Refining the Schistosoma haematobium recombinase polymerase amplification (Sh-RPA) assay: moving towards point-of-care use in endemic settings.

Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis is caused by the parasitic trematode Schistosoma haematobium. Sensitive and specific point-of-care diagnostics are needed for elimination of this disease. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays meet these criteria, and an assay to diagnose S.

Laboratory and field validation of the recombinase polymerase amplification assay targeting the Schistosoma mansoni mitochondrial minisatellite region (SmMIT-RPA) for snail xenomonitoring for schistosomiasis.

Improvements in diagnostics for schistosomiasis in both humans and snail hosts are priorities to be able to reach the World Health Organization (WHO) goal of eliminating the disease as a public health problem by 2030. In this context, molecular isothermal amplification tests, such as Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA), are promising for use in endemic areas at the point-of-need for their accuracy, robustness, simplicity, and time-effectiveness. The developed recombinase polymerase amplification assay targeting the Schistosoma mansoni mitochondrial minisatellite region (SmMIT-RPA) was used to detect S.

Ooencyrtus pitosina (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)-A natural enemy of Samoan swallowtail butterfly Papilio godeffroyi (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae).

A new species of encyrtid wasp, Ooencyrtus pitosina Polaszek, Noyes & Fusu sp. n., (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae: Encyrtinae) is described as a gregarious parasitoid in the eggs of the endemic Samoan swallowtail butterfly Papilio godeffroyi (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in the Samoan archipelago.

CRISPR-assisted test for Schistosoma haematobium.

Schistosomiasis is a major neglected tropical disease targeted for elimination as a public health issue by 2030, however there is an urgent need for more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests suitable to resource-limited settings. Here we developed CATSH, a CRISPR-assisted diagnostic test for Schistosoma haematobium, utilising recombinase polymerase amplification, Cas12a-targeted cleavage and portable real-time fluorescence detection. CATSH showed high analytical sensitivity, consistent detection of a single parasitic egg and specificity for urogenital Schistosoma species.

Development of real-time and lateral flow recombinase polymerase amplification assays for rapid detection of .

Background: Accurate diagnosis followed by timely treatment is an effective strategy for the prevention of complications together with reducing schistosomiasis transmission. Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) is a simple, rapid, sensitive, and specific isothermal method with low resource needs. This research aimed at the development and optimisation of a real-time (RT) and a lateral flow (LF) RPA assay for the detection of .

Development of a Molecular Snail Xenomonitoring Assay to Detect and Infections in their Snail Hosts.

Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease of medical and veterinary importance, transmitted through specific freshwater snail intermediate hosts, is targeted for elimination in several endemic regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Multi-disciplinary methods are required for both human and environmental diagnostics to certify schistosomiasis elimination when eventually reached. Molecular xenomonitoring protocols, a DNA-based detection method for screening disease vectors, have been developed and trialed for parasites transmitted by hematophagous insects, such as filarial worms and trypanosomes, yet few have been extensively trialed or proven reliable for the intermediate host snails transmitting schistosomes.

Expression of citrulline and homocitrulline residues in the lungs of non-smokers and smokers: implications for autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Smoking is a well-established risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and it has been proposed that smoking-induced citrullination renders autoantigens immunogenic. To investigate this mechanism, we examined human lung tissue from 40 subjects with defined smoking status, with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and control tissues from other organs for citrullinated proteins and the deiminating enzymes peptidylarginine deiminase type-2 (PAD2) and -4 (PAD4).

Methods: Lung tissue samples, dissected from lobectomy specimens from 10 never smokers, 10 smokers without airflow limitation, 13 COPD smokers and eight COPD ex-smokers, and control tissue samples (spleen, skeletal muscle, liver, ovary, lymph node, kidney and heart), were analysed for citrullinated proteins, PAD2 and PAD4 by immunoblotting.

Heightened immune response to autocitrullinated Porphyromonas gingivalis peptidylarginine deiminase: a potential mechanism for breaching immunologic tolerance in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by autoimmunity to citrullinated proteins, and there is increasing epidemiologic evidence linking Porphyromonas gingivalis to RA. P gingivalis is apparently unique among periodontal pathogens in possessing a citrullinating enzyme, peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD) with the potential to generate antigens driving the autoimmune response.

Objectives: To examine the immune response to PPAD in patients with RA, individuals with periodontitis (PD) and controls (without arthritis), confirm PPAD autocitrullination and identify the modified arginine residues.

Trypanosome lytic factor, a subclass of high-density lipoprotein, forms cation-selective pores in membranes.

Trypanosome lytic factor 1 (TLF1) is a subclass of human high-density lipoprotein that kills some African trypanosomes thereby protecting humans from infection. We have shown that TLF1 is a 500 kDa HDL complex composed of lipids and at least seven different proteins. Here we present evidence outlining a new paradigm for the mechanism of lysis; TLF1 forms cation-selective pores in membranes.

Characterization of primate trypanosome lytic factors.

Humans are one of the few species that resist infection by Trypanosoma brucei brucei because the parasites are killed by lytic factors found in human serum. Trypanosome lytic factors (TLFs) are protein/lipid complexes that contain apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), and are therefore a class of high density lipoproteins (HDLs). Haptoglobin-related protein (Hpr) is a unique protein component of TLFs, and its expression has only been demonstrated in humans.

Evidence for a Trypanosoma brucei lipoprotein scavenger receptor.

African trypanosomes are lipid auxotrophs that live in the bloodstream of their human and animal hosts. Trypanosomes require lipoproteins in addition to other serum components in order to multiply under axenic culture conditions. Delipidation of the lipoproteins abrogates their capacity to support trypanosome growth.

A Pneumocystis carinii multi-gene family with homology to subtilisin-like serine proteases.

Copies of multi-gene family, named PRT1 (protease 1), encoding a subtilisin-like serine protease were cloned from the opportunistic fungal pathogen Pneumocystis carinii. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of a genomic clone and a cDNA clone of PRT1 from P. carinii f.