Cytologic Diagnosis of Heterobilharzia americana Infection in a Liver Aspirate From a Dog.

Heterobilharzia americanais a trematode of the Schistosomatidae family that infects dogs, raccoons, and other mammals as definitive hosts. This parasite is considered endemic in the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts; however, only a few cases are reported. A 7-year-old dog from Louisiana was referred for persistent hypercalcemia, hyperglobulinemia, and weight loss. Abdominal ultrasound revealed diffuse hyperechogenicity of the liver with several hyperechoic nodules of varying size. Cytologic examination of fine-needle aspirates of the liver revealed few ovoid to round basophilic thin-walled eggshell fragments and rare ciliated miracidia.H. americanaeggs were identified on fecal sedimentation.

Aedes aegypti salivary protein "aegyptin" co-inoculation modulates dengue virus infection in the vertebrate host.

Dengue virus (DENV) is transmitted in the saliva of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti during blood meal acquisition. This saliva is composed of numerous proteins with the capacity to disrupt hemostasis or modulate the vertebrate immune response. One such protein, termed "aegyptin," is an allergen and inhibitor of clot formation, and has been found in decreased abundance in the saliva of DENV-infected mosquitoes. To examine the influence of aegyptin on DENV infection of the vertebrate, we inoculated IRF-3/7(-/- -/-) mice with DENV serotype 2 strain 1232 with and without co-inoculation of aegyptin. Mice that received aegyptin exhibited decreased DENV titers in inoculation sites and in circulation, as well as increased concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-5, and IL-6, at 48 h post-inoculation when compared to mice that received inoculation of DENV alone. These and other data suggest that aegyptin impacts DENV perpetuation via elevated induction of the immune response.