Experimental parasitology最新文献

{"title":"Exploring global trends in human toxoplasmosis seroprevalence by meta-analysis","authors":"Pinaki Prasad Sengupta,&nbsp;Siju Susan Jacob,&nbsp;Kuralayanapalya Puttahonnappa Suresh,&nbsp;Shinduja Rajamani,&nbsp;S Madhaba Maharana","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108971","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108971","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the global prevalence of infectious diseases is essential for effective public health strategies and resource allocation. Among foodborne diseases, toxoplasmosis—caused by <em>Toxoplasma gondii</em>—poses significant health risks, particularly for pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. This study presents one of the most comprehensive systematic reviews and meta-analyses to date, synthesizing global seroprevalence estimates of human toxoplasmosis from 320 studies, covering 658,172 individuals across 113 countries and six continents, spanning the period from 1959 to 2020. A thorough literature search was conducted using databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, applying rigorous inclusion criteria to ensure methodological consistency. The pooled global seroprevalence was estimated at 31 % (95 % CI: 28–34 %), with marked heterogeneity between studies (I² = 99.6 %). The highest prevalence was observed in Australia (54 %), South America (45 %), and Africa (42 %), while Asia reported the lowest (25 %). Country-wise, Brazil and Ghana had the highest prevalence (68 %), whereas Vietnam had the lowest (5 %). Temporal analysis revealed an upward trend, reaching 34 % during 2011–2020. Diagnostic methods significantly influenced prevalence estimates, with IFAT yielding the highest rate (41 %). Extensive subgroup analyses by region, time period, country, and diagnostic technique provided granular insights into seroprevalence patterns. While acknowledging limitations such as selection bias and diagnostic variability, this study offers an unparalleled synthesis of global data, filling critical knowledge gaps. The findings serve as an essential reference point for global public health planning, particularly in high-prevalence regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108971"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144495416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of a common intestinal helminth on fecal corticosterone metabolite concentrations of Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)","authors":"Jeremiah Leach ,&nbsp;Hannah N. Suber ,&nbsp;Regan Rivera ,&nbsp;James G. Surles ,&nbsp;Ronald J. Kendall","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108987","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108987","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>It has been shown in several wild populations that helminths can affect survival and reproduction in avian hosts, even at moderate intensities. <em>Colinus virginianus</em> (Northern bobwhite) is a North American grassland game bird with a wide geographic range, including the southeastern and midwestern U.S. In the arid and semi-arid regions of its range, infections by the cecal worm <em>Aulonocephalus pennula</em> are common and frequently occur at high intensities. The objective of this study was to estimate changes in fecal corticosterone concentrations (FCMs) of <em>C. virginianus</em> as a function of <em>A. pennula</em> infection intensity. Wild <em>C. virginianus</em> were trapped in western Oklahoma using double-funnel traps in May and June of 2022 and 2023. We estimated <em>A. pennula</em> burden by extracting DNA from cloacal swabs and used a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We then estimated FCMs from <em>C. virginianus</em> fecal samples that had been defecated within 10 min of collecting the cloacal swab and FCM concentrations using an enzyme immunoassay recently validated for <em>C. virginianus</em>. The results show a significant increase in FCM concentrations with increasing <em>A. pennula</em> intensity. This study concludes that <em>A. pennula</em> influences the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by increasing FCM concentrations, and likely the concentration of circulating free corticosterone. Thus, there is a physiological mechanism by which <em>A. pennula</em> could impact both reproduction and survival of <em>C. virginianus</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108987"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144588075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards effective and efficient machine