Identification of potent schistosomicidal compounds predicted as type II-kinase inhibitors against c-Jun N-terminal kinase SMJNK.

Introduction: Schistosomiasis has for many years relied on a single drug, praziquantel (PZQ) for treatment of the disease. Immense efforts have been invested in the discovery of protein kinase (PK) inhibitors; however, given that the majority of PKs are still not targeted by an inhibitor with a useful level of selectivity, there is a compelling need to expand the chemical space available for synthesizing new, potent, and selective PK inhibitors. Small-molecule inhibitors targeting the ATP pocket of the catalytic domain of PKs have the potential to become drugs devoid of (major) side effects, particularly if they bind selectively.

FioSchisto's expert perspective on implementing WHO guidelines for schistosomiasis control and transmission elimination in Brazil.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes schistosomiasis as one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases targeted for global elimination in the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals. In Brazil, schistosomiasis mansoni is considered a public health problem, particularly prevalent among vulnerable populations living in areas with poor environmental and sanitary conditions. In 2022, the WHO published a Guideline encompassing recommendations to assist national programs in endemic countries in achieving morbidity control, eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem, and advancing towards interrupting transmission.

Longitudinal study of humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 of health professionals in Brazil: the impact of booster dose and reinfection on antibody dynamics.

Introduction: The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has had a major impact on health systems. Vaccines have been shown to be effective in improving the clinical outcome of COVID-19, but they are not able to fully prevent infection and reinfection, especially that caused by new variants.

Methods: Here, we tracked for 450 days the humoral immune response and reinfection in 52 healthcare workers from Brazil.

DNA barcoding as a valuable tool for delimiting mollusk species of the genus Preston, 1910 (Gastropoda: Planorbidae).

Introduction: The genus in Brazil includes 11 species and one subspecies, three of which are intermediate hosts of . Due to the recent evolution of this group, some species are difficult to identify based on morphological characters, making the use of genetic markers necessary for species identification. This study aimed to evaluate the use of partial sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase I () gene for the identification of species using phylogenetic reconstruction and species delimitation algorithms.

Corrigendum: coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (SmCARM1) effect on parasite reproduction.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.

coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (SmCARM1) effect on parasite reproduction.

Introduction: The human blood fluke parasite relies on diverse mechanisms to adapt to its diverse environments and hosts. Epigenetic mechanisms play a central role in gene expression regulation, culminating in such adaptations. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) promote posttranslational modifications, modulating the function of histones and non-histone targets.

Hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferases SmHGPRTases functional roles in .

Introduction: Extracellular/environmental stimuli trigger cellular responses to allow sp. parasites adaptation and decide development and survival fate. In this context, signal transduction involving eukaryotic protein kinases (ePKs) has an essential role in regulatory mechanisms.

Docking-Based Virtual Screening Enables Prioritizing Protein Kinase Inhibitors With Phenotypic Activity Against Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic neglected disease with praziquantel (PZQ) utilized as the main drug for treatment, despite its low effectiveness against early stages of the worm. To aid in the search for new drugs to tackle schistosomiasis, computer-aided drug design has been proved a helpful tool to enhance the search and initial identification of schistosomicidal compounds, allowing fast and cost-efficient progress in drug discovery. The combination of high-throughput data followed by phenotypic screening assays allows the assessment of a vast library of compounds with the potential to inhibit a single or even several biological targets in a more time- and cost-saving manner.

A Multidisciplinary Quality of Care Path For Couple Infertility: Development of An Integrated Approach Founded on A Multidisciplinary, Personalistic, and Ecological Model For Couple Fertility.

The Path of Fertile Family (FFP) is a service for couples experiencing infertility, aimed to obtain natural conception, as an alternative to assisted reproductive techniques, developed in 2018 and provided by the Counseling Centre of Centro della Famiglia Foundation, an institute of culture and pastoral care of the Diocese of Treviso, in cooperation with the local socio-health unit. FFP offers to infertile couples a specific multidisciplinary path of care, including the involvement of specific gynecological, andrological, endocrinological, and psycho-relational competences, together with fertility awareness. It represents an "experiential laboratory" for the multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of infertility, for understanding relational processes, for the development of operational strategies and above all for the verification of the goodness of a lifestyle that is able to harmonize the couple's project and the family's project, couple satisfaction and parental openness.

Gene Expression Signatures in AML-12 Hepatocyte Cells upon Infection and Acetaminophen Treatment.

Dengue is an acute viral disease caused by (DENV) and is considered to be the most common arbovirus worldwide. The clinical characteristics of dengue may vary from asymptomatic to severe complications and severe organ impairment, particularly affecting the liver. Dengue treatment is palliative with acetaminophen (APAP), usually known as Paracetamol, being the most used drug aiming to relieve the mild symptoms of dengue.

FES Tyrosine Kinase Involvement in the Mammalian Schistosomiasis Outcome and Miracidia Infection Capability in .

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by helminthes from the genus. This NTD can cause systemic symptoms induced by the deposition of parasite eggs in the host liver, promoting severe complications. Functional studies to increase knowledge about parasite biology are required for the identification of new drug targets, because the treatment is solely based on praziquantel administration, a drug in which the mechanism of action is still unknown.

