The larval stages of the cestode parasites belonging to the genus Echinococcus grow within internal organs of humans and a range of animal species. The resulting diseases, collectively termed echinococcoses, include major neglected tropical diseases of humans and livestock. Echinococcus larvae are outwardly protected by the laminated layer (LL), an acellular structure that is unique to this genus. The LL is based on a fibrillar meshwork made up of mucins, which are decorated by galactose-rich O-glycans. In addition, in the species cluster termed E. granulosus sensu lato, the LL features nano-deposits of the calcium salt of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (Insp6). The main purpose of our article is to update the immunobiology of the LL. Major recent advances in this area are (i) the demonstration of LL "debris" at the infection site and draining lymph nodes, (ii) the characterization of the decoy activity of calcium Insp6 with respect to complement, (iii) the evidence that the LL mucin carbohydrates interact specifically with a lectin receptor expressed in Kupffer cells (Clec4F), and (iv) the characterization of what appear to be receptor-independent effects of LL particles on dendritic cells and macrophages. Much information is missing on the immunology of this intriguing structure: we discuss gaps in knowledge and propose possible avenues for research.
Animals ; Calcium ; Echinococcosis/parasitology* ; Echinococcus/immunology* ; Echinococcus granulosus/immunology* ; Mucins

In December 2011, we reported an autochthonous case of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in a 42-year-old woman in Korea. The diagnosis was based on histopathological findings of the surgically resected liver cyst. In the present study, we evaluated the serological and molecular characteristics of this Korean E. multilocularis case. The patient's serum strongly reacted with affinity-purified native Em18 and recombinant Em18 antigens (specific for E. multilocularis) but negative for recombinant antigen B8/1 (reactive for Echinococcus granulosus). In immunoaffinity chromatography, the serum also strongly reacted with E. multilocularis and only weakly positive for E. granulosus. We determined the whole nucleotide sequence of cox1 (1,608 bp) using the paraffin-embedded cystic tissue which was compared with E. multilocularis isolates from China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Austria, France, and Slovakia. The Korean case showed 99.8-99.9% similarity with isolates from Asia (the highest similarity with an isolate from Sichuan, China), whereas the similarity with European isolates ranged from 99.5 to 99.6%.
Adult ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/*blood ; Antigens, Helminth/genetics/*immunology/metabolism ; Base Sequence ; Echinococcosis, Hepatic/*immunology/parasitology ; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis/genetics/immunology ; Echinococcus granulosus/genetics/immunology ; Echinococcus multilocularis/genetics/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Republic of Korea ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

A 25-year-old Uzbek male presented with right upper abdominal pain for 20 days. On radiologic studies, a huge cystic mass was noticed in the right liver which was suspected as parasitic. The patient received right hepatic segmentectomy (segment 7), and the surgically resected mass was confirmed as cystic echinococcosis (CE), measuring 10.5 cm in its diameter. The inner surface of the cyst was bile-stained. The patient was discharged on the 8th hospital day, and was rechecked 6 months after the surgical intervention without any evidence of recurrence. The present report describes findings of an imported case of CE which represented ultrasound images of the 'ball of wool'.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/blood ; Echinococcosis, Hepatic/*parasitology/radiography/surgery ; Echinococcus granulosus/immunology/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Liver/*parasitology/surgery/ultrasonography ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Uzbekistan/ethnology

Turkey remains an intermediate area for prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigenemia. The sheep-raising areas of Turkey also pose a high risk for cystic hydatid disease (CHD). Both HBV infection and CHD are major public health issues particularly in eastern parts of Turkey; however, there is no data regarding HBV infection in patients who have had CHD. The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between HBV infection and CHD and suggest ways to reduce HBV infection which is still widespread in Turkey. A retrospective study was conducted with 94 adult patients with active CHD referred to the hepatology department, Yuzuncuyil University School of Medicine from December 2010 to December 2012. All subjects came from rural areas of the region and underwent ultrasonography of abdomen which detected CHD of the liver. All the patients were serologically positive for Echinococcus granulosus. The control group consisted of 500 patients (300 men and 200 women) referred to the internal medicine clinics for other reasons. The patients with CHD and in the control group were tested for the existence of HBs antigen according to the standard procedures. The seroprevalence of HBs antigen was significantly higher in patients with active CHD than those in the control group (12.7% vs 5.2%; P=0.0017). Our data indicate that there is significant association between HBV infection and CHD. All patients with CHD should be screened for HBV infection.
Abdomen/ultrasonography ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Echinococcosis/*complications ; Echinococcus granulosus/immunology ; Female ; Hepatitis B/*epidemiology ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/*blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Rural Population ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Turkey/epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective immunity against Echinococcus granulosus in mice immunized with rEg14-3-3.

METHODSICR mice were subcutaneously immunized three times with rEg14-3-3, followed by the challenge with Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces intraperitoneally and then sacrificed after six months of post-challenge to detect the proliferation of splenocytes by MTT assay, and to measure the secretion of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ by ELISA. The rate of reduced hydatid cyst and the levels of IgE, IgG and IgG subclasses in sera were examined.

RESULTSMice vaccinated with rEg14-3-3 and challenged with protoscoleces revealed significant protective immunity of 84.47%. ELISA analysis indicated that the immunized mice generated specific high levels of IgG and the prevailing isotypes of IgG were IgG1 and IgG2a. Splenocytes from mice immunized with rEg14-3-3 showed a significant proliferation response. The secretion of IFN-γ and IL-2 increased significantly in the vaccinated mice whereas there was no significant difference in IL-4 and IL-10 levels between vaccinated and control mice.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that the rEg14-3-3 vaccine could induce a high level of protective immunity as a promising vaccine candidate to prevent cystic echinococcosis.

14-3-3 Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Proliferation ; Cytokines ; genetics ; metabolism ; Echinococcosis ; prevention & control ; Echinococcus granulosus ; genetics ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gene Expression Regulation ; physiology ; Mice ; Spleen ; cytology ; Vaccines ; immunology