learning models for schistosomiasis diagnosis in microscopic images","authors":"Bruno Alberto Soares Oliveira ,&nbsp;Paulo Ricardo Silva Coelho ,&nbsp;João Marcelo Peixoto Moreira ,&nbsp;Marcos Antonio Alves ,&nbsp;Deborah Aparecida Negrão-Corrêa ,&nbsp;Stefan Michael Geiger ,&nbsp;Frederico Gadelha Guimarães","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108967","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108967","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Schistosomiasis is an infectious disease caused by the parasite <em>Schistosoma mansoni</em>, and it is a significant health concern in many underdeveloped tropical regions. The traditional method of diagnosing schistosomiasis involves fecal examinations under a microscope for parasite eggs, a process that is time consuming, error-prone, and requires specialized training. Artificial intelligence encompasses a broad range of techniques, including both machine learning and its subset, deep learning, which have been successful in solving such problems. Therefore, this study aimed to propose an automated solution that combines DL-based object detection methods with classical ML techniques and HOG feature extraction to identify <em>S. mansoni</em> eggs in images obtained using the Kato-Katz parasitological technique. A real database of 1100 images was created, processed, and annotated by three parasitologists. The proposed system achieved an Average Precision of 0.884 for an @[IoU = 0.50] using a Faster R-CNN method with ResNet-50 architecture over the best-annotated data, outperforming other detection models. Based on a threshold analysis, we suggest an integrated approach with a voting scheme of machine learning models to improve results in terms of false positives and false negatives. Comparative analysis with external data and a commercial tool confirmed that our approach offers promising results and applicability to assist health professionals in diagnosing schistosomiasis in public health systems, such as the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), potentially improving diagnosis speed and accuracy in endemic regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108967"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144511669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “Evaluation of β-caryophyllene(1–3) as a potential anti-tick molecule for controlling tick infestations on animals” [Experimental Parasitology 2025, 108969]","authors":"Gajanan M. Chigure ,&nbsp;Anil Kumar Sharma ,&nbsp;K.G. Ajithkumar ,&nbsp;Ashutosh Fular ,&nbsp;Amol B. Tayade ,&nbsp;Rajesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Nitin D. Jadhav ,&nbsp;Sachin Kumar ,&nbsp;Suman Gupta ,&nbsp;Gaurav Nagar ,&nbsp;Reghu Ravindran ,&nbsp;Satyanshu Kumar ,&nbsp;Sanis Julliet ,&nbsp;Muthu Sankar ,&nbsp;Srikanta Ghosh","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108989","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108989","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108989"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144625683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Urine- and serum-based ELISA using a new recombinant chimeric protein to diagnose tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis: a preliminary study","authors":"Raquel S.B. Câmara ,&nbsp;Ana L. Silva ,&nbsp;Camila S. Freitas ,&nbsp;Daniela P. Lage ,&nbsp;Nathália C. Galvani ,&nbsp;Ana T. Chaves ,&nbsp;Bárbara P.N. Assis ,&nbsp;Breno L. Pimenta ,&nbsp;Karolina O.M. Falcão ,&nbsp;Saulo S.G. Dias ,&nbsp;Maíza M. Rodrigues ,&nbsp;Grasiele S.V. Tavares ,&nbsp;Alexsandro S. Galdino ,&nbsp;Unaí Tupinambás ,&nbsp;Manoel O. da Costa Rocha ,&nbsp;Denise U. Gonçalves ,&nbsp;Miguel A. Chávez-Fumagalli ,&nbsp;Myron Christodoulides ,&nbsp;Ricardo A. Machado-de-Ávila ,&nbsp;Eduardo A.F. Coelho ,&nbsp;Isabela A.G. Pereira","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108980","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108980","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Laboratory diagnosis of leishmaniasis is hampered by the variable sensitivity and/or specificity of the tests. In the present study, we developed a new recombinant antigen based on a chimeric protein, called CHIMISA, which was composed of specific B-cell epitopes from <em>Leishmania</em> antigenic proteins recently identified in an immunoproteomics approach using sera samples from visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and VL/HIV co-infected patients. The protein was produced containing specific B-cell epitopes from four parasite proteins (SUZ41772.1, SUZ41881.1, AYU79515.1, and