Huffmanela sp. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) Encountered in the Whitecheek Shark (Carcharhinus Dussumieri) in The Arabian Gulf.

Veterinary inspection of fish caught at the western side of the Arabian Gulf off the shore of Saudi Arabia in 2017 revealed abnormal irregular zigzag black lines in the skins of 135 out of 1500 (prevalence = 9 %) whitecheek sharks (Carcharhinus dussumieri). These lesions have been noticed in the dorsal and ventral part of the head near the snout and around the eyes, as well as in the skin of the pectoral fins. The parasitological, pathological and ultramorphological aspects of the sampled fish were studied using a light microscope, as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Trichosomoidid-type eggs identified as Huffmanela sp. were found in the superficial layer of the skin. The mature eggs containing larvae (n = 75) were ellipsoidal or spindle-shaped, smooth-shelled, amber-brown to dark brown or even black in colour. The width of the eggs ranged from 34 to 49µm with lengths ranging from 95 to 107µm. The polar plugs of the immature eggs were slightly protruding, whereas mature eggs had clearly protruding polar plugs. The width of the polar plugs ranged from 4.5 - 9.5µm. The shells of the eggs were smooth and there was a thin layer seen near the polar areas. The infected skin exhibited desquamated epithelium, with inflammatory cell aggregations and melanophores in the debris. The underlying musculatures of the skin were free from any eggs, but showed mild pathological changes, including congestion of blood vessels, haemorrhages and oedema. The prevalence of infection showed seasonality, peaking significantly in the spring (18.18 %), with comparable prevalence rates in winter and summer (9.43 % and 8.57 %, respectively). However, infections dropped significantly during the autumn months (3.75 %). It is believed that this is the first study reporting the presence of Huffmanela sp. in whitecheek sharks at El-Jubail Province, Saudi Arabia, Arabian Gulf.

Investigation of belinostat-induced genomic instability by molecular cytogenetic analysis and pathway-focused gene expression profiling.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs), which regulate transcription and specific functions such as tumor suppression by p53, are frequently altered in tumors and have a contentious role in carcinogenesis. HDAC inhibitors, which have a long history of use in psychiatry and neurology, have recently been tested as possible treatments for tumors. Belinostat received regulatory approval in the USA on July 3, 2014, for use against peripheral T-cell lymphoma. However, the unavailability of information on belinostat genotoxicity in normal cells and the molecular mechanisms involved in the genetic instability after exposure to belinostat encouraged us to conduct this study. Our data showed that the exposure of mice to belinostat at the recommended human doses induced chromosome breakage, whole-chromosome lagging, and oxidative DNA damage in bone marrow cells in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of 84 genes involved in the DNA damage signaling pathway were evaluated by using an RT2 Profiler PCR array. Belinostat exposure altered the expression of 25 genes, with statistically significant changes observed in 17 genes. The array results were supported by RT-PCR and western blotting experiments. Collectively, our results showed that belinostat exposure caused oxidative DNA damage and downregulated the expression of genes involved in DNA damage repair, which may be responsible for belinostat-induced genomic instability. Thus, the clinical usage of this drug should be weighed against the hazards of carcinogenesis, and the observed genotoxicity profile of belinostat may support further development of efficient HDAC inhibitors with weaker genotoxicity.

Evaluation of in-vitro effects of recombinant human alpha 2 interferon on bilharzial urinary bladder cancer cells.

Using two different agar based double-layer culture assays, 16 bilharzial urinary bladder carcinoma samples were evaluated for the in-vitro effects of 1 hour's exposure to alpha 2 interferon at 3-log concentrations. Ten of these tumor samples were evaluable for drug sensitivity testing. In the liquid top layer dye exclusion assay, 40%, 60%, and 60% of the 10 tested tumor samples were sensitive to alpha 2 interferon 100, 1,000, and 10,000 units/ml respectively, and 25%, 25%, and 63% of 8 tumor cell suspensions were sensitive to the above drug concentrations when the human tumor colony forming assay was performed. Comparing both assays in 24 different drug measurements, there was a 71% concordance rate. All of the 7 discordant measurements were sensitive in the dye exclusion and resistant in the clonogenic assays. Thus, bilharzial bladder cancer cells are relatively sensitive to the in-vitro effect of alpha 2 interferon, especially of higher concentrations, and a phase II clinical trial deserves consideration.

Treatment of schistosomiasis with praziquantel among school children.

This study, as a part of the drug resistance project, one of the activities of the schistosomiasis research project, was carried out in 3 villages in lower Egypt. Its main objective is to assess the praziquantel cure rate and to identify infected persons not responding to praziquantel treatment. Among the studied population, the prevalence of S. mansoni among school children (age 6 to 18 years) was 21.8%, 32.7% and 32.4% in the 3 villages respectively. Those who were found infected were treated with praziquantel (40 mg/kg body weight). The cure rate after six weeks was 75.8%, 83.9% and 72.7% among school children respectively. This cure rate among school children was less than that of adults by 5-10%. Compared with that of preschool age, it showed variable results. A second dose after 6-8 weeks was given to those who were still infected. Those who remained infected even after this second treatment, received a third dose of 60 mg/kg body weight. After the third treatment, only 5 patients of school age remained infected compared to one among adults and one among preschool age. The failure rate was found to be 50%, 18.5% and 12.5% among preschool, school children and adults respectively after the third treatment regimen.

Antifilarial IgM versus IgG antibody determination in the diagnosis of Wuchereria bancrofti infection in Egyptians.

Circulating antifilarial IgM and IgG antibodies were assessed by indirect ELISA in 184 serum specimens from 80 patients with clinically and parasitologically diagnosed filarial infections (20 with acute filariasis 40 with chronic filariasis & 20 asymptomatic microfilaraemic subjects), 64 individuals with other parasitic infections, 20 parasitologically-free subjects from filariasis endemic areas and 20 normal healthy controls. A soluble surface membrane extract from Dirofilaria immitis worms was used as the antigen. Using a single serum dilution of 1:128 and optical densities (OD) at 492 nm, the respective cut off values for IgM and IgG were found to be 0.24 and 0.22. All healthy non-endemic controls were seronegative by IgM and IgG ELISAs. The highest antifilarial IgM OD492 values were obtained in 20 patients with acute filariasis (95% sensitivity), while the highest antifilarial IgG OD492 values were observed n 40 patients with chronic filariaisis (97.5% sensitivity). Asymptomatic microfilaraemic subjects gave IgM and IgG OD492 values which were significantly lower than those of other forms of clinical disease and endemic control subjects. The antifilarial IgM and IgG respective sensitivities in asymptomatic subjects were 75% and 70%. Endemic controls had positive antifilarial IgM (65%) and IgG (75%) levels. Of 64 subjects with other parasites only one with Ancylostoma duodenale had positive IgM level (98.4% specificity); while 9 patients with nematodal infections mainly had false positive antifilarial IgG antibody levels (85.9% specificity). These results suggest that measuring circulating antifilarial IgM antibody level may have some diagnostic advantage over measuring IgG antibody level for the detection of active filarial infection and consequently better management of the disease.