Comparison of phenolic and volatile profiles of edible and toxic forms of Detarium senegalense J. F. GMEL

In Senegal, Detarium senegalense J.F. Gmel. (ditax in Wolof) is one of the most important important forest fruit species. However, exploitation of the edible fruit is based on local people's knowledge. Only trees whose fruits are consumed by animals are exploited. To identify them, a chemical comparison of edible and toxic forms was done in order to highlight differences between both forms. Dichloromethane leaf extracts from toxic and edible trees were analyzed by gas chromatography. Phenolic profile and volatile compounds from fruits extracts were studied respectively by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Cytotoxicity effect of fruits extracts was evaluated on murine macrophage cells J774 A1. GC-analysis of dichloromethane leaf extracts revealed the presence of lupenone and lupeol only in toxic extracts. 6'-O-galloyl-epiheterodendrin and isovaleronitrile were detected in toxic pulp. However, no cytotoxic effect was found in our conditions. This study has given the opportunity to identify within the same species, compounds which could differentiate both edible and toxic forms. Nevertheless further studies are needed to better understand which compounds are responsible for toxicity in the toxic form. (Résumé d'auteur

Facteurs associés à la dissociation immunovirologique chez les patients infectés par le VIH-1 sous traitement antirétroviral hautement actif au Centre de Traitement Ambulatoire (CTA) de Dakar

Introduction: L'objectif de ce travail était d'évaluer les différents facteurs associés à la dissociation immunovirologique malgré un traitement antirétroviral hautement actif et efficace.Méthodes: Il s'agissait d'une étude de cohorte historique, descriptive et analytique faite à partir de dossiers de patients infectés par le VIH-1; sous traitement antirétroviral depuis au moins 12 mois, suivis dans la cohorte du CTA de 2001 à 2011 et ayant une charge virale indétectable depuis 6 mois.Résultats: Durant cette période d'étude de 10 ans, la prévalence de la DIV était de 19,3%. Le sexe féminin était prédominant avec un sexe ratio de 1,9. La dissociation immunovirologique a été plus fréquemment rencontrée chez les patients de sexe masculin (29,7% vs 14,1%) avec une différence statistiquement significative (p = 0,00006). L'âge médian était de 44 ans ± 10 ans. Un antécédent de tuberculose a été retrouvé dans environ un tiers des cas (31,4%). La dissociation immunovirologique était significativement plus fréquente chez les patients ayant un antécédent de tuberculose (p = 0,00005). La plupart des patients (68%) était au stade SIDA 3 ou 4 de l'OMS. Les patients ayant une dissociation immunovirologique étaient plus souvent aux stades 3 et 4 de l'OMS (p = 0,0001). La dénutrition a été notée dans plus de la moitié des cas (56,2%) et la dissociation immunovirologique prédominait chez les patients dénutris (p=0,005). Le taux moyen de lymphocytes TCD4+ était de 86,7± 83 cellules / mm3. La dissociation immunovirologique était plus fréquente chez les patients ayant un taux de lymphocytes TCD4 bas à l'initiation avec une différence statistiquement significative (p = 0,00000). En analyse multivariée; Seuls l'âge supérieur ou égal à 43 ans, le taux de CD4 initial < 100 c/mm3 et le sexe masculin étaient significativement associés à cette dissociation immunovirologique.Conclusion: Les principaux facteurs associés à la dissociation immunovirologique étant évalués, d'autres études portant sur ce groupe mériteraient d'être envisagées afin de connaitre l'impact de cette réponse immunologique partielle sur la survenue d'infections opportunistes ou bien la mise en place d'une trithérapie spécifique uniquement dans le but d'avoir une restauration immunologique optimale.Mots clés: Dissociation, immunovirologique, VIH, DakarEnglish Title: Factors associated with immunovirologic dissociation in HIV-1-infected patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy in the Ambulatory Treatment Center (ATC) in DakarEnglish AbstractIntroduction: the objective of this work is to evaluate the different factors associated with immunovirologic dissociation despite highly active and effective antiretroviral treatment.Methods: we conducted a retrospective, cohort, descriptive and analytical study of the medical records of HIV-1 infected patients having received at least 12 months of antiretroviral therapy, followed in the ATC cohort from 2001 to 2011 and with undetectable viral load in the last 6 months.Results: during this 10-year study period, the prevalence of IVD was 19.3%. Female sex was predominant, with a sex ratio of 1.9. Immunovirologic dissociation was more frequent in male patients (29.7% vs 14.1%) with a statistically significant difference (p = 0,00006). The average age was 44 years ± 10 years. A history of tuberculosis was found in about a third of the cases (31.4%). Immunovirologic dissociation was significantly more frequent in patients with a history of tuberculosis (p = 0.00005). Most patients (68%) had AIDS at WHO clinical stages 3 or 4. Patients with immunovirologic dissociation were more often in WHO clinical stages 3 and 4 (p = 0.0001). More than half of the cases (56.2%) were found to be malnourished and immunovirologic dissociation was prevalent in malnourished patients (p=0.005). The mean CD4+ T lymphocytes counts was 86.7± 83 cells / mm3. Immunovirologic dissociation was more frequent in patients with initial low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts and with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00000). By multivariate analysis, only age greater than or equal to 43 years, CD4 initial counts < 100 c/mm3 and male sex were significantly associated with this immunovirologic dissociation.Conclusion: our study assessed the main factors associated with immunovirologic dissociation. Other studies of this nature would also merit consideration in order to highlight the impact of this partial immune response on the emergence of opportunistic infections or the implementation of a specific tritherapy for the sole purpose of producing fully successful immune restoration.Keywords: Dissociation, immunovirologic, HIV, Daka

