Tissue tropism in parasitic diseases.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Silva Pereira S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6544988 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Radiologists seldom encounter parasitic diseases in their daily practice in most of Europe, although the incidence of these diseases is increasing due to migration and tourism from/to endemic areas. Moreover, some parasitic diseases are still endemic in certain European regions, and immunocompromised individuals also pose a higher risk of developing these conditions. This article reviews and summarises the imaging findings of some of the most important and frequent human parasitic diseases, including information about the parasite's life cycle, pathophysiology, clinical findings, diagnosis, and treatment. We include malaria, amoebiasis, toxoplasmosis, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, echinococcosis, cysticercosis, clonorchiasis, schistosomiasis, fascioliasis, ascariasis, anisakiasis, dracunculiasis, and strongyloidiasis. The aim of this review is to help radiologists when dealing with these diseases or in cases where they are suspected. Teaching Points • Incidence of parasitic diseases is increasing due to migratory movements and travelling. • Some parasitic diseases are still endemic in certain regions in Europe. • Parasitic diseases can have complex life cycles often involving different hosts. • Prompt diagnosis and treatment is essential for patient management in parasitic diseases. • Radiologists should be able to recognise and suspect the most relevant parasitic diseases.
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Project description:Basophils bind IgE via FcεRI-αβγ2, which they uniquely share only with mast cells. In doing so, they can rapidly release mediators that are hallmark of allergic disease. This fundamental similarity, along with some morphological features shared by the two cell types, has long brought into question the biological significance that basophils mediate beyond that of mast cells. Unlike mast cells, which mature and reside in tissues, basophils are released into circulation from the bone marrow (constituting 1% of leukocytes), only to infiltrate tissues under specific inflammatory conditions. Evidence is emerging that basophils mediate non-redundant roles in allergic disease and, unsuspectingly, are implicated in a variety of other pathologies [e.g., myocardial infarction, autoimmunity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrosis, cancer, etc.]. Recent findings strengthen the notion that these cells mediate protection from parasitic infections, whereas related studies implicate basophils promoting wound healing. Central to these functions is the substantial evidence that human and mouse basophils are increasingly implicated as important sources of IL-4 and IL-13. Nonetheless, much remains unclear regarding the role of basophils in pathology vs. homeostasis. In this review, we discuss the dichotomous (protective and/or harmful) roles of basophils in a wide spectrum of non-allergic disorders.
| S-EPMC10185837 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A chemical approach for selective masking of arginine residues on viral capsids featuring an exogenous glycation reaction has been developed. Reaction of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids with the ?-dicarbonyl compound, methylglyoxal, resulted in formation of arginine adducts. Specifically, surface-exposed guanidinium side chains were modified into charge neutral hydroimidazolones, thereby disrupting a continuous cluster of basic amino acid residues implicated in heparan sulfate binding. Consequent loss in heparin binding ability and decrease in infectivity were observed. Strikingly, glycated AAV retained the ability to infect neurons in the mouse brain and were redirected from liver to skeletal and cardiac muscle following systemic administration in mice. Further, glycated AAV displayed altered antigenicity demonstrating the potential for evading antibody neutralization. Generation of unnatural amino acid side chains through capsid glycation might serve as an orthogonal strategy to engineer AAV vectors displaying novel tissue tropisms for gene therapy applications.
| S-EPMC3089942 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Accurate and rapid diagnosis is crucial in combating parasitic diseases that cause millions of deaths worldwide. However, the scarcity of specialized diagnostic equipment in low- and middle-income countries is one of the barriers to effective management of parasitic diseases and warrants the need for alternative, inexpensive, point-of-care diagnostic tools. Due to their multiple built-in sensors, smartphones offer cost-effective alternative to expensive diagnostic devices. However, the use of smartphones in parasitic diagnoses remains in its infancy. This minireview describes various smartphone-based devices applied specifically for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases and discusses challenges and potential implications for their use in future.
| S-EPMC5744201 | biostudies-other
Project description:The study of molecular host-parasite interactions is essential to understand parasitic infection and adaptation within the host system. As well, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases require a clear understanding of the molecular crosstalk between parasites and their hosts. Yet, large-scale experimental identification of host-parasite molecular interactions remains challenging, and the use of computational predictions becomes then necessary. Here, we propose a computational integrative approach to predict host-parasite protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks resulting from the human infection by 15 different eukaryotic parasites. We used an orthology-based approach to transfer high-confidence intraspecies interactions obtained from the STRING database to the corresponding interspecies homolog protein pairs in the host-parasite system. Our approach uses either the parasites predicted secretome and membrane proteins, or only the secretome, depending on whether they are uni- or multi-cellular, respectively, to reduce the number of false predictions. Moreover, the host proteome is filtered for proteins expressed in selected cellular localizations and tissues supporting the parasite growth. We evaluated the inferred interactions by analyzing the enriched biological processes and pathways in the predicted networks and their association with known parasitic invasion and evasion mechanisms. The resulting PPI networks were compared across parasites to identify common mechanisms that may define a global pathogenic hallmark. We also provided a study case focusing on a closer examination of the human-S. mansoni predicted interactome, detecting central proteins that have relevant roles in the human-S. mansoni network, and identifying tissue-specific interactions with key roles in the life cycle of the parasite. The predicted PPI networks can be visualized and downloaded at http://orthohpi.jensenlab.org.
