Trypanosoma cruzi is the causal agent of Chagas&#x2019; disease which affects millions of people around the world mostly in Central and South America. T. cruzi expresses a wide variety of proteins on its surface membrane which has an important role in the biology of these parasites. Surface molecules of the parasites are the result of the environment to which the parasites are exposed during their life cycle. Hence, T. cruzi displays several modifications when they move from one host to another. Due to the complexity of this parasite&#x2019;s cell surface, this review presents some membrane proteins organized as large families, as they are the most abundant and/or relevant throughout the T. cruzi membrane.

&#xc1;ngel de la Cruz Pech-Canul

Victor Monte&#xf3;n

Rosa-Lidia Sol&#xed;s-Oviedo

A Brief View of the Surface Membrane Proteins from Trypanosoma cruzi

Background. Neglected tropical diseases continue to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Psychiatric patients are among groups at risk for parasitic infection although control and monitoring programs largely overlook this population. This study aimed at determining prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection among patients admitted to a psychiatric facility. Method. The study followed cross-sectional design; all the residing patients that met the inclusion criteria were included in the survey. Stool samples were collected and examined by direct wet preparation and formol-ether concentration. Data were analyzed with STATA version 12.1; Chi-square test was computed to determine the level of significance at <svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-3.42943pt" id="M1" height="10.2124pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -6.78297 7.83752 10.2124" width="7.83752pt"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><path id="g113-113" d="M570 304C570 398 525 448 414 448C385 448 343 445 312 434L329 511L321 518C297 504 262 482 244 460L233 411C195 397 159 381 128 358L135 332C160 347 189 360 224 373L111 -147C97 -210 84 -218 17 -231L13 -257L254 -247L259 -218L233 -216C183 -212 177 -202 189 -142L218 -1C238 -10 266 -12 283 -12C351 3 429 48 483 105C543 168 570 242 570 304ZM482 289C482 161 380 33 304 33C278 33 248 51 233 69L303 396C326 400 352 403 369 403C428 403 482 380 482 289Z"/></g></svg> value &lt; 0.05. Results. Of all 233 patients who returned the stool samples, 29 (12.45%) screened were positive for an intestinal parasite. There was no significant association between parasite carriage and age, sex, or duration of hospital stay. Conclusion. The study shows that intestinal parasitic infection is common among patients in a psychiatric facility and highlights that parasitic infections that enter through skin penetration may be a more common mode of transmission than the oral route. Furthermore, the study underscores the need for surveillance and intervention programs to control and manage these infections.

Azan A. Nyundo

David Z. Munisi

Ainory P. Gesase

Prevalence and Correlates of Intestinal Parasites among Patients Admitted to Mirembe National Mental Health Hospital, Dodoma, Tanzania

Schistosomiasis is a Neglected Tropical Diseases which can be prevented with mass deworming chemotherapy. The reliance on a single drug, praziquantel, is a motivation for the search of novel antischistosomal compounds. This study investigated the anthelmintic activity of the stem bark and roots of Rauwolfia vomitoria against two life stages of Schistosoma mansoni. Both plant parts were found to be active against cercariae and adult worms. Within 2&#x2009;h of exposure all cercariae were killed at a concentration range of 62.5&#x2013;1000&#x2009;&#xb5;g/mL and 250&#x2013;1000&#x2009;&#xb5;g/mL of R. vomitoria stem bark and roots, respectively. The LC50 values determined for the stem bark after 1 and 2&#x2009;h of exposure were 207.4 and 61.18&#x2009;&#xb5;g/mL, respectively. All adult worms exposed to the concentrations range of 250&#x2013;1000&#x2009;&#xb5;g/mL for both plant parts died within 120&#x2009;h of incubation. The cytotoxic effects against HepG2 and Chang liver cell assessed using MTT assay method indicated that both plant extracts which were inhibitory to the proliferation of cell lines with IC50 &#x3e; 20&#x2009;&#x3bc;g/mL appear to be safe. This report provides the first evidence of in vitro schistosomicidal potency of R. vomitoria with the stem bark being moderately, but relatively, more active and selective against schistosome parasites. This suggests the presence of promising medicinal constituent(s).

