• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.221-231
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• 2003

To gain information on retrotransposons in the genome of Paragonimus westermani, PCR was carried out with degenerate primers, specific to protease and reverse transcriptase (rt) genes of long-terminal-repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. The PCR products were cloned and sequenced, after which 12 different retrotransposon-related sequences were isolated from the trematode genome. These showed various degrees of identity to the polyprotein of divergent retrotransposon families. A phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that these sequences could be classified into three different families of LTR retrotransposons, namely, Xena, Bel, and Gypsy families. Of these, two mRNA transcripts were detected by reverse transcriptase-PCR, showing that these two elements preserved their mobile activities. The genomic distributions of these two sequences were found to be highly repetitive. These results suggest that there are diverse retrotransposons including the ancient Xena family in the genome of P. westermani, which may have been involved in the evolution of the host genome.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2000

Eosinophils are important effector cells in host defense against parasites. Excretory-secretory product (ESP) produced by helminthic worms plays important roles in the uptake of nutrients, migration in the host tissue, and in immune modulation. However little is known about the ability of the ESP to directly trigger eosinophil apoptosis. This study investigated whether the ESP of newly excysted metacercariae of Paragonimus westermani could induce apoptosis in human eosinophils. Apoptosis was assayed by staining the cells with FITC-annexin V, and the cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. It was found that the ESP of newly excysted metacercariae of P. westemani induced a direct time- and concentration-dependent increase in the rate of constitutive apoptosis in mature human eosinophils. Eosinophil apoptosis was first apparent 3 hr after treatment with the ESP and continued to increase after 6 hr of incubation with respect to the cells cultured in the absence of the ESP. While only 2.8% of the eosinophils incubated in the medium for 3 hr were apoptotic, 7.6%, 10.9% and 22.6% of the eosinophils treated with 10. 30 and $100{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ ESP were apoptotic, respectively. This result suggests that the ESP of newly excysted metacercariae of P. westermani directly induce eosinophil apoptosis, which may be important for the survival of the parasites and the reduction of eosinophilic inflammation in vivo.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 2008

Eosinophil degranulation plays a crucial role in tissue inflammatory reactions associated with helminth parasitic infections and allergic diseases. Paragonimus westermani, a lung fluke causing human paragonimiasis, secretes a large amount of cysteine proteases, which are involved in nutrient uptake, tissue invasion, and modulation of hos's immune responses. There is, however, limited information about the response of eosinophils to direct stimulation by cysteine proteases (CP) secreted by P. westermani. In the present study, we tested whether degranulation and superoxide production from human eosinophils can be induced by stimulation of the 2 CP (27 kDa and 28 kDa) purified from excretory-secretory products (ESP) of P. westermani newly excysted metacercariae (PwNEM). A large quantity of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) was detected in the culture supernatant when human eosinophils isolated from the peripheral blood were incubated with the purified 27 kDa CP. Furthermore, the 27 kDa CP induced superoxide anion production by eosinophils in time- and dose-dependent manners. In contrast, the purified 28 kDa CP did not induce superoxide production and degranulation. These findings suggest that the 27 kDa CP secreted by PwNEM induces superoxide production and degranulation of human eosinophils, which may be involved in eosinophil-mediated tissue inflammatory responses during the larval migration in human paragonimiasis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.43 no.1 s.133
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• pp.33-37
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• 2005

Eosinophil degranulation is considered to be a key effector function for the killing of helminthic worms and tissue inflammation at worm-infected lesion sites. However, relatively little data are available with regard to eosinophil response after stimulation with worm-secreted products which contain a large quantity of cysteine proteases. In this study, we attempted to determine whether the degranulation of human eosinophils could be induced by the direct stimulation of the excretory-secretory products (ESP) of Paragonimus westermani, which causes pulmonary paragonimiasis in human beings. Incubation of eosinophils for 3 hr with Paragonimus-secreted products resulted in marked degranulation, as evidenced by the release of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EON) in the culture supernatants. Moreover, superoxide anion was produced by eosinophils after stimulation of the ESP. The ESP-induced EDN release was found to be significantly inhibited when the ESP was pretreated with protease inhibitor cocktail or the cysteine protease inhibitor, E-64. These findings suggest that human eosinophils become degranulated in response to P. westermani-secreted proteases, which may contribute to in vivo tissue inflammation around the worms.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.349-352
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• 2012

