Proteomics investigation of human sera for determination of postoperative indicators of pulmonary cystic echinococcosis.

BACKGROUND: Cystic echinococcosis (CE)/hydatidosis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. The disease is a major health problem all over the world. Finding specific and sensitive biomarkers for follow-up of CE in patients after surgery is essential. Using proteomics methods, the present study aimed to evaluate post-surgical treatment by finding probable biomarker/s in the serum of human lungs CE. METHODS: A total of 24 human sera were tested. These sera included eight confirmed lung/s CE patients sera before surgery (BS), eight sera 12 months post-surgery (12MPS) as well as eight control sera from healthy people. Proteomics methods including 2DE and LC-MS/MS were performed on the specimens followed by bioinformatics analysis. Differentially expressed proteins (DEP) were detected and, separately integrated with protein-protein interaction (PPI) data to construct the PPI network. RESULTS: A total of 171 protein spots were detected in three groups including BS, 12MPS, and control groups; of which a total of 106 DEP have been expressed based on fold changes > = 2 and p-value < 0.05. More analysis was performed and a total of 10 protein spots were selected for identification by mass spectrometry showing the following proteins: APOA1, BGN, SPP2, EAF1, ACOXL, MRPL55, MCTP2, SEPTIN1, B4GALNT1, and ZNF843. Based on centrality parameters of the PPI network (degree and betweenness) five Hub-bottlenecks proteins with significant centrality values were found including APOA1, BGN, SPP2, EAF1, and ACOXL. CONCLUSION: This study showed five proteins as hub-bottleneck proteins; of which APOA1 was more prominent. It can be concluded that a change in expression of this protein in patients' sera could be used as an indicator tool for the achievement of lungs CE surgical therapy.

Metal uptake in Psettodes erumei and Hysterothylacium spp. larvae in the Persian Gulf: Evaluation of larvae as bio-indicator.

This study aimed to compare the concentrations of heavy metals in Psettodes erumei as host fish and larvae of Hysterothylacium spp. as its parasite. Moreover, to evaluate the larvae as bio-indicators the uptake of heavy metals, the infected and non-infected fish were also compared. Fresh P. erumei species (n = 19) were randomly sampled during four months from Bushehr County, Iran. The digestive tract of each fish was examined for nematode parasites using a stereomicroscopy. The isolated nematodes were identified, and content of Fe, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, Cr, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were measured using ICP-OES. The metal concentrations were simultaneously analyzed for the muscles of infected fish and their parasites, as well as non-infected ones. Of the 19 P. erumei examined, 13 (68.4%) P. erumei were infected with Hysterothylacium spp. larvae. The parasites had significantly higher level of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Ni (with mean value of 7.59, 0.572, 1.223, and 4.623 mg/kg, respectively) than the muscles of the host fishes (with mean value of 3.29, 0.0010, 0.586, and 0.277 mg/kg, respectively) (p < 0.05). Infected hosts showed significantly lower amounts of As element in their muscles (0.050 mg/kg) than non-infected hosts (0.113 mg/kg) (p < 0.05). The findings emphasize the potential role of Hysterothylacium spp. larvae as bio-indicators for monitoring heavy metals pollution in marine ecosystems.

Acute toxoplasmosis can increase serum dopamine level.

Toxoplasmosis is a globally parasitic zoonotic disease transmitted by Toxoplasma gondii protozoa. This infection in its chronic form can cause a change in its host's specific behavior and is also associated with developing neuropsychological symptoms in humans. Changes in neurotransmitters' levels, especially dopamine, have been identified as a behavior change factor in the infected host. This study aimed to evaluate serum dopamine levels in acute murine toxoplasmosis. In this study, 50 mice infected with Toxoplasma were studied in 5 separate groups, and ten healthy mice were considered as negative control. For five consecutive days after parasite injection, blood sampling and serum isolation were performed daily from one of the groups. Serum dopamine levels were measured by HPLC method. Statistical studies showed that serum dopamine on the first to the fourth day after parasite inoculation was the same as the negative control, but the fifth day began to increase. The present study results indicate that dopamine production in mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii increases from day five after infection. This result suggests that in acute toxoplasmosis, dopamine production is low, and the trend of chronic disease increases dopamine production.

Detection and phylogenetic analysis of Sarcocystis moulei and Sarcocystis spp. (Sarcocystidae: Apicomplexa) from slaughtered sheep in southwest Iran.

