Paléoparasitologie : Apports des méthodes de la Parasitologie médicale à l’étude des populations anciennes

Depuis le début du 20e siècle, la recherche des maladies parasitaires a motivé la communauté scientifique européenne et américaine. L’application des méthodes de diagnostic de la coprologie médicale actuelle à des échantillons archéologiques de plus en plus variés a permis d’enrichir les données de la paléopathologie, par la découverte de maladies infectieuses jusqu’alors non détectées.Since the beginning of the 20th century, research into parasitic diseases has been carried out in the European and American scientific community. The application of the diagnostic methods of current medical coprology to increasingly varied archaeological samples has made it possible to augment the data for Palaeopathology by the discovery of other infectious diseases not before detected

Paléoparasitologie et immunologie. L’exemple d’Entamoeba histolytica

Afin de développer l’éventail des parasitoses mises en évidence en contextes archéologiques, et compléter les référentiels paléoparasitologiques, l’immunologie a été employée pour détecter la présence d’antigènes de l’amibe pathogène de l’homme Entamoeba histolytica. Provenant de différents sites à travers le monde, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf échantillons ont été testés. Les résultats complètent les connaissances sur la répartition géographique et les migrations des parasites au cours de l’histoire, et ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives à la Paléoparasitologie tant dans la détection des différentes formes parasitaires que dans les possibilités d’exploitation de ce domaine de recherche. Mais les résultats obtenus soulèvent de nombreuses questions concernant le potentiel de détection des outils immunologiques, la conservation des antigènes, ainsi que sur le rôle des processus taphonomiques dans la perte du signal antigénique.To diversify the parasitoses found in archaeological contexts, and to complete the paleoparasitological data, immunology were used to detect antigens of the human pathogenic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica. Collected from different worldwide sites, ninety-nine samples were tested. The results complete the knowledge about the geographic distribution and the migration of parasites throughout history, and open new perspectives to the Paleoparasitology concerning the detection of parasitic remains, and the possibilities of research. But these results raise many questions about the detection potential of the immunological techniques, the antigen conservation, and the role of taphonomy in the loss of antigenic signal

Parasitism in Kansas in the 1800s - A glimpse to the past through the analysis of grave sediments from Meadowlark cemetery.

International audienceDuring the excavations of the XIX century Meadowlark cemetery (Manhattan, Kansas, US), samples of sediments were taken from around five skeletons, and analyzed to detect intestinal parasites. No helminth eggs were found, but immunological ELISA tests for Entamoeba histolytica were positive in three samples. The immunological techniques have been successfully used in paleoparasitology to detect protozoan infections. Amoebiasis could have been a severe disease in the past, especially where poor sanitary conditions prevailed, and there is evidence that this cemetery may have been used in a situation where poor sanitary conditions may have prevailed. The presence of this protozoan in US during the late XIX century gives information on the health of the population and provides additional data on the parasite's evolution since its appearance in the New World

Detection of \u3ci\u3eGiardia duodenalis\u3c/i\u3e antigen in coprolites using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The objective of this experiment was to assess the utility of a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for diagnosis of giardiasis in archaeological human remains. The kit, a monoclonal antibody assay, is used to detect the presence of Giardia-specific antigen 65 (GSA65) in human feces. We utilized the assay in ancient fecal material. The material included desiccated feces found in mummies or in archaeological sites, and sediments from latrines. A total of 83 specimens, previously examined microscopically for parasites, were examined. The ELISA detected 3 positive samples, dated to about 1200 AD, 1600 AD, and 1700 AD. The ELISA was superior to direct observation. It was possible to identify G. duodenalis cysts by direct microscopy in only one of these samples. The results did not show cross-reactivity between this protozoan and helminths. The use of ELISA to detect G. duodenalis coproantigen could help the diagnosis of giardiasis in ancient human remains

Paleoparasitological remains revealed by seven historic contexts from "Place d'Armes", Namur, Belgium.

International audienceHuman occupation for several centuries was recorded in the archaeological layers of "Place d'Armes", Namur, Belgium. Preventive archaeological excavations were carried out between 1996/1997 and seven historical strata were observed, from Gallo-Roman period up to Modern Times. Soil samples from cesspools, latrines, and structures-like were studied and revealed intestinal parasite eggs in the different archaeological contexts. Ascaris lumbricoides, A. suum, Trichuris trichiura, T. suis. Taenia sp., Fasciola hepatica, Diphyllobothrium sp., Capillaria sp. and Oxyuris equi eggs were found. Paleoparasitology confirmed the use of structures as latrines or cesspit as firstly supposed by the archaeologists. Medieval latrines were not only used for rejection of human excrements. The finding of Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. eggs may point to human's or wild swine's feces. Gallo-Roman people used to eat wild boar. Therefore, both A. suum and T. suis, or A. lumbricoides and T. trichuris, may be present, considering a swine carcass recovered into a cesspit. Careful sediment analysis may reveal its origin, although parasites of domestic animals can be found together with those of human's. Taenia sp. eggs identified in latrine samples indicate ingestion of uncooked beef with cysticercoid larvae. F. hepatica eggs suggest the ingestion of raw contaminated vegetables and Diphyllobothrium sp. eggs indicate contaminated fresh-water fish consumption. Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. eggs indicate fecal-oral infection by human and/or animal excrements

CXCL12 expression by healthy and malignant ovarian epithelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CXCL12 has been widely reported to play a biologically relevant role in tumor growth and spread. In epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), CXCL12 enhances tumor angiogenesis and contributes to the immunosuppressive network. However, its prognostic significance remains unclear. We thus compared CXCL12 status in healthy and malignant ovaries, to assess its prognostic value.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze CXCL12 expression in the reproductive tracts, including the ovaries and fallopian tubes, of healthy women, in benign and borderline epithelial tumors, and in a series of 183 tumor specimens from patients with advanced primary EOC enrolled in a multicenter prospective clinical trial of paclitaxel/carboplatin/gemcitabine-based chemotherapy (GINECO study). Univariate COX model analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of clinical and biological variables. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to generate progression-free and overall survival curves.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Epithelial cells from the surface of the ovary and the fallopian tubes stained positive for CXCL12, whereas the follicles within the ovary did not. Epithelial cells in benign, borderline and malignant tumors also expressed CXCL12. In EOC specimens, CXCL12 immunoreactivity was observed mostly in epithelial tumor cells. The intensity of the signal obtained ranged from strong in 86 cases (47%) to absent in 18 cases (<10%). This uneven distribution of CXCL12 did not reflect the morphological heterogeneity of EOC. CXCL12 expression levels were not correlated with any of the clinical parameters currently used to determine EOC prognosis or with HER2 status. They also had no impact on progression-free or overall survival.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings highlight the previously unappreciated constitutive expression of CXCL12 on healthy epithelia of the ovary surface and fallopian tubes, indicating that EOC may originate from either of these epithelia. We reveal that CXCL12 production by malignant epithelial cells precedes tumorigenesis and we confirm in a large cohort of patients with advanced EOC that CXCL12 expression level in EOC is not a valuable prognostic factor in itself.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00052468">NCT00052468</a></p