Genetic survey of alveolar and cystic echinococcoses in Romania: first molecular evidence of Echinococcus multilocularis in humans in the country

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) are considered as one of the most important zoonotic diseases in Romania, where they are subject to mandatory reporting. To obtain more knowledge about the genetic diversity of Echinococcus causative agents of these diseases, 11 isolates from humans and ungulate intermediate hosts from the two regions of Romania were genotyped using mitochondrial markers. In clinical samples of fi ve patients from north-eastern Romania (Iasi, Botosani, Vaslui counties), Echinococcus multilocularis was identifi ed as causal agent by cox1 sequence analysis. To the best of our knowledge this fi nding presents the fi rst molecular evidence of E. multilocularis in humans from Romania. Only two cases of AE in patients were previously documented in the country by serological methods. In our four patients the most widespread European variant E5 of E. multilocularis was recorded, whereas in isolate from Vaslui county three nucleotide substitutions were detected as compared to the most related E5 haplotype. One of these mutations (411T/G) matched N1 and N2 haplotypes described previously from North America. In six CE samples retrieved from western Romania (Caras-Severin and Timis counties), two human isolates were diagnosed as Echinococcus canadensis G7, one as E. granulosus s.s. G1 and one as E. granulosus s.s. G3 using atp6 and rrnS sequencing. In ungulates, the cattle isolate was allocated to E. granulosus s.s. G1 and pig isolate to E. canadensis G7. The two G7 fi ndings in humans reinforced the recent view that G7 was underestimated as compared to the E. granulosus s.s. regarding human CE threat that can be further employed for identifying sources of infections and establishing suitable preventive measures

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Clues for Differences in Pathogenicity between Hysterothylacium aduncum, Anisakissimplex sensu stricto and Anisakis pegreffii

Ascaridoid nematodes are widespread in marine fishes. Despite their major socioeconomic importance, mechanisms associated to the fish-borne zoonotic disease anisakiasis are still obscure. RNA-Seq and de-novo assembly were herein applied to RNA extracted from larvae and dissected pharynx of Hysterothylacium aduncum (HA), a non-pathogenic nematode. Assembled transcripts in HA were annotated and compared to the transcriptomes of the zoonotic species Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (AS) and Anisakis pegreffii (AP). Approximately 60,000,000 single-end reads were generated for HA, AS and AP. Transcripts in HA encoded for 30,254 putative peptides while AS and AP encoded for 20,574 and 20,840 putative peptides, respectively. Differential gene expression analyses yielded 471, 612 and 526 transcripts up regulated in the pharynx of HA, AS and AP. The transcriptomes of larvae and pharynx of HA were enriched in transcripts encoding collagen, peptidases, ribosomal proteins and in heat-shock motifs. Transcripts encoding proteolytic enzymes, anesthetics, inhibitors of primary hemostasis and virulence factors, anticoagulants and immunomodulatory peptides were up-regulated in AS and AP pharynx. This study represents the first transcriptomic characterization of a marine parasitic nematode commonly recovered in fish and probably of negligible concern for public health

Comparative transcriptomics reveals clues for differences in pathogenicity between hysterothylacium aduncum, Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and Anisakis pegreffid

Ascaridoid nematodes are widespread in marine fishes. Despite their major socioeconomic importance, mechanisms associated to the fish-borne zoonotic disease anisakiasis are still obscure. RNA-Seq and de-novo assembly were herein applied to RNA extracted from larvae and dissected pharynx of Hysterothylacium aduncum (HA), a non-pathogenic nematode. Assembled transcripts in HA were annotated and compared to the transcriptomes of the zoonotic species Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (AS) and Anisakis pegreffii (AP). Approximately 60,000,000 single-end reads were generated for HA, AS and AP. Transcripts in HA encoded for 30,254 putative peptides while AS and AP encoded for 20,574 and 20,840 putative peptides, respectively. Differential gene expression analyses yielded 471, 612 and 526 transcripts up regulated in the pharynx of HA, AS and AP. The transcriptomes of larvae and pharynx of HA were enriched in transcripts encoding collagen, peptidases, ribosomal proteins and in heat-shock motifs. Transcripts encoding proteolytic enzymes, anesthetics, inhibitors of primary hemostasis and virulence factors, anticoagulants and immunomodulatory peptides were up-regulated in AS and AP pharynx. This study represents the first transcriptomic characterization of a marine parasitic nematode commonly recovered in fish and probably of negligible concern for public health

The Role of HE4 in Ovarian Cancer Follow-up: A Review.

Objective: The aim of this review was to analyze the state of the art about HE4 and follow-up in patients treated for ovarian cancer. Methods: A literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE database using the key words "HE4" and "ovarian cancer" and "recurrence" or "relapse" or "follow up." Results: Seven of 28 clinical studies were selected. Four studies were prospective, and all of them were based on a small number of patients (8Y73 women). A failure of HE4 levels to normalize at completion of standard therapy may indicate a poor prognosis, thus suggesting the need of a closer follow-up. Moreover, HE4 showed better sensibility and specificity in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer recurrence with respect to CA-125, being also an earlier indicator of the relapse with a lead time of 5 to 8 months. HE4 showed a better performance in this setting if performed in association with other markers (CA-125, CA-72.4). HE4 seems to be an independent predictive factor for the surgical outcome at secondary cytoreductive surgery and to maintain its prognostic role even after the recurrence. Conclusions: These preliminary data start to suggest a superiority of HE4 over CA-125 in the detection of ovarian cancer recurrence. Moreover, the prognostic role of HE4 could help clinicians to personalize the follow-up program, whereas its predictive role could be useful to plan the treatment of the relapse. The role of HE4 in ovarian cancer follow-up deserves to be further investigated in prospective randomized multicentric studies

Morphological and molecular characterization of trichuris sp. (nematoda: Trichuridae) in crested porcupines (hystrix cristata; rodentia: Hystricidae) from Italy

Adult specimens of Trichuris sp. collected from crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata) from Italy were characterized using an integrative taxonomic approach involving morphological and molecular tools. The morphological features of this Trichuris sp. were compared to data already available for Trichuris spp. from Hystrix sp., revealing diagnostic traits, such as spicule length in males or vulva shape in females, which distinguish this Trichuris sp. from the other species. Evidence from sequences analysis of the partial mitochondrial COX1 region indicated that the taxon under study is a distinct lineage. Biometrical and genetic data suggested this Trichuris sp. to be a valid and separated taxon. However, since molecular data from other Trichuris spp. infecting Hystrix, such as T. infundibulus, T. hystricis, T. javanica, T. landak and T. lenkorani, are missing in public repositories, the number and identity of distinct lineages able to infect porcupines remain only partially defined

Test of the photon detection system for the LHCb RICH Upgrade in a charged particle beam

The LHCb detector will be upgraded to make more efficient use of the available luminosity at the LHC in Run III and extend its potential for discovery. The Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors are key components of the LHCb detector for particle identification. In this paper we describe the setup and the results of tests in a charged particle beam, carried out to assess prototypes of the upgraded opto-electronic chain from the Multi-Anode PMT photosensor to the readout and data acquisition system.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figure