Impact of antiparasitic therapy on cardiovascular outcomes in chronic Chagas disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Endemic in more than 20 countries, Chagas disease affects 6.3 million people worldwide, leading to 28,000 new infections and 7700 deaths each year. Previous meta-analyses on antiparasitic treatment need updates to encompass recent studies and to assess key clinically meaningful endpoints.

Altering the intracellular trafficking of Necator americanus GST-1 antigen yields novel hookworm mRNA vaccine candidates.

Background: The antigen Na-GST-1, expressed by the hookworm Necator americanus, plays crucial biochemical roles in parasite survival. This study explores the development of mRNA vaccine candidates based on Na-GST-1, building on the success of recombinant Na-GST-1 (rNa-GST-1) protein, currently assessed as a subunit vaccine candidate, which has shown promise in preclinical and clinical studies.

Methodology/findings: By leveraging the flexible design of RNA vaccines and protein intracellular trafficking signal sequences, we developed three variants of Na-GST-1 as native (cytosolic), secretory, and plasma membrane-anchored (PM) antigens.

Randomized, observer-blind, controlled Phase 1 study of the safety and immunogenicity of the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel hookworm vaccine with or without a CpG ODN adjuvant in hookworm-naïve adults.

Background: Recombinant Necator americanus Glutathione-S-Transferase-1 (Na-GST-1) formulated on Alhydrogel (Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel) is being developed to prevent anemia and other complications of N. americanus infection. Antibodies induced by vaccination with recombinant Na-GST-1 are hypothesized to interfere with the blood digestion pathway of adult hookworms in the host.

Multi-Antigen Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) mRNA Vaccine Induces Humoral and Cell-Mediated Responses in Mice.

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) causes lethal hemorrhagic disease (HD) in Asian and African elephants in human care and the wild. It is the leading cause of death for young Asian elephants in North American and European zoos despite sensitive diagnostic tests and improved treatments. Thus, there is a critical need to develop an effective vaccine to prevent severe illness and reduce mortality from EEHV-HD.

Optimizing immunogenicity and product presentation of a SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine composition: effects of delivery route, heterologous regimens with self-amplifying RNA vaccines, and lyophilization.

Introduction: Dozens of vaccines have been approved or authorized internationally in response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, covering a range of modalities and routes of delivery. For example, mucosal delivery of vaccines via the intranasal (i.n.

Spatial dynamics of Culex quinquefasciatus abundance: geostatistical insights from Harris County, Texas.

Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant public health threat, prompting the need to pinpoint high-risk areas for targeted interventions and environmental control measures. Culex quinquefasciatus is the primary vector for several mosquito-borne pathogens, including West Nile virus. Using spatial analysis and modeling techniques, we investigated the geospatial distribution of Culex quinquefasciatus abundance in the large metropolis of Harris County, Texas, from 2020 to 2022.

Tick-Borne Diseases and Pregnancy: A Narrative Review Evaluating Pregnancy Complications Caused by Tick-Borne Diseases.

Ticks are vectors of public health concern because the pathogens they transmit can cause detrimental diseases in humans. Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and babesiosis are some of the most common diseases caused by the pathogens transmitted by ticks. The overlap between human activities and tick habitats is growing, contributing to an increase in tick-borne disease cases.

Mechanistic insights into structure-based design of a Lyme disease subunit vaccine.

The quality of protective immunity plays a critical role in modulating vaccine efficacy, with native antigens often not able to trigger sufficiently strong immune responses for pathogen killing. This warrants creation of structure-based vaccine design, leveraging high-resolution antigen structures for mutagenesis to improve protein stability and efficient immunization strategies. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying structure-based vaccine design using CspZ-YA, a vaccine antigen from , the bacteria causing Lyme disease (LD), the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere.

Microbiota dynamics during Ascaris suum larval migration: Implications for host microbial communities in a murine model.

The complex interactions between parasites, their hosts, and associated microbiota hold significant implications for host health and disease outcomes. Helminths like Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris suum can significantly alter the host's intestinal microbiota, affecting both parasite biology and host pathology. Despite extensive research on host-microbiota changes due to helminth infections, the study of helminth-associated microbiota remains limited.

Molecular Testing of Environmental Samples as a Potential Source to Estimate Parasite Infection.

We discuss the potential usefulness of molecular testing of soil, dust, and water samples to detect medically important parasites, and where such testing could be used to supplement stool sampling in humans. A wide variety of parasites including protozoa and helminths, many of which are zoonotic, have an important infection reservoir in the environment. In some cases, this environmental period is essential for further parasite development.

Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant and post-partum women: A mixed-method study.

Background: This study aims to understand factors contributing to pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant and postpartum adults.

Method: The study used targeted intercept advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to recruit a panel of 3600 pregnant and postpartum US adults. Data were collected between December 2021 and April 2022 (i.

PD-1 deficiency impairs eosinophil recruitment to tissue during Trichinella spiralis infection.

Blockade of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is considered a promising strategy for controlling pathogen infection by enhancing host immune cell function. Eosinophils, which play a crucial role in type 2 immune responses, are essential components of the host defense against helminth infection. Here, we investigate the role of PD-1 in eosinophilia during Trichinella spiralis infection in mice.

Optimization of Cellular Transduction by the HIV-Based Pseudovirus Platform with Pan-Coronavirus Spike Proteins.

Over the past three years, new SARS-CoV-2 variants have continuously emerged, evolving to a point where an immune response against the original vaccine no longer provided optimal protection against these new strains. During this time, high-throughput neutralization assays based on pseudoviruses have become a valuable tool for assessing the efficacy of new vaccines, screening updated vaccine candidates against emerging variants, and testing the efficacy of new therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies. Lentiviral vectors derived from HIV-1 are popular for developing pseudo and chimeric viruses due to their ease of use, stability, and long-term transgene expression.

Parasitic Contamination of Soil in the Southern United States.

Parasites are generally associated with lower income countries in tropical and subtropical areas. Still, they are also prevalent in low-income communities in the southern United States. Studies characterizing the epidemiology of parasites in the United States are limited, resulting in little comprehensive understanding of the problem.