Publications by authors named "Lihua Xiao"

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that replicates rapidly in a variety of host cells. The parasite encodes diverse enzymes of glutathione and peroxide metabolism, but their physiological roles remain poorly understood. Herein, we shed a new perspective on the functions and relevance of the peroxiredoxin and glutathione metabolism in the zoonotic pathogen T.

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Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular pathogenic protist with a remarkable ability to infect a wide range of host cells, displays an equally exceptional design of its carbon metabolism. There are, however, critical gaps in our understanding of the metabolic network in T. gondii.

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Background: The relationships between Ki-67/MKI67 expression, lymph node metastasis (LNM), vascular invasion (VI), and perineural invasion (PI) in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) remain unclear. This retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of Ki-67 expression and its association with LNM in patients with resected ESCC.

Methods: The analysis included 168 patients with ESCC with available Ki-67 protein expression data.

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Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, nonspecific, relapsing inflammatory bowel disease. Metformin has pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory properties and a notable impact on the gut microbiome. γδT17 cells play crucial role in initiating and maintaining intestinal inflammation.

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Giardia is the most common protozoan cause of diarrhoeal illness in humans worldwide. Despite this, our understanding of the zoonotic transmission of Giardia, and in particular the role of cattle as a zoonotic reservoir, is not well understood, due to the limitations of current typing systems and a recent taxonomic revision of the genus. Newly improved multilocus sequencing typing tools are not yet widely used and are not applicable to all species.

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In addition to the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) locus, four loci (MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7) have been identified to develop multilocus sequence typing tools for high-resolution genotyping of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in previous studies. However, the use of only five loci was insufficient for population genetic analysis of E. bieneusi from diverse hosts.

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The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey () is an endangered species in China and is susceptible to infection with species. However, the worms are difficult to remove completely. A practical treatment regimen for trichuriasis was conducted over a seven-month period on 15  in a wildlife zoo in southern China.

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Fatty acid and retinol binding proteins (FARs) are lipid-binding protein that may be associated with modulating nematode pathogenicity to their hosts. However, the functional mechanism of FARs remains elusive. We attempt to study the function of a certain FAR that may be important in the development of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis.

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Background: The determinants of differences in host infectivity among Cryptosporidium species and subtypes are poorly understood. Results from recent comparative genomic studies suggest that gains and losses of multicopy subtelomeric genes encoding insulinase-like proteases (INS-19 and INS-20 in Cryptosporidium parvum and their orthologs in closely related species) may potentially contribute to these differences.

Methodology/principal Findings: In this study, we investigated the expression and biological function of the INS-19 and INS-20 of C.

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The anthroponotic Cryptosporidium hominis differs from the zoonotic C. parvum in its lack of infectivity to animals, but several divergent subtypes have recently been found in nonhuman primates and equines. Here, we sequence 17 animal C.

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Cement-based materials are widely used in construction worldwide, but they are vulnerable to environmental stressors and thermal fluctuations, leading to the formation of internal cracks that compromise structural integrity and durability. Traditional repair methods such as surface coatings, grouting, and groove filling are often costly and labor-intensive. In response, self-repairing technologies for cement-based materials have emerged as an innovative and promising solution, offering the potential to significantly extend the lifespan of structures and reduce maintenance costs.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Cryptosporidium spp. are zoonotic parasites that cause diarrhea in both humans and animals, with Cryptosporidium parvum leading to severe symptoms in calves, while C. bovis and C. ryanae typically do not exhibit illness.
  • - Researchers performed comparative genomic analysis, revealing differences in genes related to a secretory protein family (NFDQ), potentially linked to host range and pathogenicity of these parasites, and further investigated the specific function of one such protein, NFDQ1.
  • - Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, scientists successfully tagged and created knockout strains for NFDQ1, confirming its presence through various assays, which demonstrated that NFDQ1 is expressed during both a
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  • * Researchers examined wild rodents in the New York City water supply watershed to understand the occurrence, host specificity, and genetic diversity of these protozoans, introducing a new PCR method for better species identification.
  • * Molecular analysis of 55 specimens identified at least seven new genetic lineages, suggesting that rodents could be significant reservoirs for these protozoans, underscoring the importance of studying microbial eukaryotes that may impact public health.
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  • Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan pathogen that can cause severe diarrhea and has 22 genes for proteases, suggesting they might have unique roles in the parasite's life cycle.
  • The researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out and analyze the INS15 and INS16 protease genes, examining their impacts on parasite growth and infection in cell cultures and animal models.
  • The study found that INS15 is critical for the late stages of C. parvum development, and its depletion leads to reduced parasite load and clinical symptoms in infected mice, highlighting its importance in the parasite's pathogenicity.
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Background: The Nottingham prognostic index (NPI) has been shown to negatively impact survival in breast cancer (BC). However, its ability to predict the locoregional recurrence (LRR) of BC remains still unclear. This study aims to determine whether a higher NPI serves as a significant predictor of LRR in BC.