Sarcocystis species are intracellular protozoan which mostly complete their life cycle in two hosts. The parasite has a significant economic, medical and veterinary impact in many regions of the world and considered as a significant health problem in Iran. However, most of infections are asymptomatic and mortality is extremely rare. The present study aimed to determine the molecular phylogeny of the Sarcocystis species isolated from sheep slaughtered in southwest Iran, using mitochondrial DNA sequences of 18 S rRNA gene. The DNA was extracted from sheep muscular tissue (n = 60), and partial sequence of 18 S rDNA was amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two monophyletic clades representing S. moulei (n = 3) and Sarcocystis spp. (n = 3). BI posterior probability and MP bootstrap values strongly supported the monophyly of these clades. In conclusion, phylogenetic analysis of Sarcocystis species using 18 S rRNA gene could be helpful in identifying the new species of the Sarcocystis.

Pulmonary hydatidosis genotypes isolates from human clinical surgery based on sequencing of mitochondrial genes in Fars, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Cystic echinococcosis (CE)/hydatidosis is an important neglected parasitic zoonotic disease caused by the metacestode of Echinococcus granulosus s.l. The present study was designed to identify the pulmonary CE species/genotypes in isolated human underwent to surgery in our center in Southern Iran. METHODS: The study population of this study were all patients in Fars province who were admitted to Namazi Hospitals for pulmonary hydatid cyst surgery. Thoracic surgery was performed in the thoracic ward and the cyst/s was removed by open surgery via posterolateral or lateral thoracotomy. DNA was extracted from the germinal layer or the protoscoleces. PCR technique was performed using the cytochrome C oxidase subunit1 (cox1) gene, and the products were sequenced. RESULTS: A total of 32 pulmonary hydatid cyst samples were collected from 9 (28%) female and 23 (72%) male aged from 4 to 74 years old. A total of 18(56%) cyst/s were in the left lobe and 14 (44%) cysts in the right lobe. Sequence analysis of the cysts showed that 24 samples (75%) were E. granulosus s.s (G1-G3) genotype and 8 (25%) were E. canadensis (G6/G7) genotype. CONCLUSION: E.granulosus s.s genotype was the most prevalent genotype followed by E. canadensis (G6/G7) genotype. There was no significant statistical correlation between cysts' size, location, genotype strain, and patients' age and gender.

Intestinal parasites among intellectually disabled individuals in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Poor self-care skills and personal hygiene resulted from limitations in learning and understanding, put intellectually disabled individuals at greater risk for intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs). Despite several regional reports in Iran, the overall burden on IPIs among intellectually disabled individuals is poorly understood. Hence, the present study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of IPIs among intellectually disabled individuals in Iran. METHODS: Using the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of data retrieved from seven electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and ProQuest for English articles, as well as SID and Magiran for Persian) from their inception up to December 2020. Pooled prevalence was estimated using a random-effects model with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and depicted as a forest plot, while heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran's Q-test. RESULTS: Exactly 1263 of the 3004 intellectually disabled individuals examined by 14 studies across 10 provinces of Iran were positive for IPIs. Overall pooled prevalence estimate was 41% (95% CI 29-53%) with a range of 21% (95% CI 10-32%) to 68% (95% CI 55-80%) across sub-groups. Entamoeba coli (16.2%; 95% CI 10.3-22%), Blastocystis spp. (12.2%; 95% CI 7.2-17.2%), and Giardia duodenalis (11.9%; 95% CI 7.4-16.3%) were the most prevalent protozoan species. In terms of helminthic agents, the most prevalent species were Enterobius vermicularis (11.3%; 95% CI 6.3-16.3%) followed by Strongyloides stercoralis (10.9%; 95% CI 5.0-16.9%) and Hymenolepis nana (2.8%; 95% CI 0.4-5.2%) CONCLUSION: IPIs are highly prevalent among intellectually disabled individuals in Iran. Improving the health status and implementing infectious disease prevention strategies in rehabilitation centers, health promotion interventions to improve personal hygiene of intellectually disabled individuals, as well as utilize sensitive diagnostic methods besides routine stool examination techniques, and treatment of infected individuals will help in the control of these infections among intellectually disabled individuals.

Proteomic characterization of hydatid cyst fluid: two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) setup through optimizing protein extraction.

OBJECTIVE: Proper characterization of hydatid cyst fluid (HCF) is useful for diagnostic and follow up purposes of cystic echinococcosis/hydatidosis, which is an important zoonotic disease. In this regard, proteomics methods are very helpful. The present study was conducted to compare three protein extraction methods for HCF collected from sheep liver hydatid cysts including, trichloracetic acid (TCA)/Acetone precipitation, TCA/Acetone along with dialysis, and combination of 2-D Clean-up Kit and dialysis followed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), to achieve better resolution in the proteomic characterization of HCF proteins. RESULTS: The 2-DE of TCA/Acetone products showed a lot of smears in the background of gels; TCA/Acetone with dialysis showed greatly reduced smears while the 2-D Clean-up Kit together with dialysis showed sharp spots and least smears. Three-dimensional images of separated spots created by Progenesis SameSpots software showed the best result was achieved by 2-D Clean-up Kit and dialysis.