Cystic echinococcosis (CE) in sheep is a hazardous zoonotic parasitic disease that is caused by Echinococcus granulosus (Eg). At present, serological test is an important diagnostic method for Eg infection in domestic animals. Here, a fusion protein Eg mefAg-1 harboring 8 dominant B-cell epitopes of Eg such as antigen B, tetraspanin 1, tetraspanin 6, reticulon and Eg95 was produced in E. coli and evaluated for CE in sheep by indirect ELISA. Eg mefAg-1 showed in ELISA a high sensitivity (93.41%) and specificity (99.31%), with a coincidence rate of 97.02%. Overall, it is suggested that the Eg mefAg-1 could be a potential antigen candidate for CE serodiagnosis in sheep.
Animals, Domestic ; Echinococcosis ; Echinococcus granulosus ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte ; Methods ; Parasitic Diseases ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serologic Tests ; Sheep

OBJECTIVETo investigate mosquitocidal effects of ethanolic extract of flowers of Tagetes erecta (T. erecta) and its chloroform and petroleum ether soluble fractions against the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus (Cx. quinquefasciatus).

METHODSThe fresh flowers of T. erecta were extracted in cold with ethanol (5.0 L) and after concentration, the ethanol extract was fractionated with chloroform and petroleum ether to afford a brownish syrupy suspension of ethanol extract (50.0 g), petroleum ether soluble fraction (18.6 g) and chloroform soluble fraction (23.8 g). The larvicidal effect of ethanol extract and their solvent fractions were determined by the standard procedure of WHO against different instars of Cx. quinquefasciatus.

RESULTSAmong the tested samples the chloroform soluble fractions showed the highest toxicity and consequently, the lowest LC50 values (14.14 µg/mL, 17.06 µg/mL, 36.88 µg/mL and 75.48 µg/mL) for all the instars larvae of Cx. quinquefasciatus. The larvae showed comparative tolerance in the course of increasing age and time.

CONCLUSIONSIt can be concluded that the flowers of T. erecta are very effective natural larvicide and could be useful against Cx. quinquefasciatus.

Animals ; Culex ; drug effects ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Insecticides ; pharmacology ; Lethal Dose 50 ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Tagetes ; chemistry

Cryptosporidiosis ; drug therapy ; Cryptosporidium ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Phytotherapy ; Salicylates ; chemistry ; therapeutic use

Spillage of cyst contents during surgical operation is the major cause of recurrence after hydatid cyst surgery. Instillation of a scolicidal agent into a hepatic hydatid cyst is the most commonly employed measure to prevent this complication. SB202190 is a pyridinyl imidazole derivative and is known to be a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK. In the present study, the scolicidal effect of SB202190 was investigated. Freshly isolated Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices were subjected to SB202190 treatment (10, 20, 40, and 80 microM), and the effects on parasite viability were monitored by trypan blue staining. Corresponding effects were visualized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Dose-dependent protoscolex death within a few days of SB202190 treatment was observed. Although the in vitro scolicidal effect of SB202190 was satisfactory, the in vivo efficacy of this drug and also possible side effects remain to be further investigated.
Animals ; Anthelmintics/*pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Echinococcus granulosus/*drug effects/ultrastructure ; Imidazoles/*pharmacology ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Pyridines/*pharmacology ; Survival Analysis

BACKGROUND: Serologic tests for specific antibody nowadays are widely employed for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases. Recently, an increasing numbers of kits have adopted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of parasitic antibodies. In this study, we evaluated two ELISA reagents for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases. METHODS: A total of 553 serum and 156 CSF samples were assayed using an in-house micro-ELISA and Genedia(R) Ab ELISA (Green cross PBM, Korea) for Cysticercus, Paragonimus westermani, Clonorchis sinensis, and Sparganum. We reviewed the medical records of all patients. The results from Genedia(R) Ab ELISA kit were compared with those from the in- house micro-ELISA method. RESULTS: The overall concordance rate between the two ELISA tests was 95.5%. When compared with the clinical information, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the in-house micro-ELISA were 100%, 99.0~99.6%, 82.4~96.4%, and 100%, and the respective figures for Genedia(R) Ab ELISA kit were 92.9~100%, 88.0~97.3%, 41.7~50%, and 99.9~100% with kappa agreement of 0.53-0.63. Comparison of two ELISA methods showed a significant difference (P<0.05). Retesting of 85 discordant samples showed that the concordance rate of the in-house ELISA was 97.7% and that of Genedia(R) Ab ELISA was 28.2%. CONCLUSION: Genedia(R) Ab ELISA kit showed an intermediate level of kappa agreement compared with the in-house ELISA. Further studies are necessary to improve the concordance rate of the two methods, and a careful interpretation of these results is required for a precise diagnosis.
Antibodies ; Clonorchis sinensis ; Cysticercus ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Medical Records ; Paragonimus westermani ; Parasitic Diseases ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serologic Tests ; Sparganum ; Streptothricins

