Plasma neuronal specific enolase : a potential stage diagnostic marker in human African trypanosomiasis

© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]. Funding: This work was supported through grants from the Wellcome Trust [082786] and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Discovery of Infection Associated Metabolic Markers in Human African Trypanosomiasis

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An extensive endoplasmic reticulum-localised glycoprotein family in trypanosomatids

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A Co-Culturing Approach Enables Discovery and Biosynthesis of a Bioactive Indole Alkaloid Metabolite

FM thanks the University of the Philippines Faculty, Reps, and Staff Development Program (FRASDP) for the PhD grant fellowship. HD and KK are grateful for the financial support of the Leverhulme Trust‐Royal Society Africa award (AA090088) and the jointly funded UK Medical Research Council–UK Department for International Development (MRC/DFID) Concordat Agreement African Research Leaders Award (MR/S00520X/1). RE is grateful to British Council/Newton Fund for financial support through the Institutional Links scheme (Project No. 261781172). QF is grateful to the University of Aberdeen Elphinstone Scholarship and the Scottish Funding Council/ScotCHEM for financial support through PEER/PERCE FundingPeer reviewedPublisher PD

The relationship of endotoxaemia to peripheral and central nervous system inflammatory responses in Human African Trypanosomiasis

Endotoxaemia has been described in cases of Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), but it is unclear if this phenomenon influences inflammatory pathology either in the periphery or central nervous system (CNS). We studied endotoxin concentrations in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense patients using the chromogenic Limulus Amoebocyte lysate assay. The relationship of endotoxin concentration to the presentation of gross signs of inflammation and the inflammatory/counter-inflammatory cytokine profile of the relevant compartments were analysed. We demonstrate that HAT patients exhibit parasitaemia-independent plasma endotoxaemia, and that this is associated with splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. Endotoxin concentrations normalize rapidly after treatment. There was no evidence of endotoxin release in the CNS. A rapid normalization of endotoxin levels after treatment and lack of association with parasitaemia suggest that gut leakage is the main source of endotoxin in the circulation. Low CSF endotoxin concentrations and a lack of any association with neuroinflammatory markers or neurological sequelae suggest that endotoxin does not play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease in the CNS

Spatially and genetically distinct African trypanosome virulence variants defined by host interferon-g response

We describe 2 spatially distinct foci of human African trypansomiasis in eastern Uganda. The Tororo and Soroti foci of <i>Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense</i> infection were genetically distinct as characterized by 6 microsatellite and 1 minisatellite polymorphic markers and were characterized by differences in disease progression and host-immune response. In particular, infections with the Tororo genotype exhibited an increased frequency of progression to and severity of the meningoencephalitic stage and higher plasma interferon (IFN)–γ concentration, compared with those with the Soroti genotype. We propose that the magnitude of the systemic IFN-γ response determines the time at which infected individuals develop central nervous system infection and that this is consistent with the recently described role of IFN-γ in facilitating blood-brain barrier transmigration of trypanosomes in an experimental model of infection. The identification of trypanosome isolates with differing disease progression phenotypes provides the first field-based genetic evidence for virulence variants in T. <i>brucei rhodesiense</i>

Central Nervous System Parasitosis and Neuroinflammation Ameliorated by Systemic IL-10 Administration in Trypanosoma brucei-Infected Mice

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Metabolic Profiling of Central Nervous System Disease in Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection

Acknowledgments. We thank Isabel Garcia-Perez and Maria Lopez-Gonzales, for performing additional mass spectrometry analyses at Imperial College London. Financial support. This work was supported by the Medical Research Council MRC; (to S. D. L.), and Imperial College (MRC doctoral training award G1000390 to S. D. L.), and the Wellcome Trust (grant 082786 to J. M. S. and V. P. A.).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Stage progression and neurological symptoms in Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense sleeping sickness: role of the CNS inflammatory response

Background: Human African trypanosomiasis progresses from an early (hemolymphatic) stage, through CNS invasion to the late (meningoencephalitic) stage. In experimental infections disease progression is associated with neuroinflammatory responses and neurological symptoms, but this concept requires evaluation in African trypanosomiasis patients, where correct diagnosis of the disease stage is of critical therapeutic importance. Methodology/Principal Findings: This was a retrospective study on a cohort of 115 T.b.rhodesiense HAT patients recruited in Eastern Uganda. Paired plasma and CSF samples allowed the measurement of peripheral and CNS immunoglobulin and of CSF cytokine synthesis. Cytokine and immunoglobulin expression were evaluated in relation to disease duration, stage progression and neurological symptoms. Neurological symptoms were not related to stage progression (with the exception of moderate coma). Increases in CNS immunoglobulin, IL-10 and TNF-α synthesis were associated with stage progression and were mirrored by a reduction in TGF-β levels in the CSF. There were no significant associations between CNS immunoglobulin and cytokine production and neurological signs of disease with the exception of moderate coma cases. Within the study group we identified diagnostically early stage cases with no CSF pleocytosis but intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis and diagnostically late stage cases with marginal CSF pleocytosis and no detectable trypanosomes in the CSF. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there is not a direct linkage between stage progression, neurological signs of infection and neuroinflammatory responses in rhodesiense HAT. Neurological signs are observed in both early and late stages, and while intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis is associated with neurological signs, these are also observed in cases lacking a CNS inflammatory response. While there is an increase in inflammatory cytokine production with stage progression, this is paralleled by increases in CSF IL-10. As stage diagnostics, the CSF immunoglobulins and cytokines studied do not have sufficient sensitivity to be of clinical value

Nematode-Bacterium Symbioses—Cooperation and Conflict Revealed in the “Omics” Age

Nematodes are ubiquitous organisms that have a significant global impact on ecosystems, economies, agriculture, and human health. The applied importance of nematodes and the experimental tractability of many species have promoted their use as models in various research areas, including developmental biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, and animal-bacterium interactions. Nematodes are particularly well suited for the investigation of host associations with bacteria because all nematodes have interacted with bacteria during their evolutionary history and engage in a variety of association types. Interactions between nematodes and bacteria can be positive (mutualistic) or negative (pathogenic/parasitic) and may be transient or stably maintained (symbiotic). Furthermore, since many mechanistic aspects of nematode-bacterium interactions are conserved, their study can provide broader insights into other types of associations, including those relevant to human diseases. Recently, genome-scale studies have been applied to diverse nematode-bacterial interactions and have helped reveal mechanisms of communication and exchange between the associated partners. In addition to providing specific information about the system under investigation, these studies also have helped inform our understanding of genome evolution, mutualism, and innate immunity. In this review we discuss the importance and diversity of nematodes, “omics”' studies in nematode-bacterial systems, and the wider implications of the findings