SUZ44007.1) and used as an antigen in ELISA with serum and urine samples for diagnosing VL, tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), and VL/HIV co-infection. Paired serum and urine samples from healthy subjects and patients with other cross-reactive diseases were also used. The serum-based CHIMISA ELISA had 100 % sensitivity and 98.5 % specificity for diagnosing VL, TL and VL/HIV, with an area under the (AUC) value of 1.0. Soluble <em>Leishmania</em> Antigenic (SLA) extracts of <em>Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis</em> and SLA of <em>Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum</em> were used as comparative antigens, and showed sensitivity values of 72.0 % and 44.0 %, respectively, and specificity values of 97.5 % and 98.1 %, respectively. The AUC values were 0.90 and 0.91, respectively. In the urine-based CHIMISA ELISA, sensitivity of 99.0 % and specificity of 98.1 % were reached, with an AUC of 0.99. SLA of <em>L. (V.) braziliensis</em> and SLA of <em>L. (L.) infantum</em> showed 65.6 % and 51.1 % sensitivity, respectively; and 96.9 % and 97.1 % specificity, respectively. The AUC values were 0.91 and 0.86, respectively. Although only a limited serological panel was used in this study, our preliminary data suggest that this new chimeric protein could be considered as a diagnostic candidate for VL, TL, and VL/HIV cases, using patient urine and serum.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108980"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stabilization and characterization of Phyllanthus acidus L. leaf synthesized metal nanoparticles and their comparative efficacy as larvicides against three vector mosquitoes","authors":"Arpita Gope,&nbsp;Anjali Rawani","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108968","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108968","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The recurring global outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases and the lack of vaccines, and preventive therapeutic approaches to combat diseases coupled with insecticide resistance, eventually emphasize the necessity of developing biological system-focused mosquito control strategies. In the present study, aqueous leaf extract from the <em>Phyllanthus acidus</em> L. plant was used to synthesize the metal nanoparticles (MNPs) such as silver, copper oxide, iron oxide, and zinc oxide, characterization has been carried out and their efficacies were also tested against the early 3rd instar larvae of the major mosquito vectors. According to analytical characterization, the silver (Ag), copper (CuO), iron (FeO), and zinc (ZnO) NPs had face-centered cubic crystallites with average sizes of 50, 52.33, 40.56, and 79.45nm, respectively. The agglomerated and clustered surface shape of MNPs was confirmed by FE-SEM analysis, and EDX tests were used to determine the fundamental composition of each particle. When exposed to 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 ppm of metal nanoparticles, the larvicidal activity of silver nanoparticles was found to be superior to that of other nanoparticles demonstrating efficacy in the following order: silver &gt; iron &gt; copper &gt; zinc against the larvae of filarial vector <em>Culex quinquefasciatus,</em> Japanese encephalitis vector <em>Culex vishnui</em> and dengue vector <em>Aedes albopictus</em>. After 72 h of exposure, the AgNPs had very little detrimental impact on the non-targeted organisms (<em>Chironomus</em> sp. larvae), causing 3.33 % of deaths. The exposure of MNPs to control larval body homogenates resulted in a considerable decrease in the key esterase enzymes, namely acetylcholinesterase, α-and β-carboxyl esterase, and GST enzymes. According to the present results, MNPs made from <em>P. acidus leaf</em> extracts have a strong enough negative effect to reduce the prevalence of vector mosquitoes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108968"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144368727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transfection of bovine cells with synthetic mRNA to induce expression of functional antibodies against Tritrichomonas foetus surface antigen TF1.17","authors":"Merrilee Thoresen ,&nbsp;Daryll Vanover ,&nbsp;E. Heath King ,&nbsp;Darcie Sidelinger ,&nbsp;Jean M. Feugang ,&nbsp;Hannah E. Peck ,&nbsp;Kenzie McAtee ,&nbsp;Philip J. Santangelo ,&nbsp;Amelia R. Woolums","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108985","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108985","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bovine trichomonosis is caused by the urogenital parasite <em>Tritrichomonas foetus (T. foetus).