BACKGROUND/AIMS: Many parasites induce changes in the lipid profiles of the host. Cholesterol increases the virulence of Entamoeba histolytica in animal models and in vitro culture. This study aimed to determine, in patients with an amebic liver abscess, the correlation between cholesterol and other features, such as the size and number of abscesses, standard hematological and serum chemistry profiles, liver tests, and duration of hospital stay. METHODS: A total of 108 patients with an amebic liver abscess and 140 clinically healthy volunteers were investigated. Cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in the sera. The data from medical observations and laboratory tests were obtained from the clinical records. RESULTS: A total of 93% of patients with an amebic liver abscess showed hypocholesterolemia not related to any of the studied parameters. Liver function tests correlated with the size of the abscess. The most severe cases of amebic liver disease or death were found in patients whose cholesterol levels continued to decrease despite receiving antiamebic treatment and hospital care. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the hypocholesterolemia observed in patients with an amebic liver abscess is not related to any of the clinical and laboratory features analyzed. This is the first study relating hypocholesterolemia to severity of hepatic amebiasis.
Amebicides/therapeutic use ; Cholesterol/metabolism ; *Entamoeba histolytica ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia/blood/*parasitology ; Length of Stay ; Liver Abscess, Amebic/blood/*complications/drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Various Leishmania species were engineered with green fluorescent protein (GFP) using episomal vectors that encoded an antibiotic resistance gene, such as aminoglycoside geneticin sulphate (G418). Most reports of GFP-Leishmania have used the flagellated extracellular promastigote, the stage of parasite detected in the midgut of the sandfly vector; fewer studies have been performed with amastigotes, the stage of parasite detected in mammals. In this study, comparisons were made regarding the efficiency for in vitro G418 selection of GFP-Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes and the use of in vivo G418 selection. The GFP-promastigotes retained episomal plasmid for a prolonged period and G418 treatment was necessary and efficient for in vitro selection. In contrast, GFP-amastigotes showed low retention of the episomal plasmid in the absence of G418 selection and low sensitivity to antibiotics in vitro. The use of protocols for G418 selection using infected BALB/c mice also indicated low sensitivity to antibiotics against amastigotes in cutaneous lesions.
Amebicides/*pharmacology ; Animals ; Flow Cytometry ; Gentamicins/*pharmacology ; Green Fluorescent Proteins/*chemistry ; Host-Parasite Interactions ; Leishmania mexicana/drug effects/genetics/*growth & development ; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/*parasitology ; Luminescent Agents/*chemistry ; Macrophages, Peritoneal/parasitology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Organisms, Genetically Modified ; Spectrometry, Fluorescence

It has been found in recent years that Artesunate (Art), a water soluble derivative of arteannuin, mainly previously used for its anti-malarial activity, has some other effects, e.g. it could act as an anti-tumor agent by way of inducing cell apoptosis, antagonizing angiogenesis, reversing immunosuppression of tumor cells, etc. More and more attention is being paid to the anti-tumor effects of Art. Such progress is reviewed in this paper.
Amebicides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Antimalarials ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Artemisinins ; pharmacology ; Free Radicals ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Iron ; pharmacology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; drug therapy ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; drug effects