Profiling Transcriptional Regulation and Functional Roles of c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play a regulatory role and influence various biological activities, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Our group has demonstrated through functional studies that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SmJNK) MAPK is involved in the parasite's development, reproduction, and survival. SmJNK can, therefore, be considered a potential target for the development of new drugs.

Smp38 MAP Kinase Regulation in : Roles in Survival, Oviposition, and Protection Against Oxidative Stress.

Eukaryotic protein kinases (ePKs) are good medical targets for drug development in different biological systems. ePKs participate in many cellular processes, including the p38 MAPK regulation of homeostasis upon oxidative stress. We propose to assess the role of Smp38 MAPK signaling pathway in development and protection against oxidative stress, parasite survival, and also to elucidate which target genes have their expression regulated by Smp38 MAPK.

Landscape of the spliced leader trans-splicing mechanism in Schistosoma mansoni.

Spliced leader dependent trans-splicing (SLTS) has been described as an important RNA regulatory process that occurs in different organisms, including the trematode Schistosoma mansoni. We identified more than seven thousand putative SLTS sites in the parasite, comprising genes with a wide spectrum of functional classes, which underlines the SLTS as a ubiquitous mechanism in the parasite. Also, SLTS gene expression levels span several orders of magnitude, showing that SLTS frequency is not determined by the expression level of the target gene, but by the presence of particular gene features facilitating or hindering the trans-splicing mechanism.

Corrigendum: Whole genome analysis of a schistosomiasis-transmitting freshwater snail.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15451.

Whole genome analysis of a schistosomiasis-transmitting freshwater snail.

Biomphalaria snails are instrumental in transmission of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. With the World Health Organization's goal to eliminate schistosomiasis as a global health problem by 2025, there is now renewed emphasis on snail control. Here, we characterize the genome of Biomphalaria glabrata, a lophotrochozoan protostome, and provide timely and important information on snail biology.

Schistosoma mansoni: Off-target analyses using nonspecific double-stranded RNAs as control for RNAi experiments in schistosomula.

RNA interference is a well established and widely used reverse genetic tool available for gene functional studies in trematodes. This technique requires the use of nonrelevant double-stranded RNA as control. However, several authors have reported inconsistencies associated with RNAi.

DHEA pre-treated patients, poor responders to a first IVF (ICSI) cycle: clinical results.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the premedication with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the results of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in a group of women with evidence of diminished ovarian reserve.

Materials And Methods: This experimental, prospective, pre-post study enrolled 29 patients with evidence of diminished ovarian reserve and poor-responders to a previous treatment. They received 75 mg/die of DHEA for a minimum of eight weeks; from the 18th day of the cycle before the stimulation with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), they took trans-dermal estradiol (E2) (50 mcg every other day).

Qualitative research on dementia in ethnically diverse communities: fieldwork challenges and opportunities.

Australia, like other ethnically diverse societies, needs to provide culturally appropriate health care to all its citizens. One way of facilitating this is to ensure that health services research adequately reflects the circumstances and needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities within the population. This article discusses the fieldwork phase of a qualitative research project on dementia caregiving in 4 CALD communities in south west Sydney, Australia.

[Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST): what implications for the gynaecologist?].

The case of a young female patient suffering from gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) with significant gynaecological implications is reported. The first signs and symptoms of the tumour were seen at pelvic level. The roles of laparoscopy-laparotomy, immunohistochemical study (c-kit positivity), abdominal CT scan, PET and gastroscopy proved important and are discussed.

Renal artery stenosis: comparative evaluation of gadolinium-enhanced MRA and DSA.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) in detecting renal artery stenosis using intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the gold standard.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-five consecutive patients with possible renovascular hypertension were prospectively studied; 26 of them underwent both MRA and DSA. In these 26 cases, two readers assessed the number of renal arteries, the presence of stenoses and their degree.

[Contribution of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography to the diagnosis of biliary tract disease].

The aim of the study was to assess the role of magnetic resonance cholangiopan-creatography (MRCP) in the diagnosis of biliary tract and pancreatic duct diseases, also in relation to the data reported in the literature. Over the period from Februrary 2002 to July 2004, 252 consecutive patients, with a clinical or instrumental suspicion of biliary disease were submitted to magnetic resonance to investigate the biliary tract. The definitive diagnosis of disease was obtained by surgery and/or endoscopic retrtograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with clinical or diagnostic evidence of disease and by means of follow-up in the remaining cases.

MR angiography versus intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography of the lower extremities: activity-based cost analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the costs pertaining to the radiology department of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the evaluation of arterial disease of the lower limbs.

Materials And Methods: The differential cost of the two procedures, i.e.

Diffusion-weighted MRI in the evaluation of renal lesions: preliminary results.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capability and the reliability of diffusion-weighted MRI in the evaluation of normal kidney and different renal lesions. 39 patients (10 normal volunteers and 29 patients with known renal lesions) underwent MRI of the kidneys by using a 1.5 T superconducting magnet.