Current treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients: a network meta-analysis.

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is the most frequent form of infectious posterior uveitis caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. To evaluate the available evidence in peer-reviewed publications about the most effective therapy for OT in immunocompetent patients, herein a systematic literature search was conducted using Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) database from January 1987 to October 2017, with search terms "OT", "retinochoroiditis", "treatment", and "immunocompetent"; search filters "controlled clinical trial", "randomized clinical trial", and "clinical trial". The included studies were performed to evaluate the various treatment modalities of OT.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor/vascular endothelial growth factor ratio plays a crucial role in the spontaneous regression of infant hemangioma and in the therapeutic effect of propranolol.

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a benign tumor that is formed by aberrant angiogenesis and that undergoes spontaneous regression over time. Propranolol, the first-line therapy for IH, inhibits angiogenesis by downregulating activation of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, which is hyperactivated in IH. However, this treatment is reportedly ineffective for 10% of tumors, and 19% of patients relapse after propranolol treatment.

Snail-borne parasitic diseases: an update on global epidemiological distribution, transmission interruption and control methods.

Background: Snail-borne parasitic diseases, such as angiostrongyliasis, clonorchiasis, fascioliasis, fasciolopsiasis, opisthorchiasis, paragonimiasis and schistosomiasis, pose risks to human health and cause major socioeconomic problems in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. In this review we summarize the core roles of snails in the life cycles of the parasites they host, their clinical manifestations and disease distributions, as well as snail control methods.

Main Body: Snails have four roles in the life cycles of the parasites they host: as an intermediate host infected by the first-stage larvae, as the only intermediate host infected by miracidia, as the first intermediate host that ingests the parasite eggs are ingested, and as the first intermediate host penetrated by miracidia with or without the second intermediate host being an aquatic animal.

CK1α suppresses lung tumour growth by stabilizing PTEN and inducing autophagy.

The contribution of autophagy to cancer development remains controversial, largely owing to the fact that autophagy can be tumour suppressive or oncogenic in different biological contexts. Here, we show that in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), casein kinase 1 alpha 1 (CK1α) suppresses tumour growth by functioning as an autophagy inducer to activate an autophagy-regulating, tumour-suppressive PTEN/AKT/FOXO3a/Atg7 axis. Specifically, CK1α bound the C-terminal tail of PTEN and enhanced both PTEN stability and activity by competitively antagonizing NEDD4-1-induced PTEN polyubiquitination and abrogating PTEN phosphorylation, thereby inhibiting AKT activity and activating FOXO3a-induced transcription of Atg7.

Dynamic spatiotemporal analysis of indigenous dengue fever at street-level in Guangzhou city, China.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal clustering and socio-environmental factors associated with dengue fever (DF) incidence rates at street level in Guangzhou city, China.

Methods: Spatiotemporal scan technique was applied to identify the high risk region of DF. Multiple regression model was used to identify the socio-environmental factors associated with DF infection.

Disodium cromoglycate may act as a novel adjuvant for UV-attenuated Toxoplasma gondii vaccine in mouse model.

We have proven the beneficial effects during acute Toxoplasma gondii infection when mast cells were inhibited by disodium cromoglycate (DSCG). Here we investigated the adjuvant effect of DSCG on the protective efficacy of UV-attenuated T. gondii (UV-Tg) vaccine.

Apoptosis and necroptosis of mouse hippocampal and parenchymal astrocytes, microglia and neurons caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Background: Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been the only parasite among Angiostrongylidae to cause human central nervous system infection characterized by eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis. The mechanism of the extensive neurological impairments of hosts caused by A. cantonensis larvae remains unclear.

A novel antigenic cathepsin B protease induces protective immunity in Trichinella-infected mice.

Trichinellosis is a foodborne disease that remains a public health hazard and an economic problem in food safety. Vaccines against the parasite can be an effective way to control this disease; however, commercial vaccines against Trichinella infection are not yet available. Trichinella cathepsin B proteins appear to be promising targets for vaccine development.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 7-deazapurine nucleoside derivatives as potential anti-dengue virus agents.

Dengue fever, caused by four distinct serotypes of dengue virus (DENV-1 to -4), has become the fastest spreading human infectious disease in recent years. Despite extensive efforts, there is no specific antiviral treatment approved for dengue until now. Nucleoside inhibitors represent an actively pursued area to develop small-molecule anti-dengue virus agents.

Plasminogen kringle 5 suppresses gastric cancer via regulating HIF-1α and GRP78.

Inhibition of tumour angiogenesis has an important role in antitumour therapy. However, a recent study indicates that antiangiogenesis therapy may lead to glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) associated antiapoptotic resistance. The present study aims to elucidate the dual effects of plasminogen kringle 5 (K5) on tumour angiogenesis and apoptosis induction by targeting hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and GRP78.

The roles of galectins in parasitic infections.

Galectins is a family of multifunctional lectins. Fifteen galectins have been identified from a variety of cells and tissues of vertebrates and invertebrates. Galectins have been shown to play pivotal roles in host-pathogen interaction such as adhesion of pathogens to host cells and activation of host innate and adaptive immunity.

