Pan Afr Med J
August 2018
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo overcome the extensive polymorphism found in human Plasmodium antigens and to avoid the lengthy characterization of their 3 dimensional structure and subsequent production of the native proteins we have been concentrated in large unstructured, non-or low-polymorphic fragments present in the blood stage of P. falciparum. Three fragments derived from the 2 family-specific and constant regions of merozoite surface protein (MSP2) and PFF0165c protein were previously selected for evaluation as potential single vaccine candidates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vertical human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission is a public health problem in Burkina Faso. The main objective of this study on the prevention of mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission was to determine the residual risk of HIV transmission in infants born to mothers receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Moreover, we detect HIV antiretroviral (ARV) drug resistance among mother-infant pairs and identify subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRF) in Burkina Faso.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Two long synthetic peptides representing the dimorphic and constant C-terminal domains of the two allelic families of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface proteins 2 are considered promising malaria vaccine candidates. The aim of the current study is to characterize the immune response (epitope mapping) in naturally exposed individuals and relate immune responses to the risk of clinical malaria.
Methods: To optimize their construction, the fine specificity of human serum antibodies from donors of different age, sex and living in four distinct endemic regions was determined in ELISA by using overlapping 20 mer peptides covering the two domains.
Objective: To investigate 4 combinations of mutations responsible for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in a rural community of Burkina Faso, a malaria endemic country.
Methods: Two hundred individuals in a rural community were genotyped for the mutations A376G, G202A, A542T, G680T and T968C using TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism assays and polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism.
Results: The prevalence of the G6PD deficiency was 9.
Protein α-helical coiled coil structures that elicit antibody responses, which block critical functions of medically important microorganisms, represent a means for vaccine development. By using bioinformatics algorithms, a total of 50 antigens with α-helical coiled coil motifs orthologous to Plasmodium falciparum were identified in the P. vivax genome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for about 900 deaths every year in Burkina Faso. In this country, serological screening for hepatitis B and C viruses is only carried out systematically among blood donors. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and genotypes of HCV among blood donors using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate efficiency of HAART in the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.
Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted on 1 300 women attending the antenatal service at Saint Camille Medical Centre from September 2010 to July 2011. The HIV status of mothers was determined by rapid tests and ELISA.
Background And Objective: The high prevalence of numerous transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases such as HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa affects blood safety for transfusion recipients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of transfusion-transmissible infectious diseases among blood donors in Burkina Faso.
Methods: A retrospective study of blood donors' records from January to December 2009 was conducted.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of parasitic infections among patients attending Saint Camille Medical Centre and to estimate co-parasitic infections rates.
Methods: From January to December 2009, stool samples were collected from 11 728 persons, aged from five months to 72 years and suffering from gastroenteritis. After macroscopic description, the stools were examined by light microscopy to search for the presence of parasites.
Objective: To determine hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence and the rate of HCV/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection in pregnant women attending Saint Camille medical centre (SCMC) in Ouagadougou.
Methods: A total of 607 pregnant women, 16-45 years old, with <32 weeks amenorrhoea were screened for HCV and HIV using rapid tests. The majority of the women included in the study were previously known as HIV infected, as the centre is a reference centre for the programme of prevention against mother-to-child HIV transmission in the country.
High expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) on the membrane of erythroid cells accounts for the high level of iron required to sustain heme synthesis. Several studies indicate that during erythroid differentiation TfR expression is highly dependent on transcriptional regulation. In this study we characterized the minimal region able to confer transcriptional regulation during erythroid differentiation in Friend leukemia cells (FLC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present work describes the recognition of three synthetic polypeptides encompassing the N- and C-terminal regions of the transmembrane Exp-1 protein of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum by plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from naturally exposed individuals living in African endemic areas. The three polypeptides comprise the sequences 23-105, 73-162 and 101-162, and overlap at the transmembrane domain (73-105). Thus, they permitted characterization of the immune response specific to the N- and C-terminal domains in an independent fashion.
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