Optimization and workflow of in vitro culture of adult Fasciola hepatica.

The aim of this study was to evaluate different transportation and incubation conditions to test the viability of adult Fasciola hepatica in order to propose a new cultivation workflow. The adult stage of F. hepatica was obtained from naturally infected cattle at a local slaughterhouse in Lima, Peru.

in a Remote Subsistence Hunting-Based Indigenous Community of the Peruvian Amazon.

is a ubiquitous zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects a wide variety range of warm-blooded animals. This study describes the epidemiological scenario of in an indigenous community that relies on subsistence hunting in a well-conserved and isolated area of the Peruvian Amazon. The high seropositivity against in humans (83.

Identification and evaluation in-vitro of conserved peptides with high affinity to MHC-I as potential protective epitopes for Newcastle disease virus vaccines.

Background: Newcastle disease (ND) is a major threat to the poultry industry, leading to significant economic losses. The current ND vaccines, usually based on active or attenuated strains, are only partially effective and can cause adverse effects post-vaccination. Therefore, the development of safer and more efficient vaccines is necessary.

Risk Factors for Maternal Chagas Disease and Vertical Transmission in a Bolivian Hospital.

Background: Vertical transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi infection accounts for a growing proportion of new cases of Chagas disease. Better risk stratification is needed to predict which women are more likely to transmit the infection.

Methods: This study enrolled women and their infants at the Percy Boland Women's Hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The Immunoglobulin M-Shed Acute Phase Antigen (SAPA)-test for the Early Diagnosis of Congenital Chagas Disease in the Time of the Elimination Goal of Mother-to-Child Transmission.

Background: Diagnosis of congenital Chagas disease (CChD) in most endemic areas is based on low-sensitive microscopy at birth and 9-month immunoglobulin G (IgG), which has poor adherence. We aim to evaluate the accuracy of the Immunoglobulin M (IgM)-Shed Acute Phase Antigen (SAPA) test in the diagnosis of CChD at birth.

Methods: Two cohort studies (training and validation cohorts) were conducted in 3 hospitals in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Anti-MSP-10 IgG indicates recent exposure to Plasmodium vivax infection in the Peruvian Amazon.

BACKGROUNDSerological tools for the accurate detection of recent malaria exposure are needed to guide and monitor malaria control efforts. IgG responses against Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum merozoite surface protein-10 (MSP10) were measured as a potential way to identify recent malaria exposure in the Peruvian Amazon.

Trypomastigote Excretory Secretory Antigen Blot Is Associated With Trypanosoma cruzi Load and Detects Congenital T. cruzi Infection in Neonates, Using Anti-Shed Acute Phase Antigen Immunoglobulin M.

Background: Congenital Trypanosoma cruzi infection accounts for an estimated 22% of new cases of Chagas disease in Latin America. However, neonatal diagnosis is challenging, as 9-month follow-up for immunoglobulin G testing is poor, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis is not routinely performed, and the micromethod misses ≥40% of congenital infections.

Methods: Biorepository samples from new mothers and their infants from Piura, Peru, (an area of nonendemicity), and Santa Cruz, Bolivia (an area of endemicity) were accessed.

Toward Improving Early Diagnosis of Congenital Chagas Disease in an Endemic Setting.

Background: Congenital Trypanosoma cruzi transmission is now estimated to account for 22% of new infections, representing a significant public health problem across Latin America and internationally. Treatment during infancy is highly efficacious and well tolerated, but current assays for early detection fail to detect >50% of infected neonates, and 9-month follow-up is low.

Methods: Women who presented for delivery at 2 urban hospitals in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, were screened by rapid test.

Domestic Pig (Sus scrofa) as an Animal Model for Experimental Trypanosoma cruzi Infection.

Pigs were infected with a Bolivian strain of Trypanosoma cruzi (genotype I) and evaluated up to 150 days postinoculation (dpi) to determine the use of pigs as an animal model of Chagas disease. Parasitemia was observed in the infected pigs during the acute phase (15-40 dpi). Anti-T.

