Lepra 2022 – Vereint für die Würde von Leprabetroffenen eintreten

Der diesjährige internationale Weltlepratag steht unter dem Motto „United for Dignity“ und ruft dazu auf, gemeinsam die Würde Leprabetroffener, von denen viele nach wie vor unter krankheitsbedingter Stigmatisierung und Diskriminierung leiden, zu achten.Peer Reviewe

Specific inhibition of diverse pathogens in human cells by synthetic microRNA-like oligonucleotides inferred from RNAi screens

Systematic genetic perturbation screening in human cells remains technically challenging. Typically, large libraries of chemically synthesized siRNA oligonucleotides are used, each designed to degrade a specific cellular mRNA via the RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism. Here, we report on data from three genome-wide siRNA screens, conducted to uncover host factors required for infection of human cells by two bacterial and one viral pathogen. We find that the majority of phenotypic effects of siRNAs are unrelated to the intended “on-target” mechanism, defined by full complementarity of the 21-nt siRNA sequence to a target mRNA. Instead, phenotypes are largely dictated by “off-target” effects resulting from partial complementarity of siRNAs to multiple mRNAs via the “seed” region (i.e., nucleotides 2–8), reminiscent of the way specificity is determined for endogenous microRNAs. Quantitative analysis enabled the prediction of seeds that strongly and specifically block infection, independent of the intended on-target effect. This prediction was confirmed experimentally by designing oligos that do not have any on-target sequence match at all, yet can strongly reproduce the predicted phenotypes. Our results suggest that published RNAi screens have primarily, and unintentionally, screened the sequence space of microRNA seeds instead of the intended on-target space of protein-coding genes. This helps to explain why previously published RNAi screens have exhibited relatively little overlap. Our analysis suggests a possible way of identifying “seed reagents” for controlling phenotypes of interest and establishes a general strategy for extracting valuable untapped information from past and future RNAi screens

Lepra, nicht was Du denkst

Lepra, nicht was Du denkst ist das Motto des Welt-Lepra-Tages am 27. Januar 2020. Vor nunmehr 20 Jahren vermeldete die WHO, dass Lepra weltweit eliminiert wurde. Zwar gab es beachtliche Erfolge in der Zurückdrängung der Lepra, doch auch heute werden weltweit ca. alle zwei Minuten neue Patienten mit Lepra diagnostiziert. Vor vier Jahren hat die WHO die Globale Leprastrategie 2016 – 2020 „Beschleunigung zu einer Lepra-freien Welt“ verabschiedet. Diese beinhaltet drei zentrale Ziele, die u. a. Grad-2-Behinderungen, Fälle bei Kindern oder Diskriminierungen von Erkrankten betreffen. Dieses Ziel gilt es bis 2020 zu erreichen. Wie das Epidemiologische Bulletin 4/2020 berichtet, werden sie nach aktuellem Kenntnisstand nicht erreicht werden können. Experten sind deshalb zu dem Schluss gelangt, dass neue Initiativen und innovative Ansätze benötigt werden, um die bestehenden Herausforderungen anzugehen und die Triple-Zero-Ziele der Globalen Leprastrategie (Keine Ansteckung – Keine Behinderung – Keine Diskriminierung) zur Realität werden zu lassen

Cultural adaption and validation of the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue-Community Stigma Scale in the assessment of public stigma related to schistosomiasis in lakeshore areas of Mwanza region, Tanzania.

BackgroundPrevious qualitative studies on attitudes towards schistosomiasis demonstrated inconclusive results on the extent of stigma towards schistosomiasis in endemic communities around the world. The Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue-Community Stigma Scale (EMIC-CSS) has been used and validated for the assessment of public stigma across numerous countries in various health conditions. This study tested the performance of the scale in the context of stigma related to schistosomiasis in twelve communities in the three districts of Magu, Nyamagana and Ilemela in Mwanza region, Tanzania.Methodology/principal findingsThe 15-item-version of the EMC-CSS was first translated to Kiswahili language. The translation was discussed within the research team to retain the meaning of the items and implement cultural adaptations. Validation of the adapted EMIC-CSS scale was conducted following the framework of Herdman and Fox- Rushby. A pilot study with 41 participants from two communities provided the basis for testing the performance of each item and assessing the semantic and operational equivalence of the scales. In addition, eight qualitative focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to evaluate the conceptional equivalence of the EMIC-CSS. Finally, the performance of the adjusted scale was tested on 200 participants with a 50:50 male-female ratio from ten communities. The mean score of the EMIC-CSS M = 8.35 (SD = 6.63) shows clear indications for public stigma towards schistosomiasis. The EMIC-CSS demonstrated a good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha α = .857 and no floor and ceiling effects.Conclusion/significanceThe results demonstrate that the EMIC-CSS is a useful instrument in assessing public stigma towards schistosomiasis and allow a clear recommendation of the EMIC-CSS for schistosomiasis in the Tanzanian culture. However, future studies are additionally recommended to address specific aspects and forms of the disease and how they contribute to the development of stigma towards schistosomiasis

Item-total-statistics.

BackgroundPrevious qualitative studies on attitudes towards schistosomiasis demonstrated inconclusive results on the extent of stigma towards schistosomiasis in endemic communities around the world. The Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue–Community Stigma Scale (EMIC-CSS) has been used and validated for the assessment of public stigma across numerous countries in various health conditions. This study tested the performance of the scale in the context of stigma related to schistosomiasis in twelve communities in the three districts of Magu, Nyamagana and Ilemela in Mwanza region, Tanzania.Methodology/Principal findingsThe 15-item-version of the EMC-CSS was first translated to Kiswahili language. The translation was discussed within the research team to retain the meaning of the items and implement cultural adaptations. Validation of the adapted EMIC-CSS scale was conducted following the framework of Herdman and Fox- Rushby. A pilot study with 41 participants from two communities provided the basis for testing the performance of each item and assessing the semantic and operational equivalence of the scales. In addition, eight qualitative focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to evaluate the conceptional equivalence of the EMIC-CSS. Finally, the performance of the adjusted scale was tested on 200 participants with a 50:50 male-female ratio from ten communities. The mean score of the EMIC-CSS M = 8.35 (SD = 6.63) shows clear indications for public stigma towards schistosomiasis. The EMIC-CSS demonstrated a good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha α = .857 and no floor and ceiling effects.Conclusion/SignificanceThe results demonstrate that the EMIC-CSS is a useful instrument in assessing public stigma towards schistosomiasis and allow a clear recommendation of the EMIC-CSS for schistosomiasis in the Tanzanian culture. However, future studies are additionally recommended to address specific aspects and forms of the disease and how they contribute to the development of stigma towards schistosomiasis.</div