• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.93-100
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• 2018

Some small mammals occur as household pests and harbour a number of parasites that could be of public health importance. This study profiled the helminth and protozoan parasites in trapped small mammals within and around human dwelling places (houses) located across 4 major towns (Auchi, Benin, Ekpoma, and Uromi) and environs in Edo state, Nigeria. Six genera (Apodemus sp., Crocidura sp., Mastomys natalensis, Mus musculus, Rattus sp., and Sorex sp.) were identified from 502 trapped small mammals. Overall, M. musculus (71.9%) and Rattus rattus (20.1%) were the most frequently trapped. In total, on examination of blood, gastrointestinal contents, and brain tissues, 12 helminth taxa (Angiostrongylus sp., Aspicularis sp., Capillaria sp., Gongylonema sp., Heterakis spumosa, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis nana, Mastophorus muris, Moniliformis moniliformis, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides sp., Trichosomoides sp., and Trichuris sp.), and 6 protozoan parasites (Babesia sp., Trypanosoma lewisi, Plasmodium sp., Eimeria sp., Isospora sp., and Toxoplasma gondii) were isolated. Most prevalent helminths with relatively heavy mean intensity were Strongyloides sp. and Heterakis spumosa, while Plasmodium, Eimeria, and Isospora were the most prevalent protozoan parasites. Generally, intrinsic factors like sex and age had marginal influence on the rate and burden of infection in M. musculus and R. rattus. Although the infection rate and prevalence of zoonotic parasites were low, they were largely recovered in rodents from Ekpoma. This study elucidates the public health implication of the presence of zoonotic parasites in these small mammals.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.131-144
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• 1999

Coccidiosis, an intestinal infection caused by intracellular protozoan parasites belonging to several different species of Eimeria seriously impairs the growth and feed utilization of livestock and poultry. Due to complex life cycle of organism and intricate host immune responses to Elmeria, coccidia vaccine development has been difficult. Understanding of basic imunobiology of pertinent host-parasite interactions is necessary for the development of novel control strategy. Although chickens infected with Eimeria spp. produce parasite-specific antibodies in both the circulation and mucosal secretions, antibody mediated responses play a minor role in protection gainst coccidiosis. Rather, increasing evidence show that cell-mediated immunity plays a major role in resistance to coccidiosis. T-lymphocytes appear to respond to coccidiosis both through cytokine production and a direct cytotoxic attack on infected cells. The exact mechanisms by which T-cells eliminate the parasites, however, remain to be investigated. Since it is crucial to understand the intestinal immune system in order to develop an immunological control strategy against any intestinal immune system in order to develop an immunological control strategy against any intestinal diseases, this presentation will summarize our current understanding of the avian intestinal immune system and mucosal immune responses to Eimeria, to provide a conceptual overview of the complex molecular and cellular events involved in intestinal immune responses to enteric pathogens.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.44 no.1 s.137
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• pp.35-41
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• 2006

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania cause a number of important human diseases. One of the key determinants of parasite infectivity and survival is the surface glycoconjugate lipophosphoglycan (LPG). In addition, LPG is shown to be useful as a transmission blocking vaccine. Since culture supernatant of parasite promastigotes is a good source of LPG, we made attempts to characterize functions of the culture supernatant, and membrane LPG isolated from metacyclic promastigotes of Leishmania major. The purification scheme included anion-exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography and cold methanol precipitation. The purity of supernatant LPG (sLPG) and membrane LPG (mLPG) was determined by SOS-PAGE and thin layer chromatography. The effect of mLPG and sLPG on nitric oxide (NO) production by murine macrophages cell line (J77 4.1 A) was studied. Both sLPG and mLPG induced NO production in a dose dependent manner but sLPG induced significantly higher amount of NO than mLPG. Our results show that sLPG is able to promote NO production by murine macrophages.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.605-616
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• 2016

In the present study, quids from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (CMC) were subjected to ELISA tests for 2 protozoan parasites, Toxoplasma gondii (n=45) and Trypanosoma cruzi (n=43). The people who occupied CMC, the Loma San Gabriel, lived throughout much of present-day Durango and Zacatecas in Mexico. The known pathoecology of these people puts them into at-risk categories for the transmission of T. gondii and T. cruzi. Human antibodies created in response to these 2 parasites can be detected in modern saliva using ELISA kits intended for use with human serum. For these reasons, quids were reconstituted and subjected to ELISA testing. All test wells yielded negative results. These results could be a factor of improper methods because there is no precedence for this work in the existing literature. The results could equally be a simple matter of parasite absence among those people who occupied CMC. A final consideration is the taphonomy of human antibodies and whether or not ELISA is a sufficient method for recovering antibodies from archaeological contexts. An additional ELISA test targeting secretory IgA (sIgA) was conducted to further examine the failure to detect parasite-induced antibodies from quids. Herein, the methods used for quid preparation and ELISA procedures are described so that they can be further developed by future researchers. The results are discussed in light of the potential future of quid analysis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.371-374
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• 1993

