Acanthamoeba spp. are facultative, opportunistic pathogens that are found in diverse environments. In the hosts, they lead to multi-organ disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiarrhea frequently occurs after vascular organ transplantation, including kidney transplants. This may result from non-infectious factors, adverse effects of immunosuppressive medications, or infections caused by various pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites, for example, intestinal protozoan parasites such as spp., which are particularly dangerous for immunocompromised patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinal parasitic infections are one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, particularly in developing countries. A distinct group at increased risk of infection is military personnel deployed overseas for extended periods, typically six months at a time. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
March 2024
Linagliptin is a selective dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor that indirectly elevates the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) level. The aim of the present study was to check whether linagliptin has an influence on neurotransmission in rat brain. Rats were acutely and chronically exposed to linagliptin (10 and 20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe aimed to determine the prevalence of spp. and bacterial infection in patients with blepharitis and also to investigate the relationship between culturable microorganisms and spp. in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFree-living amoebas can impact the excretion of macroelements and microelements in urine. The aim of the present study was to examine the concentrations of macroelements, including calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg), as well as microelements such as manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and chromium (Cr), in the urine during acanthamoebiasis while considering the host's immunological status. This is the first study to show an increase in urinary excretion of Ca, Mn, Cu, Fe, Na, and Cr, along with a decreased excretion of K, in immunocompetent mice 16 days post sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinal trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is a protein secreted by many cell types, and its serum and urine levels vary in patients with kidney disease. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of TFF3 in allogeneic kidney transplant patients included in the one-year follow-up. To analyze the influence of the diagnostic method used, we studied the type of biological material and the time elapsed since renal transplantation on the parameter's value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToll-like receptors (TLR) are involved in the recognition of numerous pathogens, including spp. Thanks to this, it is possible for immune cells to recognize microorganisms and trigger the body's innate immune response. The stimulation of TLRs also leads to the activation of specific immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate the intensity of oxidative stress by measuring the concentrations of lipid peroxidation products (LPO) in fetal membrane, umbilical cord, and placenta samples obtained from women with multiple pregnancies. Additionally, the effectiveness of protection against oxidative stress was assessed by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione reductase (GR). Due to the role of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) as cofactors for antioxidant enzymes, the concentrations of these elements were also analyzed in the studied afterbirths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pregnancy significantly increases the demand for iron (Fe) in the female body to facilitate maternal blood volume expansion, placental development, and fetal growth. As Fe flux in pregnancy is significantly influenced by the placenta, the aim of this study was to determine the dependencies between the Fe concentration in the placenta, the infant's morphometric parameters and the woman's morphological blood parameters in the last trimester.
Methods: The study was conducted on 33 women with multiple (dichorionic-diamniotic) pregnancies from whom the placentas were drawn, and their 66 infants, including pairs of monozygotic (n = 23) and mixed-sex twins (n = 10).
Calcium (Ca), potassium (K), sodium (Na), and magnesium (Mg) are the elements responsible for the fundamental metabolic and biochemical processes in the cells of the body. The demand for these elements increases significantly during pregnancy, where an adequate supply protects women from the hypertension common in pre-eclampsia and preterm labor. This study aimed to evaluate the association between macro-elements (Ca, Mg, Na, and K) in the placenta, fetal membrane, and umbilical cord and the morphometric parameters of newborns from multiple pregnancies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
August 2022
The rat tapeworm has been shown to cause alterations in gastrointestinal tissues. Since hymenolepiasis induces a number of reactions in the host, it is reasonable to assume that it may also be involved in the mechanisms of apoptosis in the intestines. Individual research tasks included an examination of the effect of infection on; (i) the cellular localization of the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, as well as caspase-3 and caspase-9, and (ii) the effects of the infection on the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Cas-3 and Cas-9, at the mRNA and protein levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical transplantology is a constantly evolving field of medicine. Kidney transplantation has become standard clinical practice, and it has a significant impact on reducing mortality and improving the quality of life of patients. Allogenic transplantation induces an immune response, which may lead to the rejection of the transplanted organ.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of gastrointestinal protozoan infection in patients with hematological malignancies (HMs) undergoing intensive hemato-oncological treatment and to determine the influence of certain biological factors on the incidence of intestinal parasite infection. Stool samples were collected from hematological malignancy patients ( = 50) hospitalized at the Department of Hematology and Transplantology of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. The control group consisted of 50 healthy participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo date, no studies have addressed the role of neurotrophins (NTs) in spp. infections in the brain. Thus, to clarify the role of NTs in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus during experimental acanthamoebiasis in relation to the host immune status, the purpose of this study was to determine whether spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies have shown that spp. may invade the eyes by migrating along the optic nerve to the eyes from the brain. This study aimed to confirm the presence of inflammation in the eyes of mice with disseminated acanthamoebiasis by examining prostaglandin E (PGE) and thromboxane B (TXB) concentrations in the eyes of immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice intranasally inoculated with spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
November 2021
Essential and non-essential elements deficiencies may lead to various birth complications. The aim of this paper was to determine calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), and zinc (Zn) concentrations in maternal blood and cord blood. Whole blood and cord blood samples collected from pregnant women (n = 136) were analyzed for the concentration of the elements by spectrophotometric atomic absorption in inductively coupled argon plasma (ICP-OES).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Blastocystis spp. are considered pathogenic or commensal organisms, although the majority of researchers suggest that these are neglected pathogens. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and subtype distribution of Blastocystis spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Interactions occur between concentrations of metals in the human body and the environment in various geographic locations, which can be of importance for both the proper development and the course of pregnancy.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the concentrations of Zn, Cu and Cd and Zn:Cu and Zn:Cd molar ratios in the placenta, umbilical cord and in the foetal membrane, and to examine the relationship between concentrations of these elements and the place of residence.
Material And Methods: The research material was obtained from 99 healthy women from north-western and central Poland.