Child ; Humans ; Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Thalassemia

Humans ; Toxoplasmosis ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematologic Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the RNA binding protein of Toxoplasma gondii (TgDDX39) using bioinformatics technology, and to evaluate the immunogenicity of TgDDX39, so as to provide insights into development of toxoplasmosis vaccines. METHODS: The amino acid sequences of TgDDX39 were retrieved from the ToxoDB database, and the physicochemical properties, transmembrane structure domain, signal peptide sites, post-translational modification sites, coils, secondary and tertiary structures, hydrophobicity, and antigenic epitopes of the TgDDX39 protein were predicted using online bioinformatics tools, incluiding ProtParam, TMHMM 2.0, SignalP 5.0, NetPhos 3.1, COILS, SOPMA, Phyre2, ProtScale, ABCpred, SYFPEITHI and DNA-STAR. RESULTS: TgDDX39 protein was predicted to be an unstable hydrophilic protein with the molecular formula of C₂₁₇₃H₃₄₅₈N₅₉₈O₆₆₁S₁₈, which contained 434 amino acids and had an estimated molecular weight of 49.1 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.55. The protein was predicted to have an extremely low possibility of signal peptides, without transmembrane regions, and contain 27 phosphorylation sites. The β turn and random coils accounted for 39.63% of the secondary structure of the TgDDX39 protein, and a coiled helix tended to produce in one site. In addition, the TgDDX39 protein contained multiple B and T cell antigenic epitopes. CONCLUSIONS Bioinformatics analyses predict that TgDDX39 protein has high immunogenicity and contains multiple antigenic epitopes. TgDDX39 protein is a potential candidate antigen for vaccine development.
Humans ; Toxoplasma/metabolism* ; Toxoplasmosis/prevention & control* ; Vaccines ; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte ; Computational Biology ; Protozoan Proteins/chemistry*

We report a literature review and a case of ocular toxoplasmosis in a patient with multiple drug allergies, who was successfully treated with regular intravitreal clindamycin and subconjunctival dexamethasone. A Malay lady in her twenties presented to us with right eye blurring of vision of 2 weeks duration, which she described as a central scotoma. Visual acuity at presentation was hand movements. Examination revealed intense ocular inflammation. The right eye had anterior segment inflammation of 3+ cells with fine keratic precipitates, whilst the posterior segment revealed papillitis, vitritis, retinitis, choroiditis, vasculitis and hyperpigmented chorioretinal scar inferotemporal to fovea. Ocular coherence tomography showed intraretinal fluid and retinal thickening. Fluorescein angiography showed early hypofluorescence of the lesion with progressive hyperfluorescence and leakage from the optic disc. Immunoglobulin G serology of Toxoplasma gondii was raised and immunoglobulin M levels were normal. The patient developed an allergic reaction with classical antibiotic and antifolate therapy. She was successfully treated with regular two-weekly intravitreal clindamycin and subconjunctival dexamethasone and her best corrected visual acuity was 6/18 at the end of her treatment. Intravitreal injection of clindamycin and subconjunctival dexamethasone is a good option in patients of ocular toxoplasmosis who are allergic to oral medications.
Toxoplasmosis, Ocular

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)‍-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Chlorocebus aethiops ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Mammals/genetics* ; Toxoplasma/genetics* ; Toxoplasmosis/pathology* ; Vero Cells ; ras GTPase-Activating Proteins/genetics*

A 36-year-old-male was admitted complaining of headache, right sided weakness and numbness of upper and lower extremity, and multiple cranial nerve deficits. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging revealed an abscess in the pontomesencephalic junction. Patient was then diagnosed to have Human Immunodeficiency Virus with a CD 4 count of 32 cells/ uL, his CSF assay was positive for Toxoplasmosis IgG and was managed as a case of probable brainstem toxoplasmosis. Patient was treated with Co-Trimoxazole 800/160mg 2 tablets twice a day. Upon discharge the patient clinically improved and was tolerating oral feeding. A repeat cranial magnetic resonance imaging after 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment revealed a decrease of size in the previous lesion. To our knowledge, there are no reported cases in the Philippines that shows the documentation of CNS toxoplasmosis in the brainstem. In this paper, a case of CNS toxoplasmosis in the pons of a newly diagnosed HIV patient is presented and how its course led to a good outcome.
Toxoplasmosis ; Immunocompromised Host

We aimed to assess the risks of
China ; Cryptosporidiosis/microbiology* ; Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification* ; Giardia/isolation & purification* ; Giardiasis/microbiology* ; Humans ; Risk Assessment ; Water Microbiology ; Water Supply/statistics & numerical data*

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

Cryptosporidium is a common intestinal protozoan that can lead to diarrhea in humans and dogs. The predominant species of infection are C. hominis and C. parvum in humans, and C. canis in dogs. However, C. canis can infect immunocompromised humans. Considering the close contact with humans, dogs have the potential to be reservoirs for human cryptosporidiosis. Breeding kennels are the major supply source of puppies for pet shops. The present study is to determine the molecular prevalence and characteristics of Cryptosporidium spp. found in breeding kennel dogs. A total of 314 fecal samples were collected from young and adult dogs kept in 5 breeding kennels. A polymerase chain reaction targeting the small subunit rRNA gene was employed for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. To determine the species, the DNA sequences were compared to GenBank data. Overall, 21.0% of the fecal samples were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. infection. Cryptosporidium spp. was detected in all 5 facilities. A sequencing analysis demonstrated that all isolates shared 99–100% similarity with C. canis. The results suggest that Cryptosporidium spp. infection is present at a high-level in breeding kennel dogs. However, because dominant species in this survey was C. canis, the importance of breeding kennel dogs as reservoirs for Cryptosporidium spp. transmission to humans is likely to be low in Japan.
Adult ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Breeding ; Cryptosporidiosis ; Cryptosporidium ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Diarrhea ; Dogs ; Genes, rRNA ; Humans ; Japan ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence

Both Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are important apicomplexan parasites, which infect humans worldwide. Genetic analyses have revealed that 33% of amino acid sequences of inner membrane complex from the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei is similar to that of Toxoplasma gondii. Inner membrane complex is known to be involved in cell invasion and replication. In this study, we investigated the resistance against T. gondii (ME49) infection induced by previously infected P. berghei (ANKA) in mice. Levels of T. gondii-specific IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b antibody responses, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell populations were found higher in the mice infected with P. berghei (ANKA) and challenged with T. gondii (ME49) compared to that in control mice infected with T. gondii alone (ME49). P. berghei (ANKA) + T. gondii (ME49) group showed significantly reduced the number and size of T. gondii (ME49) cysts in the brains of mice, resulting in lower body weight loss compared to ME49 control group. These results indicate that previous exposure to P. berghei (ANKA) induce resistance to subsequent T. gondii (ME49) infection.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Body Weight ; Brain ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Malaria ; Membranes ; Mice ; Parasites ; Plasmodium berghei ; Plasmodium ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis