Albumin nanostructure assisted ABZ anti-parasite immune therapy for T. spiralis muscle infection.

Currently, the treatment of Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) intracellular infection by oral administration of albendazole (ABZ) is hampered by its poor aqueous solubility and rapid metabolism. Herein, the nanoparticles with BSA and ABZ (ABZ-BSA Nps) were constructed by a desolvation technique in the study. The anti-parasite activity and pharmacokinetics of ABZ-BSA Nps were evaluated for T. spiralis muscle larvae during the encysted phase. The immune-responsive cytokines of ABZ-BSA Nps were quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that ABZ-BSA Nps could eliminate the muscle larvae by triggering the unbalance of Th1/Th2 immune-response in the infection mice. For ABZ-BSA Nps treatment group, the plasma concentration of ABZSO (ABZ active metabolite) was higher than ABZ and the muscle larvae were reduced by 70.2 %. In conclusion, the study had constructed a successful prospective protein nanoparticle delivery ABZ and evidenced the ABZ could be used for intracellular parasite therapy by triggering the anti-parasite immunity of hosts.

The Prevalence of Trichinella spiralis in Domestic Pigs in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The meta-analysis was performed to assess the prevalence of T. spiralis in domestic pigs in China. The potential studies from seven databases (Pubmed, Web of science, Scopus, Google Scholar, CNKI, Wanfang, CBM) were searched. I2, Cochran's Q statistic and the funnel plot and Egger's test were used to assess heterogeneity and publication bias, respectively. In this study, a total of 179 articles were captured in the initially screened. Of these, we finally obtained 39 significant articles (including 43 studies involving in 551,097 pigs) for the final analysis. We calculated using a random-effects model, and we found the overall infection rate was 0.04 (95% CI 0.03-0.06). The highest prevalence region was Guangxi. The funnel plot and Egger's test showed no publication bias in our meta-analysis. In addition, this high heterogeneity index was suggestive of potential variations which could be due to regions, quality scores, detection methods, publication years, or samplings. These results indicated that T. spiralis were still prevalent in some areas in China. This highlights the need for an increased focus on implementing affordable, appropriate control programs to reduce economic losses and T. spiralis infection in domestic pigs in China.

MoS2/LaF3 for enhanced photothermal therapy performance of poorly-differentiated hepatoma.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) based on nanoparticle had been widely used to antitumor treatment. However, low photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) is the main hurdle for antitumor treatment. To improve the PCE and gain ideal clinical the nanoparticle with higher photothermal conversion efficiency, we have developed a highly efficient solar absorber with MoS2/LaF3/ polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) which can enhance the absorption of solar irradiation engergy, however, its photothermal effect irradiated by near-infrared light has not yet been investigated. The knowledge absence in photothermal effect will impede MoS2/LaF3/PDMS to be used for cancer therapy in clinic. In this study, we applied LaF3-loaded, MoS2-based photothermal conversion agents (PTAs) for improved photothermal cancer therapy. The study showed that the MoS2/LaF3 nanoflowers showed higher photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE, 42.5%) and could more effectively inhibit cancer cell proliferation compared to MoS2-based PTT agents in vitro. In vivo, the results further revealed that photothermal therapy using MoS2/LaF3 nanoflowers could significantly inhibit solid tumor growth. The study clearly demonstrated that MoS2/LaF3 could work at under low power NIR Laser in vitro and in vivo, resulting in a very impressive therapeutic effect in tumor-bearing mice. The MoS2/LaF3 nanoflowers will be prominent candidate nanoparticle for effective inhibiting tumor growth by photothermal therapy.

Upconverting phosphor technology-based lateral flow assay for the rapid and sensitive detection of anti-Trichinella spiralis IgG antibodies in pig serum.

