Ultrasensitive malaria detection system for Anopheles mosquito field surveillance using droplet digital PCR.

Malaria remains a significant global public health concern, with a recent increase in the number of zoonotic malaria cases in Southeast Asian countries. However, limited reports on the vector for zoonotic malaria exist owing to difficulties in detecting parasite DNA in Anopheles mosquito vectors. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that several Anopheles mosquitoes contain simian malaria parasite DNA using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), a highly sensitive PCR method.

Histone H3.3 variant plays a critical role on zygote-to-oocyst development in malaria parasites.

The Plasmodium life cycle involves differentiation into multiple morphologically distinct forms, a process regulated by developmental stage-specific gene expression. Histone proteins are involved in epigenetic regulation in eukaryotes, and the histone variant H3.3 plays a key role in the regulation of gene expression and maintenance of genomic integrity during embryonic development in mice.

Prevalence and metronidazole resistance of among Japanese women in 2021.

Objectives: is the most prevalent sexually transmitted parasite worldwide. However, no surveillance system exists to monitor cases and drug resistance in Japan.

Methods: Cervical cytology vaginal swabs were collected from women with and without suspected symptoms of infection; these swabs were used for the detection of , human papillomavirus (HPV), and using specific polymerase chain reaction.

and Antiamebic Activity of Iron-Targeting Polypyridine Compounds against Enteric Protozoan Parasite .

The infectious protozoan parasite is responsible for amebiasis causing colitis and liver abscesses, which is an epidemic in developing countries. To develop a drug discovery strategy targeting the iron source required for the proliferation of , an untapped chemical group consisting of low-molecular-weight compounds with metal-binding affinity was investigated. Electrochemically neutral polypyridine compounds, PHN-R, that showed specific Fe(II)-binding affinity and growth inhibitory ability against were identified.

Three-dimensional electron microscopy analysis reveals endopolygeny-like nuclear architecture segregation in Plasmodium oocyst development.

The genus Plasmodium is a unicellular eukaryotic parasite that is the causative agent of malaria, which is transmitted by Anopheline mosquito. There are a total of three developmental stages in the production of haploid parasites in the Plasmodium life cycle: the oocyst stage in mosquitoes and the liver and blood stages in mammalian hosts. The Plasmodium oocyst stage plays an important role in the production of the first generation of haploid parasites.

Three human ARX mutations cause the lissencephaly-like and mental retardation with epilepsy-like pleiotropic phenotypes in mice.

ARX (the aristaless-related homeobox gene) is a transcription factor that participates in the development of GABAergic and cholinergic neurons in the forebrain. Many ARX mutations have been identified in X-linked lissencephaly and mental retardation with epilepsy, and thus ARX is considered to be a causal gene for the two syndromes although the neurobiological functions of each mutation remain unclear. We attempted to elucidate the causal relationships between individual ARX mutations and disease phenotypes by generating a series of mutant mice.