PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases最新文献

{"title":"Distribution of schistosomes and soil-transmitted helminth infections and their association with growth and nutritional status of School-aged children of the Matta health area in the West region of Cameroon.","authors":"Estelle Mezajou Mewamba, Loic Edmond Tekeu Mengoue, Darelle Bethanie Motia, Rostand Joël Atiokeng Tatang, Arnol Auvaker Zebaze Tiofack, Gustave Simo","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013606","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Updating and mapping the prevalence and infection intensities of schistosomiasis (SCH) and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections remain crucial to guide stakeholders in their decision of boosting or reducing control efforts. Although efforts have been made to achieve the elimination of these diseases, few considerations have been paid to their impact on the growth status of infected individuals. This study was designed to map the prevalence and infection intensities of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and to assess their association with children's growth status.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>During a cross-sectional study, 870 urine and 764 stool samples were collected from school-aged children of four primary schools of Matta health area. Micro-hematuria and Schistosoma haematobium eggs were searched in urine samples, while S. mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) eggs were investigated in stools. Schistosome and STHs species and their infection intensities were mapped, and associations between the infection status and growth parameters were assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Schistosoma haematobium was the most prevalent and widespread parasite with an overall prevalence of 45.8%. Schistosoma mansoni was found in one village with a prevalence of 3.4%. The overall prevalence of STHs was 2.5% with Ascaris lumbricoides being the most abundant species (1.4%). Children from Mambonkor bord were the most infected and bearing heavy intensities of S. haematobium infections. Infected children were significantly more underweight than uninfected ones (P = 0.03). Micro-hematuria was significantly (P = 0.01) more detected in infected children compared to uninfected ones. Boys and uninfected children were respectively more stunted than girls (P < 0.0001) and infected children (P < 0.0001). Stunting (P < 0.0001) and wasting (P < 0.0001) were significantly more pronounced in children of five years.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study revealed that S. haematobium infections are widespread in villages of Matta health area, while Schistosoma mansoni infections were restricted only to Matta village. This study also showed a low circulation of STH infections in villages of Matta health area. The mapping revealed Mambonkor bord and Matta barrage as high transmission villages where control measures must be boosted to achieve schistosomiasis elimination. The underweight, stunting and wasting status observed in children of Matta health area were not associated with schistosome and STH infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013606"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145245669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designing a multidimensional vulnerability index for supervising dengue cases from 2015 to 2020 in a low/middle-income country: A spatial principal component analysis.","authors":"Sergio Moreno-López, Lucia C Pérez-Herrera, Augusto Peñaranda","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013556","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dengue is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases worldwide, affecting around 390 million people each year. Previous studies have reported that social, climatic, and government-related conditions can increase the frequency of dengue events in some territories. This study aimed to design a multidimensional vulnerability index encompassing social, climatic, and government-related factors associated with dengue and correlate this index with dengue incidence in Colombia between 2015 and 2020.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Observational, ecological, longitudinal study conducted from 2015 to 2020. Based on administrative data from state sources such as the Ministry of Health, the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the National Planning Department (DNP), and other sources, a principal component analysis was performed to design the multidimensional vulnerability index.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Data from 1099 municipalities over the six-year analysis period were included. The index comprised five main factors: climatic factors, basic service coverage, precipitation-related factors, municipal performance, and transparency in social development. The proposed index showed a mean vulnerability of 0.48 (median = 0.48; SD = 0.15; IQR: 0.36-0.59). Higher index values were found in the southwestern territories and the Amazon regions of Colombia, as well as some municipalities in the Caribbean region. These territories exhibited the highest levels of poverty, regional access to services, precipitation, and temperature. Spatial analyses confirmed this concordance. The nonlinear association between the MVI and dengue incidence suggests threshold effects, in which municipalities with MVI scores above 0.8 have higher levels of dengue morbidity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The proposed index showed a suitable correlation with dengue case frequency at a regional level and could be extended to other countries for the development of dengue outbreak prevention campaigns.