BACKGROUND: Trichinella spiralis is a zoonotic food-borne parasite. A disease caused by infection with T. spiralis is called trichinellosis in humans. It is important to investigate the epidemic situation and the surveillance of herds and then prevent infection in humans. Therefore, this study is to develop a rapid and sensitive diagnostic method for on-site test in domestic and wild animals. METHODS: Upconverting phosphor nanoparticles (UCNPs), an excellent optical label, were conjugated with the excretory-secretory (ES) antigens from T. spiralis muscle larvae (ML) or goat anti-rabbit IgG, and a lateral flow (LF) assay based on these probes (UCNPs-ES/goat anti-rabbit IgG) was developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of anti-T. spiralis IgG antibodies in pig serum. The assay is named the UPT-LF-ES assay. In addition, the probes were characterized, and the assay was optimized. A cut-off threshold of the assay was also identified by using 169 known negative pig samples. Performance of the assay to T. spiralis with different infective numbers, cross-reactivity with other parasitic infections, the single-blinded experiment, and coincidence were evaluated with the assay. RESULTS: The UPT-LF-ES assay was successfully constructed and optimized based on the probes of UCNPs-ES/goat anti-rabbit IgG. In the pigs infected with 100, 1000, and 10,000 ML, positive results were first presented at 35 days post-infection (dpi), 30 dpi, and 25 dpi, respectively. The assay had no cross-reaction with other parasitic infections. A single-blinded experiment indicated that the sensitivity and specificity of the UPT-LF-ES assay were 100% and 100%, respectively, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 1.000. In addition, the value detected by the UPT-LF-ES assay was significantly different between positive and negative samples. Moreover, compared with the "gold standard" magnetic stirrer method, the coincidence rate of the UPT-LF-ES assay was 87.27%, and the kappa (K) coefficient was 0.7454, showing a substantial agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The UPT-LF-ES assay is a useful point-of-care test (POCT) with T. spiralis in the detection of pig, which contributes to preventing human trichinellosis.

The effects of simvastatin on hippocampal caspase-3 and Bcl-2 expression following kainate-induced seizures in rats.

Status epilepticus (SE) causes neuronal loss and apoptosis by inducing several apoptosis-regulatory genes. Two such genes, cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease-3 (caspase-3), an apoptosis activator, and B-cell leukemia-2 (Bcl-2), an apoptosis suppressor, are tightly regulated for their expression and activation. Statins, inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, have been recently recognized as neuroprotective drugs. However, their underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effects of simvastatin in a rat model of SE induced by kainic acid (KA). Feeding of simvastatin for 3 days after kainate injection rescued SE-induced neuronal apoptosis, as determined by histological examination of brain sections at the level of the dorsal hippocampus. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that SE treatment markedly increased caspase-3 mRNA expression and reduced Bcl-2 mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Similarly, western blot analysis and immunohistochemical analysis of the rat hippocampus demonstrated that under SE treatment, caspase-3 protein levels significantly increased and peaked at 72 h, whereas Bcl-2 protein levels decreased from 6-24 h following SE. Interestingly, simvastatin could reverse the aforementioned SE-induced changes, suggesting that the neuroprotective effects of simvastatin against neuronal apoptosis may be achieved by inhibiting caspase-3 expression and increasing Bcl-2 expression.

Administration of simvastatin after kainic acid-induced status epilepticus restrains chronic temporal lobe epilepsy.

In this study, we examined the effect of chronic administration of simvastatin immediately after status epilepticus (SE) on rat brain with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). First, we evaluated cytokines expression at 3 days post KA-lesion in hippocampus and found that simvastatin-treatment suppressed lesion-induced expression of interleukin (IL)-1ß and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Further, we quantified reactive astrocytosis using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining and neuron loss using Nissl staining in hippocampus at 4-6 months after KA-lesion. We found that simvastatin suppressed reactive astrocytosis demonstrated by a significant decrease in GFAP-positive cells, and attenuated loss of pyramidal neurons in CA3 and interneurons in dentate hilar (DH). We next assessed aberrant mossy fiber sprouting (MFS) that is known to contribute to recurrence of spontaneous seizure in epileptic brain. In contrast to the robust MFS observed in saline-treated animals, the extent of MFS was restrained by simvastatin in epileptic rats. Attenuated MFS was related to decreased neuronal loss in CA3 and DH, which is possibly a mechanism underlying decreased hippocampal susceptibility in animal treated with simvastatin. Electronic encephalography (EEG) was recorded during 4 to 6 months after KA-lesion. The frequency of abnormal spikes in rats with simvastatin-treatment decreased significantly compared to the saline group. In summary, simvastatin treatment suppressed cytokines expression and reactive astrocytosis and decreased the frequency of discharges of epileptic brain, which might be due to the inhibition of MFS in DH. Our study suggests that simvastatin administration might be a possible intervention and promising strategy for preventing SE exacerbating to chronic epilepsy.