Metagenomics Characterization of Ixodes ricinus Intestinal Microbiota as Major Vector of Tick-Borne Diseases in Domestic Animals.

Background: Understanding the microbiota of disease vectors can help for developing new strategies to prevent the transmission of vector pathogens. Ixodes ricinus is one of the most notorious tick vectors with increasing importance in Iran and other parts of the world while there is limited data on its microbiota. This study aimed to use metagenomics for identifying the I. ricinus tick's microbiota of Iran. Methods: A total of 39 adult ticks were collected from Mazandaran (21 females), Gilan (17 females), and Golestan (1 male). Five tick pools prepared from 39 adults of I. ricinus were subjected to metagenomics analysis. The data were analyzed by targeting the V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene by Illumina 4000 Hiseq sequencing. Results: Among hundreds of intestinal microbiota identified by metagenomics, various pathogenic microorganisms distributed in 30 genera and species including those responsible for tick-borne diseases resided in the genera Coxiella, Rickettsia, and Burkholderia were found. Conclusion: Our results indicated that metagenomics identifies bacteria genera and species which cannot be easily recognized by routine methods. The presence of such pathogenic bacteria indicates the importance of possible zoonotic diseases in this region which could affect public health. These results further substantiate the importance of advanced metagenomics analyses to identify neglected tick-borne pathogens which enable researchers to provide efficient mapping roads for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Identification of Intestinal Fungal Microflora and Bacterial Pathogens in the Collected Adult Ixodes ricinus from the Northern Provinces of Iran.

Background: Ticks are vectors of many pathogens that involve various important diseases in humans and animals, they have several diverse hosts consequently can retain a diverse group of indigenous microbes, from bacteria to fungi. Little is known about the prevalence and diversity of tick microflora colonizing the midgut and their effects on ticks and their interaction. This information is important for development of vector control strategies. Methods: This study was carried out in northern Iran during autumn 2019. Ticks, Ixodes ricinus caught alive on the bodies of domestic animals in the fall. The tick homogenate was prepared. The identification of fungal isolates was carried out according to a combination of macro and microscopic morphology and molecular sequencing. Pathogenic bacteria of the family Borreliaceae, Francisella tularensis, Borrelia burgdorferi and Coxiella burnetii were tested by real-time PCR. Results: A total of 133 mature I. ricinus ticks were collected from domestic animals, including 71.5% cattle and 28.5% sheep. The tick frequency rates were 87.21% for Mazandaran, 8.28% for Golestan and 4.51% for Gilan Provinces. Total prevalence of fungal tick contamination was 53.4% (75/133) of which Trichoderma harzianum (57%) was the most prevalent species followed by Aspergillus spp. (42%), Mortierella alpine (19%) and Penicillium polonicum (14%). All tick samples were negative for three pathogenic bacteria including Francisella tularensis, Coxiella burnetii, and Borrelia burgdorferi by real-time PCR analysis. Conclusion: These results show a first picture of the microbial diversity of ticks and highlight the importance of microbiota and their role in host-pathogen interaction.

Seroprevalence of Q fever among high-risk occupations in the Ilam province, the west of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Q fever is a zoonotic disease of great public health importance in Iran. This disease is presented with high phase I antibody development in chronic and high phase II antibody in the acute form of illness. This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of Q fever among high-risk occupations in the Ilam province in Western Iran. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this cross-sectional study, 367 sera samples were collected from five groups comprised of animal husbandry workers, farmers, butchers, slaughterhouse workers, and park rangers. The collected sera were tested for IgG antibodies against Coxiella burnetii using ELISA. The seroprevalence of antibodies against C. burnetii in phase I and II was 24.38% and 26.37%, respectively (i.e., 32.42% overall). Low educational level, living in rural areas, keeping sheep/goats, ages older than 50 years, and a history of arthropod bites positively correlated with increased risk of Q fever infection. Animal husbandry workers (45.13%) were at higher risk of contracting Q fever compared with other occupations in the study (17.11%). CONCLUSIONS: High seroprevalence of C. burnetii among high-risk occupations is a serious challenge in the Ilam province. In addition, the high seroprevalence of endemic Q fever in rural and nomadic areas and a higher concentration of occupations who are directly engaged with livestock demonstrate the critical need for preventive medicine education and training in regards to mitigating risk for disease contraction in susceptible groups.

Remembering Marcel Baltazard, Great Researcher and the French President of Pasteur Institute of Iran.

Dr. Marcel Baltazard (1908-1971), French scientist and former director of Pasteur Institute of Iran, is known in the international arena due to his research on the control of infectious diseases such as plague, rabies, relapsing fever, leprosy, smallpox and tuberculosis. Dr. Baltazard also played a significant role in the launch of vaccination against tuberculosis, cholera and smallpox. Dr. Baltazard's spent the first 13 years of academic life at Pasteur Institute of Casablanca, Morocco, and then 20 years at Pasteur Institute of Iran and over the last five years at Pasteur Institute of Paris. In this paper, the activities of this important and influential researcher in the field of health and medicine are addressed.

IL-2, IFN-gamma, and IL-12 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease. Positive genetic background could predispose individuals to this chronic disabling disease. In order to investigate the role of some proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)) as a risk factor for MS, this study was performed. METHODS: Two hundred and eleven patients with relapsing-remitting form of MS were enrolled in this study and compared with 359 healthy individuals. Using polymerase chain reaction based on sequence-specific primer method, the cytokine genes were amplified, and alleles and genotypes were detected on gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: Significant increases for IFN-gamma AT (+874) genotype (54.5% vs. 37.8%, p = 0.0002) and IL-12 AA (-1188) genotype (60.8% vs. 49.7%, p = 0.014) were found in MS patients in comparison with healthy controls. A significant decrease in IFN-gamma TT (+874) genotype (17.7% vs. 27.5%, p = 0.01) and IL-12 CA (-1188) genotype (30.9% vs. 45%, p = 0.001) in MS patients was also detected. No significant differences of IL-2 G/T (-330) and IL-2 G/T (+166) in alleles and genotypes were observed between MS patients and normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS: It could be suggested that the genetic variation in IL-12 A/C (-1188) and IFN-gamma A/T (+874) cytokine genes could be risk factors for MS patients.

HLA-DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 alleles and haplotypes frequencies in Iranian healthy adult responders and non-responders to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Different studies have demonstrated that a small proportion of healthy individuals receiving the hepatitis B (HB) vaccine do not produce protective levels of anti-HB antibody, a phenomenon which could be linked to certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class-II alleles or haplotypes. OBJECTIVES: The present study was undertaken to determine the frequency of HLA class-II alleles in Iranian healthy adult responders and non-responders to HB vaccine. METHODS: Twelve non-responders (anti-HBs antibody<10 IU/L) and 46 responders (anti-HBs antibody>100 IU/L) were tissue typed for HLA class-II. HLA-DRB1, DQB1 and DQA1 alleles were determined using polymerase chain reaction based on sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) technique. Accessibility to excess amount of genomic DNA was possible using Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B-cells established from all vaccinees. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated increased frequencies of HLA- DRB107, DRB103, DRB104, DQB10201, DQA10201 alleles and HLA- DRB107/DQB10201/DQA10201 and DRB104/DQB10302/DQA103011 haplotypes in the non-responder group. Comparison between responders and non-responders revealed only a significant difference for DQB10201 allele (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings confirm the association of certain HLA alleles and haplotypes with the lack of antibody response to HB vaccine in an Iranian population.