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013556"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145245707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brugia malayi and other filarial parasite species in animals in areas endemic for lymphatic filariasis in Belitung District, Indonesia.","authors":"Irina Diekmann, Taniawati Supali, Kerstin Fischer, Elisa Iskandar, Noviani Sugianto, Yossi Destani, Rahmat Alfian, Gary J Weil, Peter U Fischer","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013593","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013593","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Brugia malayi is the most common cause of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Indonesia. A zoophilic ecotype that infects both humans and animals occur in Belitung District in Indonesia. The district received five annual rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) between 2006 and 2010 and passed three transmission assessment surveys (TAS) in subsequent years. However, a survey in five villages in 2021 showed a microfilaria (Mf) prevalence of 2.1% in humans. The reappearance of B. malayi infection in humans may be due to reintroduction from animal reservoirs. The goal of this study was to determine B. malayi prevalence in potential reservoir hosts and to improve the identification of filarial Mf found in animals.</p><p><strong>Methodology/principal findings: </strong>Venous blood was collected from 291 cats, 41 dogs, and 163 crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) from areas with and without human B. malayi infection. B. malayi Mf were detected by microscopy in 1.4%, 7.3% and 13.5% of the samples, respectively. The geometric mean Mf density varied from 133 Mf/mL(dogs) to 255 Mf/mL (macaques). While Brugia Mf were easily differentiated from Dirofilaria Mf by microscopy, the morphological differentiation between B. malayi and B. pahangi was not reliable. qPCR detected B. malayi DNA in blood from 4.1% of cats, 2.4% dogs, and 13.5% macaques. In addition, infections or co-infection with B. pahangi (cats, dogs) or D. immitis (dogs) were detected. A novel Dirofilaria species was morphologically identified in 20.3% of macaques.</p><p><strong>Conclusions/significance: </strong>Microscopy was less accurate for detection and species identification of Mf than qPCR. The presence of B. malayi Mf in animals represents a challenge for the elimination of LF in some areas in Indonesia. More research is needed to better understand B. malayi transmission between animals and humans in endemic areas like Belitung where routine MDA may not be sufficient to eliminate LF.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013593"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12503295/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145245672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effective strategies for typhoid conjugate vaccine delivery: Health and economic insights from the 2015 Kampala outbreak.","authors":"Yeonsu Lee, Pamela Kim N Salonga, Changdae Son, Geunsoo Jang, Dae-Hyup Koh, Jong-Hoon Kim, Hyojung Lee","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013566","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013566","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Typhoid fever remains a major public health threat in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where inadequate access to clean water and sanitation drives recurrent outbreaks. With antimicrobial resistance on the rise, the urgency of deploying preventive strategies such as typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) have grown. In this study, we developed a dynamic compartmental model calibrated to the 2015 typhoid outbreak in Kampala, Uganda, to assess the health and economic outcomes of various outbreak response immunization (ORI) strategies using TCVs. We aimed to identify optimal ORI strategies that minimize cases and typhoid-related deaths as well as the costs of implementation. Our model incorporated different phases of the outbreak, vaccine coverage levels (30%, 50%, 70%), timing (early, late, combined), and campaign duration. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated based on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), using World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds derived from Uganda's 2015 gross national income per capita. Early, high-coverage vaccination (Scenario 1) was most impactful reducing the effective reproduction number (Rt) below 1 during the epidemic peak and averting over 7,000 cases including 180 deaths. The timing of vaccine deployment was the most critical determinant of effectiveness, followed by coverage level and campaign duration. Our findings highlight the importance of rapid, high-coverage TCV deployment at the early stages of an outbreak. Strengthening disease surveillance and improving vaccine logistics are essential for a timely response. This modeling framework offers actionable evidence to support policy development and optimize outbreak preparedness in typhoid-endemic regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013566"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145245696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the diagnostic utility of the slide agglutination method for brucellosis in Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study at International Medical Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.","authors":"Reham Kaki, Hala Zeinelabidin, Sukainah N Rashed, Asmaa Baba","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013206","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Brucellosis, a prevalent zoonotic disease in endemic regions like Saudi Arabia, poses diagnostic challenges due to its nonspecific clinical manifestations. This disease is endemic in various regions, including the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This retrospective study is designed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the slide agglutination method for brucellosis. By examining its sensitivity, specificity, and overall performance, this research will provide insights into the reliability of the slide agglutination method as a diagnostic tool in a high-prevalence setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study, conducted at the International Medical Center, Jeddah, compared the real-world diagnostic performance of the Slide Agglutination Method (SAM) with gold-standard blood cultures and Brucella serology. Over 734 cases (37 Brucella-positive and 697 Brucella-negative) were reviewed between 2019 and 2022.