scholarly journals Significant familial differences in the frequency of abortion and Toxoplasma gondii infection within a flock of Charollais sheep

Parasitology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. K. MORLEY ◽  
R. H. WILLIAMS ◽  
J. M. HUGHES ◽  
R. S. TERRY ◽  
P. DUNCANSON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Sheep Flock ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection ◽  
Familial Differences

A study was carried out to investigate the frequencies of abortion and congenital Toxoplasma gondii infection within 27 families (765 individuals) of a pedigree Charollais sheep flock maintained on a working farm in Worcestershire, UK, since 1992. Pedigree lambing records were analysed to establish the frequency of abortion for each family. The frequency of congenital infection was determined for each family by PCR analysis of tissue samples taken from newborn lambs. A total of 155 lambs were tested for congenital T. gondii infection, which were all born during the study period 2000–2003. Significant differences in the frequency of abortion between sheep families within this flock were observed with frequencies ranging between 0% and 48% (P<0·01). Significantly different infection frequencies with T. gondii were also observed for different families and ranged between 0% and 100% (P<0·01). Although the actual cause of each abortion was not verified, a highly significant positive correlation was found to exist between the frequency of abortion and the frequency of T. gondii infection in the same families (P<0·01). The data presented here raise further questions regarding the significance of congenital transmission of T. gondii within sheep populations, the possible successive vertical transmission of T. gondii within families of sheep, and the potential role of inherited genetic susceptibility to abortion with respect to T. gondii infection. This work invites further study into the epidemiology of ovine toxoplasmosis and may have implications for sheep husbandry methods in the future.

scholarly journals Interleukin-17/Interleukin-17 Receptor-Mediated Signaling Is Important for Generation of an Optimal Polymorphonuclear Response against Toxoplasma gondii Infection

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 617-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle N. Kelly ◽  
Jay K. Kolls ◽  
Kyle Happel ◽  
Joseph D. Schwartzman ◽  
Paul Schwarzenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Protective Immunity ◽  
Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes ◽  
Early Infection ◽  
Interleukin 17 ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection ◽  
Knockout Animals

ABSTRACT We investigated the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17)/IL-17 receptor (IL-17R)-mediated signaling in the protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii. IL-17R−/− mice developed a normal adaptive immunity against the parasite. However, increased mortality in the knockout animals can be attributed to a defect in the migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to infected sites during early infection.

scholarly journals Are Long Noncoding RNAs New Potential Biomarkers in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs)? The Role of H19 and MALAT1

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Badalamenti ◽  
Nadia Barraco ◽  
Lorena Incorvaia ◽  
Antonio Galvano ◽  
Daniele Fanale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Long Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Tumor Aggressiveness ◽  
Mutation Status ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Tissue Specimens ◽  
Selection Of

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators of genetic and epigenetic networks, and their deregulation may underlie complex diseases, such as carcinogenesis. Several studies described lncRNA alterations in patients with solid tumors. In particular, HOTAIR upregulation has been associated with tumor aggressiveness, metastasis, and poor survival in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. We analyzed expression levels of other lncRNAs, H19 and MALAT1, in FFPE tissue specimens from 40 surgically resected and metastatic GIST patients, using real-time PCR analysis. H19 and MALAT1 were both upregulated in 50% of GIST patients. MALAT1 lncRNA expression levels seem to be correlated with c-KIT mutation status. The percentage of both H19 and MALAT1 upregulation was significantly higher in patients with time to progression (TTP) < 6 months as compared to patients with TTP > 6 months. The median TTP was significantly lower in patients with both H19 and MALAT1 lncRNA upregulation as compared to those with lncRNA downregulation. These data suggest a potential role for both H19 and MALAT1 lncRNAs as prognostic biomarker for the clinical selection of the best candidate to first-line treatment with imatinib.

Is Toxoplasma gondii Infection a Cause or a Coincidence in an Adolescent with Psychosis?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hüsniye Yucel ◽  
Burak Acikel ◽  
F Nur Öz ◽  
Saliha Senel
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Current Level ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Diseases ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Young Adolescent Girl ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection ◽  
Psychiatric Problems ◽  
Immunocompetent Patients

AbstractAlthough presumed to be relatively harmless in immunocompetent patients, toxoplasmosis has been linked to several psychiatric problems such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and suicidal/aggressive behaviors. We describe an 11-year-old young adolescent girl with psychoses who was ultimately diagnosed with toxoplasmosis. It is an unusual presentation of Toxoplasma gondii infection that adds new knowledge to the current level of literature about the substantial role of Toxoplasma gondii in the etiology of neuropsychiatric diseases. We propose that screening for toxoplasmosis is needed besides other etiologies in differential diagnosis of psychiatric symptoms particularly in endemic areas.

