RESUMEN
Abnormal eggs of Trichuris trichiura were found in the stools of one of the patients during a study on the prevalence of intestinal parasitoses among an institutionalized population. The abnormalities observed included great variation in shape, size, and color. Similar atypical whipworm eggs have been reported in patients after treatment with mebendazole, thiabendazole, tetracloroethylene, and dithiazanine. Apparently some anthelminthics have an effect on the reproductive system of female T. trichiura, resulting in production of abnormal eggs, which could lead to misdiagnosis of the infection, since they can be mistaken as eggs of other parasites or artifacts.
Asunto(s)
Animales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Óvulo , TrichurisRESUMEN
The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins are one of the largest evolutionarily conserved families. They are characterized by the presence of highly conserved nucleotide-binding sites (NBS). In the present study, we identified ABC genes in rodent Plasmodia. We queried the Plasmodium yoelii genome with the ABC signature motif and retrieved 15 contigs. Sequences were classified into seven ABC families by BLAST comparison. Conservation of the five signature ABC motifs in the P. yoelii contigs was examined by multi-alignment of the NBS. Expression of the ABC genes was examined during the blood stages of P. yoelii and P. berghei and the hepatocytic stages of P. yoelii. Our results with RT-PCR on total RNA from blood stages demonstrated the expression of 14 ABC genes in P. yoelii and ten in P. berghei. In P. yoelii hepatocytic stages, the expression of four ABC genes was detected.
Asunto(s)
Transportadoras de Casetes de Unión a ATP/genética , Transportadoras de Casetes de Unión a ATP/metabolismo , Plasmodium berghei/metabolismo , Plasmodium yoelii/metabolismo , Transportadoras de Casetes de Unión a ATP/química , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Eritrocitos/parasitología , Hepatocitos/parasitología , Malaria/parasitología , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Plasmodium berghei/genética , Plasmodium berghei/crecimiento & desarrollo , Plasmodium yoelii/genética , Plasmodium yoelii/crecimiento & desarrollo , Proteínas Protozoarias/química , Proteínas Protozoarias/genética , Proteínas Protozoarias/metabolismo , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa InversaRESUMEN
Malaria is no longer endemic in Puerto Rico, however, imported cases of the disease are occasionally reported to the Health Department of the Island. This is a report of a 45-year-old female patient who traveled to Kenya and Niger and was admitted to a San Juan area hospital with an 8 day history of daily chills and fever, myalgia, nausea and vomiting. Upon admission, peripheral blood displayed multiple intra-erythrocytic ring-shape trophozoites, highly suggestive of Plasmodium falciparum. The polymerase chain reaction was used as a complementary method for the detection of malaria parasites and confirmation of post-treatment parasite clearance. This report presents an imported case of malaria in Puerto Rico and showed the use of a molecular technique to diagnose Plasmodium.
