Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis antibodies in blood donors in Tripoli area

Toxoplasma gondii is the organism that is responsible for toxoplasmosis disease. Toxoplasma gondii: is a crucial obligate intracellular parasite of humans and animals worldwide and infects nearly one-third of humanity; the disease can be severe and can lead to abortion or neonate’s death. In addition, an immunocompromised individual may develop several syndromes such as encephalitis, chorioretinitis, congenital infection and neonatal mortality. In this study, our objective is to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies through blood transfusion. Therefore, our study was conducted from 1 May 2010 to 31 of May 2010 among Libyan donors. We tested 164 blood donors from different ages for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in Tripoli, a capital city of Libya. The results showed that 33.5% of blood donors had positive IgG antibodies. Therefore, this study suggest blood screening with high-performance techniques for Toxoplasma gondii before blood transfusion should be routinely done to avoid severe complications.

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m6A RNA methylation facilitates pre-mRNA 3’-end formation and is essential for viability of Toxoplasma gondii

PLoS Pathogens ◽

10.1371/journal.ppat.1009335 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. e1009335

Author(s):

Michael J. Holmes ◽

Leah R. Padgett ◽

Matheus S. Bastos ◽

William J. Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Gene Regulation ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Congenital Infection ◽

Epigenetic Factors ◽

Obligate Intracellular ◽

Opportunistic Disease ◽

Cleavage And Polyadenylation ◽

Parasite Replication ◽

Parasite Viability ◽

M6a Rna Methylation

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that can cause serious opportunistic disease in the immunocompromised or through congenital infection. To progress through its life cycle, Toxoplasma relies on multiple layers of gene regulation that includes an array of transcription and epigenetic factors. Over the last decade, the modification of mRNA has emerged as another important layer of gene regulation called epitranscriptomics. Here, we report that epitranscriptomics machinery exists in Toxoplasma, namely the methylation of adenosines (m6A) in mRNA transcripts. We identified novel components of the m6A methyltransferase complex and determined the distribution of m6A marks within the parasite transcriptome. m6A mapping revealed the modification to be preferentially located near the 3’-boundary of mRNAs. Knockdown of the m6A writer components METTL3 and WTAP resulted in diminished m6A marks and a complete arrest of parasite replication. Furthermore, we examined the two proteins in Toxoplasma that possess YTH domains, which bind m6A marks, and showed them to be integral members of the cleavage and polyadenylation machinery that catalyzes the 3’-end processing of pre-mRNAs. Loss of METTL3, WTAP, or YTH1 led to a defect in transcript 3’-end formation. Together, these findings establish that the m6A epitranscriptome is essential for parasite viability by contributing to the processing of mRNA 3’-ends.

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Incidence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in 35,940 Pregnant Women in Norway and Pregnancy Outcome for Infected Women

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.36.10.2900-2906.1998 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 36 (10) ◽

pp. 2900-2906 ◽

Cited By ~ 104

Author(s):

Pål A. Jenum ◽

Babill Stray-Pedersen ◽

Kjetil K. Melby ◽

Georg Kapperud ◽

Andrew Whitelaw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Screening Program ◽

Transmission Rate ◽

Congenital Infection ◽

First Trimester ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Capital City ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

From 1992 to 1994 a screening program for detection of specific Toxoplasma gondii antibodies involving 35,940 pregnant women was conducted in Norway. For women with serological evidence of primary T. gondii infection, amniocentesis and antiparasitic treatment were offered. The amniotic fluid was examined for T. gondii by PCR and mouse inoculation to detect fetal infection. Infants of infected mothers had clinical and serological follow-up for at least 1 year to detect congenital infection. Of the women 10.9% were infected before the onset of pregnancy. Forty-seven women (0.17% among previously noninfected women) showed evidence of primary infection during pregnancy. The highest incidence was detected (i) among foreign women (0.60%), (ii) in the capital city of Oslo (0.46%), and (iii) in the first trimester (0.29%). Congenital infection was detected in 11 infants, giving a transmission rate of 23% overall, 13% in the first trimester, 29% in the second, and 50% in the third. During the 1-year follow-up period only one infant, born to an untreated mother, was found to be clinically affected (unilateral chorioretinitis and loss of vision). At the beginning of pregnancy 0.6% of the previously uninfected women were falsely identified as positive by the Platelia Toxo-IgM test, the percentage increasing to 1.3% at the end of pregnancy. Of the women infected prior to pregnancy 6.8% had persisting specific immunoglobulin M (IgM). A positive specific-IgM result had a low predictive value for identifying primaryT. gondii infection.