| S-EPMC6381214 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The tissue tropism of Musca domestica salivary gland hypertrophy virus (MdSGHV) infecting adult house flies was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quantitative real-time PCR. TEM demonstrated that characteristic MdSGHV-induced nuclear and cellular hypertrophy was restricted to the salivary glands. Both nucleocapsids and enveloped virions were present in salivary gland cells. In contrast, thin sections of midguts, ovaries, abdominal fat body, crops, air sacs and brains showed the presence of enveloped virions in vacuoles of tracheal cells associated with these tissues. However, no sites of viral morphogenesis were detected in the tracheal cells. Quantitative analysis of MdSGHV DNA and transcript titers revealed that viral DNA was present in all hemolymph and tissue samples collected from MdSGHV-infected flies. Average numbers of MdSGHV genome copies per 50 ng of DNA varied significantly between examined tissues and ranged from 3.83 × 10(8) (±3.75 × 10(7)) in salivary gland samples to 7.98 × 10(5) (±2.91 × 10(5)) in hemolymph samples. High levels of viral genome copies were detected in midgut, fat body and brain samples. Viral transcripts were present in all examined samples, and transcript abundance was also at the highest level in salivary glands and at the lowest level in hemolymph. However, over the range of different tissues that were analyzed, there was no correlation between estimated quantities of genome copies and viral transcripts. The function of viral transcripts in host tissues that do not show sites of viral morphogenesis remains to be elucidated.
| S-EPMC2956836 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Influenza virus tissue tropism defines the host cells and tissues that support viral replication and contributes to determining which regions of the respiratory tract are infected in humans. The location of influenza virus infection along the respiratory tract is a key determinant of virus pathogenicity and transmissibility, which are at the basis of influenza burdens in the human population. As the pathogenicity and transmissibility of influenza virus ultimately determine its reproductive fitness at the population level, strong selective pressures will shape influenza virus tissue tropisms that maximize fitness. At present, the relationships between influenza virus tissue tropism within hosts and reproductive fitness at the population level are poorly understood. The selective pressures and constraints that shape tissue tropism and thereby influence the location of influenza virus infection along the respiratory tract are not well characterized. We use mathematical models that link within-host infection dynamics in a spatially-structured human respiratory tract to between-host transmission dynamics, with the aim of characterizing the possible selective pressures on influenza virus tissue tropism. The results indicate that spatial heterogeneities in virus clearance, virus pathogenicity or both, resulting from the unique structure of the respiratory tract, may drive optimal receptor binding affinity--that maximizes influenza virus reproductive fitness at the population level--towards sialic acids with ?2,6 linkage to galactose. The expanding cell pool deeper down the respiratory tract, in association with lower clearance rates, may result in optimal infectivity rates--that likewise maximize influenza virus reproductive fitness at the population level--to exhibit a decreasing trend towards deeper regions of the respiratory tract. Lastly, pre-existing immunity may drive influenza virus tissue tropism towards upper regions of the respiratory tract. The proposed framework provides a new template for the cross-scale study of influenza virus evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics in humans.
| S-EPMC3429484 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundChlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) are obligate intracellular bacteria that cause acute infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract and have been implicated in chronic inflammatory diseases. Although of significant clinical relevance, complete genome sequences of only four clinical Cpn strains have been obtained. All of them were isolated from the respiratory tract and shared more than 99% sequence identity. Here we investigate genetic differences on the whole-genome level that are related to Cpn tissue tropism and pathogenicity.ResultsWe have sequenced the genomes of 18 clinical isolates from different anatomical sites (e.g. lung, blood, coronary arteries) of diseased patients, and one animal isolate. In total 1,363 SNP loci and 184 InDels have been identified in the genomes of all clinical Cpn isolates. These are distributed throughout the whole chlamydial genome and enriched in highly variable regions. The genomes show clear evidence of recombination in at least one potential region but no phage insertions. The tyrP gene was always encoded as single copy in all vascular isolates. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed distinct evolutionary lineages containing primarily non-respiratory Cpn isolates. In one of these, clinical isolates from coronary arteries and blood monocytes were closely grouped together. They could be distinguished from all other isolates by characteristic nsSNPs in genes involved in RB to EB transition, inclusion membrane formation, bacterial stress response and metabolism.ConclusionsThis study substantially expands the genomic data of Cpn and elucidates its evolutionary history. The translation of the observed Cpn genetic differences into biological functions and the prediction of novel pathogen-oriented diagnostic strategies have to be further explored.
| S-EPMC4489044 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, produces a variety of proteins that promote survival and colonization in both the Ixodes species vector and various mammalian hosts. We initially identified BB0744 (also known as p83/100) by screening for B. burgdorferi strain B31 proteins that bind to α1β1 integrin and hypothesized that, given the presence of a signal peptide, BB0744 may be a surface-exposed protein. In contrast to this expectation, localization studies suggested that BB0744 resides in the periplasm. Despite its subsurface location, we were interested in testing whether BB0744 is required for borrelial pathogenesis. To this end, a bb0744 deletion was isolated in a B. burgdorferi strain B31 infectious background, complemented, and queried for the role of BB0744 following experimental infection. A combination of bioluminescent imaging, cultivation of infected tissues, and quantitative PCR (qPCR) demonstrated that Δbb0744 mutant B. burgdorferi bacteria were attenuated in the ability to colonize heart tissue, as well as skin locations distal to the site of infection. Furthermore, qPCR indicated a significantly reduced spirochetal load in distal skin and joint tissue infected with Δbb0744 mutant B. burgdorferi. Complementation with bb0744 restored infectivity, indicating that the defect seen in Δbb0744 mutant B. burgdorferi was due to the loss of BB0744. Taken together, these results suggest that BB0744 is necessary for tissue tropism, particularly in heart tissue, alters the ability of B. burgdorferi to disseminate efficiently, or both. Additional studies are warranted to address the mechanism employed by BB0744 that alters the pathogenic potential of B. burgdorferi.
| S-EPMC4534636 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Genomic Factors Related to Tissue Tropism in Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection
| PRJEB8246 | ENA