Icacina senegalensis (Icacinaceae), traditionally used for the treatment of malaria, inhibits in vitro Plasmodium falciparum growth without host cell toxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the aim of discovering new natural active extracts against malaria parasites, <it>Icacina senegalensis </it>was selected after an ethnopharmacological survey conducted on plants used in traditional malaria treatment in Senegal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Different concentrations of the plant extract and fractions were tested on synchronized <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>cultures at the ring stage using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay. Their haemolytic activity and <it>in vitro </it>cytoxicity were evaluated. The chromatographic profiles of active fractions were also established.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The plant extract and fractions revealed anti-plasmodial activity (IC₅₀< 5 μg/mL) with no toxicity (Selectivity indexes >10). The dichloromethane fraction showed stronger anti-plasmodial activity than the total extract.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Anti-plasmodial activity and toxicity of <it>I. senegalensis </it>are reported for the first time and showed promising results in malaria field research.</p

Development and validation of sensitive real-time RT-PCR assay for broad detection of rabies virus

Rabies virus (RABV) remains one of the most important global zoonotic pathogens. RABV causes rabies, an acute encephalomyelitis associated with a high rate of mortality in humans and animals and affecting different parts of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa. Confirmation of rabies diagnosis relies on laboratory diagnosis, in which molecular techniques such as detection of viral RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are increasingly being used.&nbsp; In this study, two real-time quantitative RT-PCR assays were developed for large-spectrum detection of RABV, with a focus on African isolates. The primer and probe sets were targeted highly conserved regions of the nucleoprotein (N) and polymerase (L) genes.&nbsp; The results indicated the absence of non-specific amplification and cross-reaction with a range of other viruses belonging to the same taxonomic family, i.e Rhabdoviridae, as well as negative brain tissues from various host species. Analytical sensitivity ranged between 100 to 10 standard RNA copies detected per reaction for N-gene and L-gene assays, respectively. Effective detection and high sensitivity of these assays on African isolates showed that they can be successfully applied in general research and used in diagnostic process and epizootic surveillance in Africa using a double-check strategy

Utilisation du test GeneXpert pour le diagnostic de la tuberculose au service des maladies infectieuses du CHNU de Fann

Introduction: Nous avons réalisé ce travail pour montrer notre expérience d’utilisation du GeneXpert et évaluer son apport dans la confirmation du diagnostic de la tuberculose. Méthodes: Etude prospective descriptive et analytique de janvier à Décembre 2013. Résultats: Quatre vingt quatorze patients ont bénéficié du geneXpert pour le dépistage de la tuberculose toute localisation confondue. Le geneXpert avait été positif dans 62% des cas. Les images radiologiques fortement évocatrices de tuberculose était associées à un geneXpert positif dans 25% des cas. La recherche de BAAR réalisée chez 55 patients était positive dans 9 cas (16%). Le geneXpert était positif sur 46 frottis négatif (54%)et dans 89% sur les frottis positifs. La prévalence de la tuberculose extrapulmonaire était de 34%. Le taux de positivité était variable en fonction du type de prélèvement. Deux cas de résistance à la rifampicine ont été détectées. Conclusion: Le geneXpert a été d’un grand apport pour le diagnostic de la tuberculose pulmonaire et extrapulmonaire mais la bacilloscopie reste incontournable.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Regenerates the Native Bone-Tendon Junction after Surgical Repair in a Degenerative Rat Model