Fecal samples of cats purchased in Seoul were examined for helminth ova or protozoan oocysts from December 1987 to March 1988. Out of the 41 samples,31 (75.6%) were positive and 60 (146.3%) were cumulative positive for parasites. The followings were identified In the samples: Eggs of Toxocarn cacti. Clonorchis sinensis, Metoeonimn sp., Phnrvngostomum cordntum, Spirometra erinocei, Tcenia toenicejormis and oocysts of Isosporn sp. From nine autopsied cats, larvae of Anisakis simplex, adults of C. sinensis, M. yokogawai. P cordatum, S. erinacei and T. tqeniaejormis were identified. This is the first report on the detection of Anisakis larvae from cats In Korea. The possible role of cats as a source of human infection with each parasite was discussed. Key words: Cat, intestinal parasite, Anisckis simplex, Toxoccra cati, Clonorchis sinensis, Metagonimus yokogawai. Spirometro erinccei, Taenic tonniaelormis, Isospora Sp .

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.71-74
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• 2016

Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate protozoan parasite and commonly infected the lower genital tract in women and men. Iron is a known nutrient for growth of various pathogens, and also reported to be involved in establishment of trichomoniasis. However, the exact mechanism was not clarified. In this study, the author investigated whether the 120 kDa protein of T. vaginalis may be involved in pathogenicity of trichomonads. Antibodies against 120 kDa protein of T. vaginalis, which was identified as pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) by peptide analysis of MALDI-TOF-MS, were prepared in rabbits. Pretreatment of T. vaginalis with anti-120 kDa Ab decreased the proliferation and adherence to vaginal epithelial cells (MS74) of T. vaginalis. Subcutaneous tissue abscess in anti-120 kDa Ab-treated T. vaginalis-injected mice was smaller in size than that of untreated T. vaginalis-infected mice. Collectively, the 120 kDa protein expressed by iron may be involved in proliferation, adhesion to host cells, and abscess formation, thereby may influence on the pathogenicity of T. vaginalis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.197-204
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• 2009

Trypanosoma brucei, a protozoan parasite, causes sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana disease in domestic animals in central Africa. The trypanosome surface is extensively covered by glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins known as variant surface glycoproteins and procyclins. GPI anchoring is suggested to be important for trypanosome survival and establishment of infection. Trypanosomes are not only pathogenically important, but also constitute a useful model for elucidating the GPI biosynthesis pathway. This review focuses on the trypanosome GPI biosynthesis pathway. Studies on GPI that will be described indicate the potential for the design of drugs that specifically inhibit trypanosome GPI biosynthesis.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.422-423
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• 2000

The protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia has been implicated as the causative agents of many outbreaks of waterborne intestinal illness. Accurate evaluation of Giardia lamblia removal in water treatment process requires a reliable method for measuring the concentrations of these pathogens in water. The relative recovery of Giardia cysts was assessed for seeded samples of distilled water. Cysts preparation was done by encystment in vitro. Membrane filtration was evaulated with cellulose acetate, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyethersulfone, nylon membranes. Elution conditions were varied to improve cyst recovery.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 1996

Helminth and their ova or protozoan oocysts from fecal samples of cats in Chonju and Daejon were examined from December 1995 to January 1996. Out of the 43 samples, 41(95.35%) were positive and 66(153.49%) were cumulative positive for parasite infection. The identified parasites were summerized as follows; Worms of Toxocara cati(62.79%), Taenia taeniformis(48.88%), Spirometra sp(23.25%) and Diphyllobothrium latum (6.97%), eggs of Clonorchis sinensis(2.32%), Ancylostoma tubaeformae(2.32%) and Capillaria sp(4.65%), oocyst of Isospora (2.32%) sp. In haevy infected intestine, mast cells(38 cells/10 villi) were detected in villi and goblet cells(131 cells/$0.1mm^2$) were severely increased in mucosa. Epithelium of intestine was partially deteched B. The end of villi were necrosed and hyperaemia was widely recognized in lamina propria. T taeniaeformis have not the neck, but have 2 layed hooks(anterior : 19, posterior : 19, total : 38).

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.303-306
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• 1998

Serine proteinase cDNA fragment from protozoan parasite Acanthamoeba culbertsoni was amplified by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) using degenerate oligonucleotide primers derived from conserved serine proteinase sequences. The amplified DNA fragment was subcloned and sequenced. The sequence analysis and alignment showed significant sequence similarity to other eukaryotic serine proteinases and conservation of the His, Asp, and Ser residues that form the catalytic triad. The cDNA fragment was cloned into the pGEMEX-1 expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli. A resulting fusion protein of 56 kDa had proteolytic activity. The fusion protein reacted with sera of mice immunized with purified serine proteinase of A. culbertsoni in Western blot. Immune recognition of the fusion protein by mouse antisera suggested that the fusion protein may be valuable as a diagnostic reagent.