Field evaluation of the InBios Chagas detect plus rapid test in serum and whole-blood specimens in Bolivia.

Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, which affects an estimated 7 million to 8 million people. Chagas disease is endemic throughout Latin America, with the highest prevalence in Bolivia. Conventional diagnosis requires a well-equipped laboratory with experienced personnel.

Cytotoxic and anti-infective phenolic compounds isolated from Mikania decora and Cremastosperma microcarpum.

An anticancer-bioassay guided isolation of the ethanol extract and fractions of two plants from the Peruvian rainforest, Mikania decora and Cremastosperma microcarpum, led to the characterization of one abundant diterpene, ent-pimara-8(14),15-dien-19-oic acid (1), three thymol derivatives, 10-acetoxy-8,9-dehydro-6-methoxythymol butyrate (2), 10-acetoxy-8,9-epoxy-6-methoxythymol isobutyrate (3), and acetylschizoginol (4), as well as one neolignan, (±)-trans-dehydrodiisoeugenol (5). Only the latter was isolated from C. microcarpum.

Anti-triatomine saliva immunoassays for the evaluation of impregnated netting trials against Chagas disease transmission.

Insecticide-impregnated nets can kill triatomine bugs, but it remains unclear whether they can protect against Chagas disease transmission. In a field trial in Quequeña, Peru, sentinel guinea pigs placed in intervention enclosures covered by deltamethrin-treated nets showed significantly lower antibody responses to saliva of Triatoma infestans compared with animals placed in pre-existing control enclosures. Our results strongly suggest that insecticide-treated nets prevent triatomine bites and can thereby protect against infection with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Trypanocidal properties, structure-activity relationship and computational studies of quinoxaline 1,4-di-N-oxide derivatives.

Pyrazole and propenone quinoxaline derivatives were tested against intracellular forms of Leishmania peruviana and Trypanosoma cruzi. Both series were tested for toxicity against proliferative and non-proliferative cells. The pyrazole quinoxaline series was quite inactive against T.

Trypanoside, anti-tuberculosis, leishmanicidal, and cytotoxic activities of tetrahydrobenzothienopyrimidines.

The synthesis of 2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)hydrazone-derivatives (BTPs) and their in vitro evaluation against Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania amazonensis axenic amastigotes, and six human cancer cell lines is described. The in vivo activity of the most active and least toxic compounds against T. cruzi and L.

Cytotoxic and anti-infective sesquiterpenes present in Plagiochila disticha (Plagiochilaceae) and Ambrosia peruviana (Asteraceae).

A pharmacological screening of the ethanol extract and fractions of two Peruvian medicinal plants, Plagiochila disticha and Ambrosia peruviana, led to the isolation and characterization of three ENT-2,3-secoaromadendrane-type sesquiterpenoids, named plagiochiline A ( 1), I ( 2), and R ( 3), as well as of two pseudoguaianolids, damsin ( 4) and confertin ( 5), which exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against a panel of human tumor cell lines. Compounds 1, 4, and 5 were also investigated for their in vitro antileishmanial, trypanocidal, and antituberculosis activity against Leishmania amazonensis axenic amastigotes and Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes, as well as against MDR and sensitive strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, respectively.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity of new chalcones.

Synthesis of a cytotoxic dihydrochalcone, first isolated from a traditional Amazonian medicinal plant Iryanthera juruensis Warb (Myristicaceae), followed by a comprehensive SAR analysis of saturated and unsaturated chalcone synthetic intermediates, led to the identification of analogues with selective and significant in vitro anti- Trypanosoma cruzi activity. Further SAR studies were undertaken with the synthesis of 21 new chalcones containing two allyloxy moieties that resulted in the discovery of 2',4'-diallyloxy-6'-methoxy chalcones with improved selectivity against this parasite at concentrations below 25 microM, four of which exhibited a selectivity index greater than 12.