BACKGROUND: The enthesis, which attaches the tendon to the bone, naturally disappears with aging, thus limiting joint mobility. Surgery is frequently needed but the clinical outcome is often poor due to the decreased natural healing capacity of the elderly. This study explored the benefits of a treatment based on injecting chondrocyte and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in a new rat model of degenerative enthesis repair. METHODOLOGY: The Achilles' tendon was cut and the enthesis destroyed. The damage was repaired by classical surgery without cell injection (group G1, n = 52) and with chondrocyte (group G2, n = 51) or MSC injection (group G3, n = 39). The healing rate was determined macroscopically 15, 30 and 45 days later. The production and organization of a new enthesis was assessed by histological scoring of collagen II immunostaining, glycoaminoglycan production and the presence of columnar chondrocytes. The biomechanical load required to rupture the bone-tendon junction was determined. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The spontaneous healing rate in the G1 control group was 40%, close to those observed in humans. Cell injection significantly improved healing (69%, p = 0.0028 for G2 and p = 0.006 for G3) and the load-to-failure after 45 days (p<0.05) over controls. A new enthesis was clearly produced in cell-injected G2 and G3 rats, but not in the controls. Only the MSC-injected G3 rats had an organized enthesis with columnar chondrocytes as in a native enthesis 45 days after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Cell therapy is an efficient procedure for reconstructing degenerative entheses. MSC treatment produced better organ regeneration than chondrocyte treatment. The morphological and biomechanical properties were similar to those of a native enthesis

The dominant Anopheles vectors of human malaria in Africa, Europe and the Middle East: occurrence data, distribution maps and bionomic précis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This is the second in a series of three articles documenting the geographical distribution of 41 dominant vector species (DVS) of human malaria. The first paper addressed the DVS of the Americas and the third will consider those of the Asian Pacific Region. Here, the DVS of Africa, Europe and the Middle East are discussed. The continent of Africa experiences the bulk of the global malaria burden due in part to the presence of the <it>An. gambiae </it>complex. <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>is one of four DVS within the <it>An. gambiae </it>complex, the others being <it>An. arabiensis </it>and the coastal <it>An. merus </it>and <it>An. melas</it>. There are a further three, highly anthropophilic DVS in Africa, <it>An. funestus</it>, <it>An. moucheti </it>and <it>An. nili</it>. Conversely, across Europe and the Middle East, malaria transmission is low and frequently absent, despite the presence of six DVS. To help control malaria in Africa and the Middle East, or to identify the risk of its re-emergence in Europe, the contemporary distribution and bionomics of the relevant DVS are needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A contemporary database of occurrence data, compiled from the formal literature and other relevant resources, resulted in the collation of information for seven DVS from 44 countries in Africa containing 4234 geo-referenced, independent sites. In Europe and the Middle East, six DVS were identified from 2784 geo-referenced sites across 49 countries. These occurrence data were combined with expert opinion ranges and a suite of environmental and climatic variables of relevance to anopheline ecology to produce predictive distribution maps using the Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) method.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The predicted geographic extent for the following DVS (or species/suspected species complex*) is provided for Africa: <it>Anopheles </it>(<it>Cellia</it>) <it>arabiensis</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>funestus*</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>gambiae</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>melas</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>merus</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>moucheti </it>and <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>nili*</it>, and in the European and Middle Eastern Region: <it>An. </it>(<it>Anopheles</it>) <it>atroparvus</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Ano.</it>) <it>labranchiae</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Ano.</it>) <it>messeae</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Ano.</it>) <it>sacharovi</it>, <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>sergentii </it>and <it>An. </it>(<it>Cel.</it>) <it>superpictus*</it>. These maps are presented alongside a bionomics summary for each species relevant to its control.</p

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century