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Biological studies of the determinants of Cryptosporidium infectivity are lacking despite the fact that cryptosporidiosis is a major public health problem. Recently, the 60-kDa glycoprotein (GP60) has received attention because of its high sequence polymorphism and association with host infectivity of isolates and protection against reinfection. However, studies of GP60 function have been hampered by its heavy O-linked glycosylation.

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Eimeria spp. are important coccidian parasites causing diarrhea and significant mortality in cattle worldwide. To date, at least 13 Eimeria species with varying pathogenicity have been identified in cattle.

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  • Membrane lipoproteins from Mycoplasma genitalium cause inflammation in the body, mainly by activating a special receptor called TLR2.
  • In this study, scientists noticed that these lipoproteins change how urethral cells make energy, leading to more of a certain type of energy production called aerobic glycolysis.
  • The changes caused by the lipoproteins can be reversed, and involve a protein called GAPDH, which helps control the release of important inflammatory signals in the body.
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Background: The dimerizable Cre recombinase system (DiCre) exhibits increased leaky activity in Cryptosporidium, leading to unintended gene editing in the absence of induction. Therefore, optimization of the current DiCre technique is necessary for functional studies of essential Cryptosporidium genes.

Methods: Based on the results of transcriptomic analysis of Cryptosporidium parvum stages, seven promoters with different transcriptional capabilities were screened to drive the expression of Cre fragments (FKBP-Cre59 and FRB-Cre60).

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Background: Amyloidosis is a rare disorder that can be classified into various types, and the most common type is the systemic light chain type. The prognosis of this disease is extremely poor. In general, amyloidosis mainly affects the kidneys and heart and manifests as abnormal proliferation of clonal plasma cells.

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In this paper, a graphene-vanadium dioxide-based reconfigurable metasurface unit structure is proposed. Using the change at a graphene Fermi energy level on the surface of the unit structure to satisfy the 2-bit coding condition, four reflection units with a phase difference of 90 can be discovered. The modulating impact of the multi-beam reflection wave with 1-bit coding is then confirmed.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the rising prevalence of multiple nosocomial infections (MNIs) in hospitalized patients, focusing on risk factors and their impact on hospital stay lengths.
  • - Key risk factors for MNIs include age, pre-existing community infections, surgery, and antibiotic use, with these infections occurring most often within the first 14 days of hospitalization.
  • - While single nosocomial infections (SNIs) extend hospital stays by about 7.5 days, MNIs extend them by approximately 15.9 days, highlighting the need for effective prevention strategies.
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A major bottleneck in the progress of Cryptosporidium research is the lack of accessible cryopreservation of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Here, we present a protocol for the cryopreservation of Cryptosporidium isolates using enteroids. We describe the steps for the establishment of enteroid cultures and cryopreservation of C.

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Background: Cryptosporidium spp. cause watery diarrhea in humans and animals, especially in infants and neonates. They parasitize the apical surface of the epithelial cells in the intestinal lumen.

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