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Secreted Effectors Modulating Immune Responses to Toxoplasma gondii

Life ◽

10.3390/life11090988 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 988

Author(s):

Tadakimi Tomita ◽

Rebekah B. Guevara ◽

Lamisha M. Shah ◽

Andrews Y. Afrifa ◽

Louis M. Weiss

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Inflammatory Responses ◽

Parasitophorous Vacuole ◽

Congenital Infection ◽

Dense Granule ◽

Obligate Intracellular ◽

Host Cytoplasm ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Intracellular Milieu

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that chronically infects a third of humans. It can cause life-threatening encephalitis in immune-compromised individuals. Congenital infection also results in blindness and intellectual disabilities. In the intracellular milieu, parasites encounter various immunological effectors that have been shaped to limit parasite infection. Parasites not only have to suppress these anti-parasitic inflammatory responses but also ensure the host organism’s survival until their subsequent transmission. Recent advancements in T. gondii research have revealed a plethora of parasite-secreted proteins that suppress as well as activate immune responses. This mini-review will comprehensively examine each secreted immunomodulatory effector based on the location of their actions. The first section is focused on secreted effectors that localize to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane, the interface between the parasites and the host cytoplasm. Murine hosts are equipped with potent IFNγ-induced immune-related GTPases, and various parasite effectors subvert these to prevent parasite elimination. The second section examines several cytoplasmic and ER effectors, including a recently described function for matrix antigen 1 (MAG1) as a secreted effector. The third section covers the repertoire of nuclear effectors that hijack transcription factors and epigenetic repressors that alter gene expression. The last section focuses on the translocation of dense-granule effectors and effectors in the setting of T. gondii tissue cysts (the bradyzoite parasitophorous vacuole).

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Prevalence of IgG and IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Blood Donors at Urmia Blood Transfusion Organization, Iran

Turkish Journal of Parasitology ◽

10.5152/tpd.2017.5066 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Khosrow Hazrati Tappeh ◽

Jalil Musavi ◽

Mohammad Baradaran Safa ◽

Hosein Galavani ◽

Hamid Alizadeh

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Blood Transfusion ◽

Blood Donors

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Untargeted Metabolomics Uncovers the Essential Lysine Transporter in Toxoplasma gondii

Metabolites ◽

10.3390/metabo11080476 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 476

Author(s):

Joachim Kloehn ◽

Matteo Lunghi ◽

Emmanuel Varesio ◽

David Dubois ◽

Dominique Soldati-Favre

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Rna Degradation ◽

Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽

Untargeted Metabolomics ◽

Apicomplexan Parasites ◽

Obligate Intracellular ◽

Intracellular Parasites ◽

Major Facilitator ◽

Plasma Membrane Transporter

Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for devastating diseases, including malaria, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis. Current treatments are limited by emerging resistance to, as well as the high cost and toxicity of existing drugs. As obligate intracellular parasites, apicomplexans rely on the uptake of many essential metabolites from their host. Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, is auxotrophic for several metabolites, including sugars (e.g., myo-inositol), amino acids (e.g., tyrosine), lipidic compounds and lipid precursors (cholesterol, choline), vitamins, cofactors (thiamine) and others. To date, only few apicomplexan metabolite transporters have been characterized and assigned a substrate. Here, we set out to investigate whether untargeted metabolomics can be used to identify the substrate of an uncharacterized transporter. Based on existing genome- and proteome-wide datasets, we have identified an essential plasma membrane transporter of the major facilitator superfamily in T. gondii—previously termed TgApiAT6-1. Using an inducible system based on RNA degradation, TgApiAT6-1 was depleted, and the mutant parasite’s metabolome was compared to that of non-depleted parasites. The most significantly reduced metabolite in parasites depleted in TgApiAT6-1 was identified as the amino acid lysine, for which T. gondii is predicted to be auxotrophic. Using stable isotope-labeled amino acids, we confirmed that TgApiAT6-1 is required for efficient lysine uptake. Our findings highlight untargeted metabolomics as a powerful tool to identify the substrate of orphan transporters.

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Seroprevalence of the hepatitis E virus antibodies among blood donors in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia

Future Virology ◽

10.2217/fvl-2021-0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bader Y Alhatlani ◽

Waleed A Aljabr ◽

Mohammed S Almarzouqi ◽

Sami M Alhatlani ◽

Rayan N Alzunaydi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Blood Transfusion ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Indirect Elisa ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Major Public Health Issue

Aim: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) transmission through blood transfusion is a major public health issue worldwide. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HEV in blood donors in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Materials & methods: Serum samples (n = 1078) were collected from volunteer blood donors and tested for the presence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM by indirect ELISA. Results: The seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG among the blood donors was 5.7% overall. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM seropositivity were significantly higher in non-Saudi donors than in Saudi donors (22.1 vs 3 and 7.8 vs 0.2% for anti-HEV IgG and IgM, respectively). Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HEV among blood donors in the Qassim region was lower than previous estimates for other regions of the country and neighboring countries.

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