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis with symptoms of congenital neurological and ocular diseases and acquired lymphadenitis, retinochoroiditis, and meningoencephalitis. Small molecules which block the activity of protein kinases were tested in in vitro culture of T. gondii to find new therapeutic drugs of safer and more effective than the combined administration of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine that sometimes provoke lethal Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Among them, Gefitinib and Crizotinib inhibited intracellular growth of T. gondii in HeLa cells by counting the number of T. gondii per parasitophorous vacuolar membrane whereas Sunitinib did not. Gefitinib inhibited the growth of T. gondii in a dose-dependent manner over 5 microM up to the tolerable concentration of HeLa cells and halted the division of the parasite immediately from the time point of treatment. Gefitinib inhibition suggests that tyrosine kinases of EGFR family or other homologous kinases of the parasite itself may be the target to cause the block of T. gondii growth.
Antiprotozoal Agents/*pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Repositioning ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Quinazolines/*pharmacology ; Toxoplasma/*drug effects/*growth & development

Animals ; Anthelmintics ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Culture Media ; Echinococcosis ; drug therapy ; parasitology ; Echinococcus granulosus ; drug effects ; growth & development ; pathogenicity ; ultrastructure ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests

OBJECTIVETo compare the schizontocidal activity of recrystallized or crude daphnetin against malaria parasites in vivo.

METHODSSchizontocidal activity of recrystallized or crude daphnetin at various dosages was assessed in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA using a "4-day suppress assay".

RESULTSThe comparison of the reduction rate of parasitemia caused by either recrystallized or crude dephnetin showed that ED(50) of crude daphnetin was 18.36 mg/kg, with 95% confidence limit of 5.96-56.54 mg/kg while ED50 of recrystallized daphnetin was 11.46 mg/kg, with 95% confidence limit of 8.63-15.22 mg/kg.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that the efficacy of recrystallized daphnetin is 37.6% higher than that of crude daphnetin.

Animals ; Antimalarials ; pharmacology ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Malaria ; drug therapy ; parasitology ; Mice ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Plasmodium berghei ; drug effects ; Umbelliferones ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo compare the applicability of the SYBR Green-I assay with the standard schizont maturation assay, for determination of sensitivity of Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) to chloroquine and a new antifolate WR 99210.

METHODSThe study was conducted at Mae Tao Clinic for migrant workers, Tak Province during April 2009 to July 2010. A total of 64 blood samples (1 mL blood collected into sodium heparinized plastic tube) were collected from patients with mono-infection with P. vivax malaria prior to treatment with standard regimen of a 3-day chloroquine. In vitro sensitivity of P. vivax isolates was evaluated by schizont maturation inhibition and SYBR Green-I assays.

RESULTSA total of 30 out of 64 blood samples collected from patients with P. vivax malaria were successfully analyzed using both the microscopic schizont maturation inhibition and SYBR Green-I assays. The failure rates of the schizont maturation inhibition assay (50%) and the SYBR Green-I assay (54%) were similar (P=0.51). The median IC10s, IC50s and IC90s of both chloroquine and WR99210 were not significantly different from the clinical isolates of P. vivax tested. Based on the cut-off of 100 nM, the prevalences of chloroquine resistance determined by schizont maturation inhibition and SYBR Green-I assays were 19 and 11 isolates, respectively. The strength of agreement between the two methods was very poor for both chloroquine and WR99210.

CONCLUSIONSOn the basis of this condition and its superior sensitivity, the microscopic method appears better than the SYBR Green-I Green assay for assessing in vitro sensitivity of fresh P. vivax isolates to antimalarial drugs.

Antimalarials ; pharmacology ; Chloroquine ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Malaria, Vivax ; parasitology ; Organic Chemicals ; Parasitemia ; parasitology ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Plasmodium vivax ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; Schizonts ; drug effects

The disinfectant effects (DEs) of 10 types of chemicals, defined by their ability to destroy or inhibit oocysts and consequently prevent sporulation of Eimeria tenella field isolate, were evaluated in vitro. Correct species assignments and sample purities were confirmed by the singular internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-PCR analysis. A total of 18 treatments were performed, and the disinfection suppression levels were 75.9% for 39% benzene + 22% xylene (1:10 dilution), 85.5% for 30% cresol soup (1:1 dilution), and 91.7% for 99.9% acetic acid (1:2 dilution) group. The results indicate that acetic acid, cresol soup, and benzene+xylene are good candidates for suppression of E. tenella oocyst sporulation.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/*pharmacology ; Cluster Analysis ; DNA, Protozoan/chemistry/genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry/genetics ; Disinfectants/*pharmacology ; Eimeria tenella/*drug effects/*growth & development ; Microscopy ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Spores, Protozoan/*drug effects/*growth & development