Emmanuel Mouafo Tekwu

Kwabena Mante Bosompem

William Kofi Anyan

Regina Appiah-Opong

Kofi Baffour-Awuah Owusu

Mabel Deladem Tettey

Felicia Amanfo Kissi

Alfred Ampomah Appiah

Veronique Penlap Beng

Alexander Kwadwo Nyarko

In Vitro Assessment of Anthelmintic Activities of Rauwolfia vomitoria (Apocynaceae) Stem Bark and Roots against Parasitic Stages of Schistosoma mansoni and Cytotoxic Study

Leishmania is the causative agent of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease that affects more than 12 million people around the world. Current treatments are toxic and poorly effective due to the acquisition of resistance within Leishmania populations. Thus, the pursuit for new antileishmanial drugs is a priority. The available methods for drug screening based on colorimetric assays using vital dyes are time-consuming. Currently, the use of fluorescent reporter proteins is replacing the use of viability indicator dyes. We have constructed two plasmids expressing the red fluorescent protein mCherry with multiple cloning sites (MCS), adequate for N- and C-terminal fusion protein constructs. Our results also show that the improved pXG-mCherry plasmid can be employed for drug screening in vitro. The use of the red fluorescent protein, mCherry, is an easier tool for numerous assays, not only to test pharmacological compounds, but also to determine the subcellular localization of proteins.

Andr&#xe9;s Vacas

Conor Sugden

&#xd3;scar Velasco-Rodriguez

Miriam Algarabel-Olona

Jos&#xe9; Pe&#xf1;a-Guerrero

Esther Larrea

Celia Fern&#xe1;ndez-Rubio

Paul A. Nguewa

Construction of Two mCherry Plasmids (pXG-mCherry) for Transgenic Leishmania: Valuable Tools for Future Molecular Analysis

Strongyloidiasis is a parasitic neglected disease caused by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis affecting 30 to 100 million people worldwide. Complications, strongly associated with alcoholism, organ transplants, and HTLV-1 virus, often arise due to late diagnosis, frequently leading to patient death. Lack of preemptive diagnosis is not the only difficulty when dealing with this parasite, since there are no gold standard diagnostic techniques, and the ones used have problems associated with sensitivity, resulting in false negatives. Treatment is also an issue as ivermectin and benzimidazoles administration leads to inconsistent cure rates and several side effects. Researching new anti-Strongyloides drugs is a difficult task since S. stercoralis does not develop until the adult stages in Mus musculus (with the exception of SCID mice), the main experimental host model. Fortunately, alternative parasite models can be used, namely, Strongyloides ratti and S. venezuelensis. However, even with these models, there are other complications in finding new drugs, which are associated with specific in vitro assay protocol steps, such as larvae decontamination. In this review, we highlight the challenges associated with new drug search, the compounds tested, and a list of published in vitro assay methodologies. We also point out advances being made in strongyloidiasis diagnosis so far.

Tiago Mendes

Karen Minori

Marlene Ueta

Danilo Ciccone Miguel

Silmara Marques Allegretti

Strongyloidiasis Current Status with Emphasis in Diagnosis and Drug Research

Background. Malaria and urogenital schistosomiasis are coendemic in Mount Cameroon Area. This study investigated the prevalence of S. haematobium, P. falciparum, and coinfections and their effect on anaemia in pregnancy. Methods. Pregnant women reporting for antenatal care (ANC) clinic visit in Munyenge were enrolled. S. haematobium and P. falciparum infections were determined by urine filtration and microscopy, respectively. Haemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured using haemoglobinometer. Of 250 women, 46.8&#x25;, 39.2&#x25;, and 15.2&#x25; had S. haematobium, P. falciparum, and coinfections, respectively. Schistosomes infection was higher in younger women (&#x2264;25 years) and those who bathe in and had domestic contact with stream compared with older age (&#x3e;25 years) women and those who had only domestic contact with stream. Lower infection rate was associated with less water contact (&#x2264;2 times/day) compared with more water contact (&#x3e;2 times/day). Compared with no sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) usage, malaria parasitaemia was less among women who used SP. Stream usage increased risk of coinfection while less water contact and SP usage decreased its risk. All coinfected cases were anaemic and coinfection accounted for 93.8&#x25; of severe anaemia. Conclusion. Coinfection contributes to anaemia severity. Less water contact and SP usage will reduce coinfection in pregnancy in Munyenge.

Judith K. Anchang-Kimbi

Dillys Mansoh Elad

Gemain Taiwe Sotoing

Eric Akum Achidi

Coinfection with Schistosoma haematobium and Plasmodium falciparum and Anaemia Severity among Pregnant Women in Munyenge, Mount Cameroon Area: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Journal of Parasitology Research publishes papers in all areas of basic and applied parasitology, including host-parasite relationships, parasitic diseases, disease vectors, and the social and economic issues around the impact of parasites.

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Journal of Parasitology Research publishes papers in all areas of basic and applied parasitology, including host-parasite relationships, parasitic diseases, disease vectors, and the social and economic issues around the impact of parasites.

Journal of Parasitology Research