Cryo-EM structures of the 80S ribosomes from human parasites Trichomonas vaginalis and Toxoplasma gondii.

As an indispensable molecular machine universal in all living organisms, the ribosome has been selected by evolution to be the natural target of many antibiotics and small-molecule inhibitors. High-resolution structures of pathogen ribosomes are crucial for understanding the general and unique aspects of translation control in disease-causing microbes. With cryo-electron microscopy technique, we have determined structures of the cytosolic ribosomes from two human parasites, Trichomonas vaginalis and Toxoplasma gondii, at resolution of 3.

Parasites and asthma.

Nowadays, many studies have found low morbidity of asthma in epidemic areas of parasitic diseases, as shown by the hygiene hypothesis. It is obvious that some parasite infections can prevent asthma and studies have been carried out to clarify the mechanism of the preventive effect and search for the future asthmatic therapies. Previous findings have indicated that this mechanism may be related to the immune response switching from Th1 to Th2 and important cells induced by parasites, including the regulatory T cells, regulatory B cells, dendrite cells, and alternatively activated macrophages.

Meropenem selection induced overproduction of the intrinsic carbapenemase as well as phenotype divergence in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii 37662 is a carbapenem-susceptible isolate with bla as the sole carbapenemase gene. Following selection with meropenem (MEM) at a subinhibitory concentration, two morphologically different mutants, designated 37662RM1 and 37662RM2, were obtained and characterised. Compared with the parent strain, resistant mutant 37662RM1 grew at a slower rate and had impaired capsule synthesis, whereas 37662RM2 grew fast and abolished capsule synthesis.

Therapeutic potential of helminths in autoimmune diseases: helminth-derived immune-regulators and immune balance.

Helminths have accompanied human throughout history by releasing immune-evasion molecules that could counteract an aberrant immune response within the host. In the past decades, helminth infections are becoming less prevalent possibly due to the developed sanitation. Meanwhile, the incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing, which cannot be exclusively explained by the changes of susceptibility genes.

The interplay of climate, intervention and imported cases as determinants of the 2014 dengue outbreak in Guangzhou.

Dengue is a fast spreading mosquito-borne disease that affects more than half of the population worldwide. An unprecedented outbreak happened in Guangzhou, China in 2014, which contributed 52 percent of all dengue cases that occurred in mainland China between 1990 and 2015. Our previous analysis, based on a deterministic model, concluded that the early timing of the first imported case that triggered local transmission and the excessive rainfall thereafter were the most important determinants of the large final epidemic size in 2014.

Simultaneous overactivation of Wnt/β-catenin and TGFβ signalling by miR-128-3p confers chemoresistance-associated metastasis in NSCLC.

Cancer chemoresistance and metastasis are tightly associated features. However, whether they share common molecular mechanisms and thus can be targeted with one common strategy remain unclear in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we report that high levels of microRNA-128-3p (miR-128-3p) is key to concomitant development of chemoresistance and metastasis in residual NSCLC cells having survived repeated chemotherapy and correlates with chemoresistance, aggressiveness and poor prognosis in NSCLC patients.

Nicotinamide induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis through oxidative stress in human cervical cancer HeLa cells.

Aims: Nicotinamide participates in energy metabolism and influences cellular redox status and modulates multiple pathways related with both cellular survival and death. Recent studies have shown that it induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in many cancer cells. However, little is known about the effects of nicotinamide on human cervical cancer cells.

TIMELESS confers cisplatin resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and promoting the epithelial mesenchymal transition.

This study investigated the expression, clinicopathological significance and mechanism of action of TIMELESS, a mammalian homolog of a Drosophila circadian rhythm gene, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry revealed TIMELESS was upregulated in NPC cell lines (n = 8 vs. NP69 cells), and freshly-frozen (n = 6) and paraffin-embedded human NPC specimens (n = 108 vs.

Deficiency of pigment epithelium-derived factor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells triggers the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis.

Distant metastasis is the primary cause of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treatment failure while epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the critical process of NPC invasion and metastasis. However, tumor-suppressor genes involved in the EMT and metastasis of NPC have not been explored clearly compared with the oncogenes. In the present study, the expression of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a potent endogenous antitumor factor, was diminished in human NPC tissues and associated with clinicopathological and EMT features.

The Roles of Mast Cells in Parasitic Protozoan Infections.

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Expansion of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells in endometriosis patients: A pilot study.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammation disease and is closely associated with immune dysregulation. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a negative regulator of the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of MDSCs in endometriosis patients.

Levels of hepatic Th17 cells and regulatory T cells upregulated by hepatic stellate cells in advanced HBV-related liver fibrosis.

Background: Liver fibrosis which mainly occurs upon chronic hepatitis virus infection potentially leads to portal hypertension, hepatic failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the immune status of Th17 and Treg cells in liver fibrosis is controversial and the exact mechanisms remain largely elusive.

Methods: Liver tissues and peripheral blood were obtained simultaneously from 32 hepatitis B virus infected patients undergoing surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma at the medical center of Sun Yat-sen University.