</em> In the United States, approved therapies are lacking, and management is limited to culling infected bulls. Preputial therapy with synthetic mRNA could lead to effective new treatments. We developed synthetic mRNA encoding bovine IgG1 against two epitopes of the <em>T. foetus</em> cell surface antigen TF1.17 and used the mRNA to transfect bovine cells <em>in vitro</em>. Transfected cells expressed membrane anchored or secreted versions of the antibodies with a NanoLuciferase (NanoLuc) reporter molecule fused to each light chain. Luminescence in cells and supernatants collected 24 and 48 h post-transfection confirmed the production of anti-TF1.17 and was significantly higher than in non-transfected controls (p &lt; 0.05). Anti-TF1.17 bound to live parasites as indicated by significantly higher luminescence following treatment with 24 and 48 h post-transfection supernatants compared to transfection controls (p = 0.001). Treatment of <em>T. foetus</em> with concentrated anti-TF1.17 antibody decreased parasite viability. When <em>T</em>. <em>foetus</em> were added to mRNA transfected kidney cells 48 h post transfection, cytopathic effects of the parasites were reduced following 24 h of co-culture with cells producing anti-TF1.17 as compared to controls (p &lt; 0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first use of mRNA transfection of bovine cells to induce the expression of antibodies that can bind to <em>T. foetus</em>, decrease their viability and their cytopathic effects on host cells. This work forms the basis for the development of novel mRNA-mediated approaches to treat or prevent bovine trichomonosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"275 ","pages":"Article 108985"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144559558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of β-caryophyllene(1–3) as a potential anti-tick molecule for controlling tick infestations on animals","authors":"Gajanan M. Chigure ,&nbsp;Anil Kumar Sharma ,&nbsp;K.G. Ajithkumar ,&nbsp;Ashutosh Fular ,&nbsp;Amol B. Tayade ,&nbsp;Rajesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Nitin D. Jadhav ,&nbsp;Sachin Kumar ,&nbsp;Suman Gupta ,&nbsp;Gaurav Nagar ,&nbsp;Reghu Ravindran ,&nbsp;Satyanshu Kumar ,&nbsp;Sanis Julliet ,&nbsp;Muthu Sankar ,&nbsp;Srikanta Ghosh","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108969","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108969","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Ageratum conyzoides</em> (Family: Asteraceae), a common herbaceous weed has a long history of use in traditional medicine. <em>Rhipicephalus microplus,</em> the cattle tick is distributed globally and causing significant economic losses to the animal husbandry sectors. Due to repeated applications of chemical acaricides to control infestation on animals, the tick species developed resistance to most of the acaricides. In the present study, to manage the problem of resistant ticks, the potentiality of <em>β-caryophyllene (1–3)</em> is explored for its anti-tick efficacy against three important tick species. The LC₉₅ value of <em>β-caryophyllene (1–3)</em> against reference susceptible IVRI-I strain of <em>R. microplus</em> was 0.0284 % (95 % CI = 266.5–299.4) while against multi-acaricide resistant field isolates it was 0.0507 % (95 % CI = 491.4–523.0). The compound was 95 % efficacious against <em>Hyalomma anatolicum</em> and <em>R</em>. <em>annulatus</em> ticks. The anti-tick efficacy of the compound after oral administration at the dose rate of 7.5 mg per kg body weight was tested under challenged infestation conditions and more than 80 % efficacy was noted. In a separate experiment, a 73.3–97.7 % (mean efficacy = 77.6 %) efficacy of <em>β-caryophyllene (1–3)</em> was noted for three months which was comparable and not significantly lower than the efficacy (95.8 %) observed in the amitraz treatment group of animals but significantly higher as compared to the control group of animals. The present study was focused on the identification of new plant derived anti-tick molecule having the acaricidal capability for the management of resistant tick infestations on animals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108969"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topical formulation of Oseltamivir promotes clinical improvement and reduction of parasite load in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major","authors":"Victória Hannah Araújo de Almeida Passos ,&nbsp;Paulline Paiva Mendes de Souza Leal ,&nbsp;Pastora