PURPOSE: The purpose is to describe the new species morphologically and molecularly and provide new information of its evolutionally relationships with other species of the subgenus.
METHODS: Standard methods of collection and examination of marine hosts, processing and illustrating of specimens, and taxonomic identification of parasites using the extensive collection of the lead author were used. Specimens were further studied using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and ion sectioning of hooks, SEM analysis, and molecular sequencing. Type specimens were deposited at the Harold W. Manter Lab. collection, Lincoln, Nebraska.
RESULTS: Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) fusiformis n. sp. is described from the catfish, Arius sp. (Ariidae: Siluriformes) off the Pacific Coast of Vietnam at Bac Lieu in the Gulf of Thailand. The three other marine Indian species include A. (A.) arii Bilqees, 1971 which is also described from a similar catfish, Arius serratus Day off the Karachi coast in the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean. Our new species from Vietnam is distinguished from the other 46 species by a combination of characters including a small fusiform trunk, complete circles of small hollow spines covering the entire trunk, prominent double apical organs often extending posteriorly past posterior hooks, middle and posterior hooks of equal size slightly smaller than anterior hooks, large neck continuous with the outline of the proboscis without distinct separation, big drop-shaped cephalic ganglion, extension of the proboscis receptacle anteriorly past the base of the proboscis up to the insertion point of the posterior hooks, presence of two para-receptacle structures (PRSs), free unattached thick lemnisci, short female reproductive system with filamentous attachment of the distal end of the uterine bell to the ventral body wall, and small narrowly ellipsoid eggs with thickened polar ends. Partial sequences of the 18S and internal transcribed spacers (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) of ribosomal RNA were generated and used for phylogenetic analyses to confirm the taxonomic identity of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) fusiformis n. sp.
CONCLUSIONS: We describe unique morphological features of A. fusiformis never before known in the subgenus Acanthosentis. The uniqueness of A. fusiformis is further demonstrated by its EDXA fingerprint characterized by high levels of calcium and phosphorous in hooks. The zoogeography of species of Acanthosentis is elucidated in the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, China, and Africa. Molecular data have been available only in few species of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) to date on GenBank database. For 18S, only two sequences from unknown Acanthosentis sp. from India are available, while for the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region, only sequences of A. cheni from China and of two unidentified species from Malaysia are available. Additional studies of species of Acanthosentis based on morphological and molecular genetic data will be needed to reconstruct the evolutionary history and phylogenetic affinities of this group of acanthocephalans.
METHODS: hrCRP was expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami and extracted from the SDS-PAGE gel. Male BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously at the base of their tails by 1 × 105 stationary-phase of Leishmania major promastigotes (MHRO/IR/75/ER) suspended in sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Nodules and subsequently, ulcers developed 14 days post-injection. 1.5 µg of the purified protein was administered on lesions of pre-infected mice by Leishmania major in the intervention group for five consecutive days.
RESULTS: The mean area of the lesions was decreased by about seven folds in the intervention group as compared to the control group after two weeks of the treatment (p = 0.024). The results were verified by the real-time polymerase chain reaction so that the parasite burden was determined 27 times in the control group as compared to the intervention group (p = 0.02). Two weeks after treatment, the conversion of the lesions to scars in the intervention group was observed.
CONCLUSION: The results indicate a potential therapeutic role for hrCRP in improving cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major in mice models. The healing was in a stage-dependent manner.
METHODS: The demographic profiles for each participant were obtained through a questionnaire survey prior to blood collection. A total of 389 participants were recruited and blood samples screened for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibody using an ELISA commercial kit, SERION ELISA classic Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM.
RESULTS: The overall T. gondii seroprevalence was 69.6% with 56.8% seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, 7.7% seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and 5.1% seropositive for both IgG and IgM antibodies. The presence of both antibody classes in blood samples indicated high avidity, suggesting latent infection. Univariate analysis revealed significant associations that included; age, ethnicity, location and employment status while, significant lifestyle factors included source of drinking water and eating style. A multifactorial statistical model that incorporated all the significant effects from the first-stage univariate analyses listed above revealed that age and ethnicity were the two dominant and independent effects on IgG seroprevalence. For seroprevalence of IgM, the multifactorial model revealed a significant interaction between work and accommodation. IgM seroprevalence was higher among the unemployed inhabitants of PPR (Program Perumahan Rakyat) than those living in non-PPR accommodation, and higher than among the employed irrespective of their accommodation.
CONCLUSION: High seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis in the community calls for increased awareness of disease transmission and improvements in hygiene and sanitation.