A 94-year-old female with end-stage renal disease presents with fever, fatigue, and hematochezia. She had previously resided in Hunan Province, China, and Myanmar, and she immigrated to Taiwan 30 years ago. Colonoscopy revealed a colonic ulcer. Biopsy of the colonic ulcer showed ulceration of the colonic mucosa, and many Paragonimus westermani-like eggs were noted. Serum IgG antibody levels showed strong reactivity with P. westermani excretory-secretory antigens by ELISA. Intestinal paragonimiasis was thus diagnosed according to the morphology of the eggs and serologic finding. After treatment with praziquantel, hematochezia resolved. The present case illustrates the extreme manifestations encountered in severe intestinal paragonimiasis.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 1991

The amino acid constituents of Paragonimus westermani were very imperfectively known. Lee(1964) detected 9 amino acids in the tissue hydrolysates of P. westermani, and 13 amino acids were detected from the cyst content and body fluid constituents of P. ohirai, But, the quantity of amino acids in P. westermani is still unknown. In the present investigation 18 amino acids, the fundamental constituents of proteins, were quantitatively studied by high performance liquid chromatography. The results obtained were as follows : A total of 18 amino acids were recovered in protein hydrolysates of P. westermani obtained from cat. ; They were cystein, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine. glycine, histidine. arginine, threonine, alanine, proline, tyrosine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and lysin. Among them, glutamic acid was the most abundant form and tryptophan, cystein, methionine, and histidine constitute minor portion of hydrolysates. Compared to the normal P. westermani, the volume of hydrolysates obtained from the praziquantel(PZQ) treated worm-0.lug PZQ/ml saline for 6 hours incubation, and $3{\times}25$mg/kg bwt${\times}$2days in vivo treatment was generally increased except tryptophan. A total of 17 free amino acids were identified and the volume was 174.18 umol/1 gm wet weight P. westermaini. Among them, glycine and alanine constitute 28% of total volume. No significant differences were observed in the material obtained from worm treated with PZQ. However, slight increase of serine, arginine and the slight diminution of glutamic acid and proline was observed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.231-242
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• 1994

Pnragonimus westermnni, the lung fluke, is known to migrate to the pulmonary tissue of mammalian hosts and causes pathological changes in the lungs. An acidic thiol-dependent proteinase with a molecular weight of approximately 20,000 daltons was purified to homogeneity using ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. On SDS-PAGE, the molecular weight of the enzyme was 17,500 daltons. Isoelectric point was 6.45. The enzyme was similar to the acidic cysteine proteinase of vertebrates in the properties of pH optimum, substrate specificity and inhibitor sensitivity. Enzymatic activity was stable at pH 5.5 for at least two days when stored at 4℃. The cysteine proteinase was capable of degrading collagen and hemoglobin. Sera of patients with paragonimiasis and mice infected with R westermani reacted in immunoblots with the partially purified proteinase. This result suggested that the cysteine proteinase of P. westermnni may play a role in migration in tissues, and in acquisition of nutrients by parasites from the host. It is also potentially an antigen for the serodiagnosis of paragonimiasis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.91-100
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• 1990