Pereira Lima Neta ,&nbsp;Evellyn Caroline Silva Melo ,&nbsp;Vinicius Santos Silva ,&nbsp;Glaucia Lais Nunes Lopes ,&nbsp;Matheus Oliveira do Nascimento ,&nbsp;Elvilene de Sousa Coelho ,&nbsp;Sérgio Paulo Lima Guerra ,&nbsp;Ana Karina Marques Fortes Lustosa ,&nbsp;Vitória de Cássia Coelho Rodrigues ,&nbsp;André Luis Menezes Carvalho ,&nbsp;Fernando Aécio de Amorim Carvalho ,&nbsp;Michel Mualem de Moraes Alves","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus <em>Leishmania</em>, the conventional treatments are expensives, high adverse reactions and long-term parenteral administration This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the antiviral Oseltamivir (Osv) in microemulsion in the topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice infected with <em>Leishmania major</em>. After infection, the mice were divided into five groups (Control, Amphotericin B 3 %, Osv 0.5 %, Osv 1 % and Osv 1 %+Amphotericin B 1.5 %) and treated for 21 days. Clinical parameters, such as body weight and lesion size, in addition to parasite load, hematological, biochemical and histopathological analyses were evaluated. A significant reduction in the parasite load was observed in the groups treated with Oseltamivir and Amphotericin B (70 %–76.5 %), when compared to the control group (95 %). Clinical evaluation showed fewer lesions in the treatment groups compared to the control group. Although Amphotericin B alone caused liver and kidney toxicity, treatment with Oseltamivir, alone or in combination with Amphotericin B, did not show any toxicity. In histopathological examination, the groups treated with Oseltamivir showed lower degrees of histopathological alterations. Thus, Oseltamivir, as monotherapy or in combination with Amphotericin B, proved to be effective and safe, representing a promising alternative in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108966"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144180562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Praziquantel effect on genetic diversity of wild rodent-derived Schistosoma mansoni in experimentally infected mice","authors":"Thayná Couto de Barros ,&nbsp;Roberto do Val Vilela ,&nbsp;Rosana Gentile ,&nbsp;Karina Varella ,&nbsp;Juberlan Silva Garcia ,&nbsp;Thiago dos Santos Cardoso ,&nbsp;Beatriz Elise de Andrade-Silva ,&nbsp;Aline dos Santos Moreira ,&nbsp;Beatriz de Lima Alessio Müller ,&nbsp;Alexandre Araujo Cunha dos Santos ,&nbsp;Daiani Cotrim de Paiva Campbell ,&nbsp;Arnaldo Maldonado Júnior","doi":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108963","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.exppara.2025.108963","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Praziquantel (PZQ) is currently the only drug recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for treating schistosomiasis, raising concerns about potential resistance. Frequent use of PZQ may reduce the genetic diversity of <em>Schistosoma mansoni</em>, affecting its adaptability and survival. The objective of this study was to test the impact of Praziquantel treatment and population bottlenecks on the genetic diversity of <em>S. mansoni</em> by experimental infection using a wild strain isolated from naturally infected rodents. Experimental infections were conducted in outbred mice, which were infected with 120 cercariae, and treated with two different doses of PZQ (3 × 150 mg/kg and 3 × 300 mg/kg) at 50, 51, and 52 days post-exposure, and necropsied 15 days later. Microsatellites and MT-CO1 were used as molecular markers. An 85.5 % reduction in parasite load (p = 0.04) was observed after 300 mg/kg PZQ treatment, with greater efficacy in male worms. MT-CO1 analysis identified two haplotypes differing by one polymorphic site, with one haplotype representing 84.2 % of the population. Low genetic differentiation was observed for MT-CO1. All seven microsatellite loci studied exhibited polymorphisms, with 3–7 alleles per locus. Praziquantel treatment caused population bottleneck, reduced genetic variability in both dosage groups: IT150 (R_ST = 0.14043, p = 0.000) and IT300 (R_ST = 0.13610, p = 0.005), and eliminated alleles with low initial frequencies. We concluded that microsatellite markers showed genetic differentiation with elimination of rare alleles, confirming the genetic bottleneck effect due to treatment with PZQ.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12117,"journal":{"name":"Experimental parasitology","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108963"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144198633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}