scholarly journals The development of the Sabin–Pinkerton triad despite prenatal screening for congenital toxoplasmosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-274
Author(s):  
Urszula Dryja ◽  
◽  
Anna Niwald ◽  
Ewa Majda-Stanisławska ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Prenatal Screening ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Imaging Findings ◽  
Pregnant Mother ◽  
First Trimester Of Pregnancy ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection ◽  
Antiparasitic Treatment

The paper presents a case of a boy who developed the symptoms of congenital toxoplasmosis: hydrocephalus, retinitis, choroiditis and intracranial calcifications (the Sabin–Pinkerton triad). Despite prenatal screening in the first trimester of pregnancy (in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health), which indicated the diagnosis of asymptomatic primary Toxoplasma gondii infection in the pregnant mother, no antiparasitic therapy was used. The presented serological and imaging findings, as well as specialist consultations confirm the intensified effects of congenital infection in the child. Although the child was put on anti-toxoplasma therapy immediately after birth, he developed severe psychophysical development disorders. The paper discusses recommendations for maternal diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment that could have prevented the full-blown congenital toxoplasmosis in the described patient.

scholarly journals Impact of Toxoplasma gondii infection on human health

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099
Author(s):  
Taibur Rahman ◽  
Jerin E Gulshan ◽  
Atiqur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Organ Transplant ◽  
Human Diseases ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection ◽  
Immunocompetent Adults ◽  
Persistence Behavior

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent infectious disease around the globe and it is caused by the parasite named Toxoplasma gondii. Infections normally lead to asymptomatic parasite persistence in immunocompetent warm-blooded hosts, including up to 30-50% of humans. However, T. gondii infection has also a major medical concern and can lead to life-threatening diseases, after reactivation in immunocompromized individuals, particularly in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/cancer or organ transplant recipients, after vertical transmission to fetuses of pregnant women and by inducing recurrent uveitis in immunocompetent adults. More importantly, T. gondii undergoes stage conversion from its fast-replicating tachyzoite to slow replicating dormant bradyzoite preferentially in the brain and skeletal muscles, and lesser extent in the eye, liver, kidney and lung which enable the parasite to persist for the whole life of an individual. Due to the persistence behavior of the parasite in different parts of human body, T. gondii can develop multiple human diseases with severe clinical symptoms. In this study, we have summarized the association of T. gondii in multiple human diseases for instance Encephalitis, Parkinson’s disease, Schizophrenia, Heart disease, Ocular Toxoplasmosis, Congenital abnormalities, Cancer and Diabetes. This highlights the potential role of T. gondii in developing fatal diseases, particularly in immunocompromised individuals despite having asymptomatic nature of the parasite. Bioresearch Commu. 8(1): 1093-1099, 2022 (January)

scholarly journals No Evidence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection in Urban and Rural Squirrels in Southern Manitoba, Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riikka P. Kinnunen ◽  
Chloé Schmidt ◽  
Adrián Hernándes-Ortiz ◽  
Colin J. Garroway
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Important Intermediate ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

ABSTRACTWhen wildlife colonizes cities, they can bring parasites that have implications for human health, yet knowledge underlying the ways host-pathogen interactions operate in cities is limited. The Coccidian parasite Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans and cause health issues. T. gondii also has host species that occur at higher densities in cities than in natural environments, including squirrel species (Sciuridae). Cats and other Felidae are the only known definitive hosts of T. gondii. In urban and suburban areas squirrels regularly share their territories with domestic cats where they can encounter infectious oocysts shed in cat feces in contaminated soil or in the food they eat. We hypothesized that urban squirrels might thus be particularly susceptible to T. gondii infection compared to squirrels in more natural areas. We investigated this using molecular and serological methods on samples collected from four squirrel species in and around the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We tested a total of 272 tissue samples from 46 squirrels for T. gondii DNA using quantitative PCR, and 15 serum samples from grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) for T. gondii antibodies (IgG) by indirect ELISA. We found no evidence of T. gondii infection in squirrels in southern Manitoba. This suggests that squirrels are not important intermediate hosts of T. gondii in cities and that the prevalence of T. gondii oocysts in the environment in Manitoba is likely low. Consequently, squirrel management to prevent infection to humans or their pet cats is not needed in urban areas with abundant squirrel populations.

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