for all the sequenced samples. The amplified DNA sequences from both ribosomal and mitochondrial genes were highly similar (99% and 98%, respectively) to that of the ovine strain in the GenBank database. The results of the present study indicate that the morpho-molecular features and characteristics of E. granulosus in the Iranian wild sheep are the same as those of the sheep-dog E. granulosus sensu stricto strain.