Paragonimus westermani is a tissue migrating parasite in the early stage until arriving at lung, and most of the parasites spend their life spans there. Considerable immune responses including activation of macrophages are taken place during the residence of parasites in the host. However, concerning the immunologic defense mechanisms of the host against this parasite, only a few document is available so far. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of peritoneal macrophages under the presence of antibody and/or complement against metacercariae of F. westermani was investigated in vitro. Metacercarlae were collected from the crayfish, Cambaroides similis and hatched out in Tyrode solution (pH 7.4). Plastic adherent cells from normal or infected rat (Wistar) peritoneal exudates were used as experimental macrophages. Polyclonal antibodies were obtained from infected rats and a cat. Cat IgG was fractioned with ion exchange chromatography. Fresh rabbit complement was used according to experimental scheme. Various combinations of peritoneal macrophages, normal or infected rat serum, complement and cat IgG were incubated at $36^{\circ}C$ in 5% $CO_2$ incubator for 6, 14, 24 and 48 hours. The results obtained were as follows: 1. P. westermani infection activated peritoneal macrophages non-specifically and this activation induced increases of cell adherence and cytotoxicity on metacercariae. 2. In the presence of infected rat serum the antibody.dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity of peritoneal macrophages on metacercariae was significantly increased and showed a peak at 6-hour incubation. But the cytotoxic effect was markedly reduced after inactivation of complement and heat.labile IgE antibody by the heating of infected serum at 56$^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. 3. The highest cytotoxic effect (100%) of concomitant incubation with IgG and complement showed 24 hours after incubation, although cell adherence was relatively low at 6-hour incubation and 0% at 24-hour incubation. 4. Coordinative functions of complement with serum and IgG were effective in cell adherence and in cytotoxicity, but it is not clear the independent role of complement on the macrophage- mediated cytotoxicity in this study- With these results it is assumed that P. westermani infection can induce the non-specific activation of peritoneal macrophages, and strum antibodies including IgE antibody might enhance the cytotoxicity by macrophages,

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.207-212
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• 1990

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) of paragonimiasis iloktsuenensis rat sera was performed using crude antigens of Paragonimus iloktsuenensis(PIA), P. westermani (PWA) and Clonorchis sinensis(CSA). Three crude antigens(PIA, PWA, CSA) were prepared to saline homogenated supernatants of whole adult worms. Infected rat sera were obtained biweekly from the albino rats fed 50∼.80 metacercariae of P. iloktsuenensis through gastric catheter. Experimental groups were divided into 4 groups: GI(controls), GII, GIII and GIV according to 1∼7 worms as GII, 10∼19 worms as GIII and 22∼40 worms as GIV, respectively, In ELISA, the mean OD values of each group for the homologous antigen(PIA) were increased significantly compared to the control sera at the 4th week of infection. With the progress of duration of infection, the mean OD values of infected sera of GII & GIV continuously increased up to the 12th week(last week), but in GIII the mean OD value increased until the loth week. No significance was noted among the infection dose groups (GII, GIII and GIV), after the 6th week of infection. Also, the OD values of all infected rats did not show any Proportional relytionships to the number of worms recovered. In brief, the antibody productivity of individual rats were strongly different. The rat sera infected with p. iloktsuenensis cross-reacted with those infected with P. westermani or C. sinensis, as identified by OD values.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.111-122
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• 1985

The present study was performed to observe the ultrastructure of the integument of adult Paragonimus westermani. Dogs experimentally infected with 60 metacercariae of F. westermani were autopsied 4 months after the infection. Adult p. westermani were extracted from the dogs and the fine structure was studied by means of scanning and transmission electron microscope. The findings are as follows: 1. Scanning electron microscopic findings showed that the spines and the papillae are distributed at whole body surface but the well developed spines or papaillae are shown around the oral sucker and ventral sucker. 2. At the end of the body, excretory pore was found, the shape was irregular. 3. Transmission electron microscopic findings showed that plasma membrane, tegument, basal lamina, connective tissue, circular muscle layer, longitudinal muscle layer. nerve axon and tegumental cell were observed. 4. In higher magnification, plasma membrance and bar-shaped granules were found at the outer surface of the tegument.