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>SAM achieved 86.5% sensitivity and 99.3% specificity, with an average turnaround time of 2.32 hours. In contrast, blood culture showed 40.9% sensitivity and 94.5% accuracy, and conventional serology demonstrated comparable sensitivity but longer processing times.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>SAM combines speed, simplicity, and robust accuracy, making it an ideal first-line screen for acute brucellosis in endemic, resource-limited settings. However, its performance in chronic or low-titer infections remains less well characterized. Our detailed operational metrics fill a local evidence gap and support the Saudi Ministry of Health in updating national screening guidelines.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013206"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12500134/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145240067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global genomic and antimicrobial resistance profiling of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Insights from whole genome sequencing and minimum inhibitory concentration analysis.","authors":"Elaheh Ebrahimi, Zahra Hadi, Sara Farsioo, Bita Hasani, Farzad Badmasti, Masoumeh Beig, Mohammad Sholeh","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013505","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013505","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a major global health concern that limits treatment options and complicates disease management. Efflux pump systems and resistance genes are key to bacteria's ability to evade antibiotics. This study examined the genetic and phenotypic resistance landscape using a large dataset of whole-genome sequences to identify key resistance mechanisms, assess efflux pump gene prevalence, and analyze regional variations in Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values to inform treatment strategies and public health interventions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 38,585 whole-genome sequences of N. gonorrhoeae were analyzed to identify AMR determinants. This study focused on the presence and distribution of efflux pump genes (mtrC, farB, norM, and mtrA) and specific resistance genes, including tet(C) (tetracycline resistance) and aph(3')-Ia (aminoglycoside resistance). The MIC values were assessed for multiple antibiotics to evaluate resistance trends and regional variations, including penicillin, spectinomycin, zoliflodacin, gentamicin, and fluoroquinolones.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This analysis revealed widespread resistance to multiple antibiotics. Efflux pump genes (mtrC, farB, norM, and mtrA) were found in nearly all isolates, highlighting their essential roles in resistance and adaptation. The presence of tet(C) and aph (3')-Ia varied across different Gene Presence Patterns, suggesting that regional or therapeutic factors may influence tetracycline and aminoglycoside resistance. High MIC values for penicillin were observed, likely because of blaTEM, a beta-lactamase gene responsible for beta-lactam resistance. Resistance to spectinomycin is also widespread, raising concerns about the diminishing efficacy of this antibiotic. In contrast, zoliflodacin, gentamicin, and fluoroquinolones exhibited relatively low MIC values, indicating their sustained effectiveness against N. gonorrhoeae.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Efflux pump systems are key to N. gonorrhoeae resistance and adaptability. Regional MIC variations indicate that local antibiotic use shapes resistance patterns. The high resistance to penicillin and spectinomycin highlights the need for alternative treatments, whereas zoliflodacin and fluoroquinolones remain effective but require monitoring. This study emphasizes global AMR surveillance, novel therapies, and targeted antimicrobial stewardship to address multidrug-resistant infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013505"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12500138/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145240048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interplay of human macrophage response and natural resistance of infection by L. (V.) panamensis to pentavalent antimony.","authors":"Olga Lucía Fernández, Ashton Trey Belew, Mariana Rosales-Chilama, Andrea Sánchez-Hidalgo, María Colmenares, Nancy Gore Saravia, Najib M El-Sayed","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013600","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Macrophages are the principal host cells of Leishmania spp. in human infection and play a critical role in controlling infection and enabling parasite survival and persistence. Nevertheless, understanding of drug resistance in leishmaniasis has primarily focused on the parasite. This investigation provides evidence of the significant differential macrophage response to ex vivo infection with clinical strains of L. (V.) panamensis naturally resistant (zymodeme 2.3/zym 2.3) or sensitive (zymodeme 2.2/zym 2.2) to antimonial drug, and the distinct effect of this drug on the activation of macrophages. Transcriptome analysis of infected monocyte-derived macrophages from healthy donors revealed significant interferon and cytokine signaling in response to zym 2.3 strains compared to zym 2.2 strains. Furthermore, in the presence of antimony, macrophages infected with zym 2.3 strains, but not with zym 2.2 strains, significantly increased the expression of genes associated with M-CSF-generated macrophages (M-MØ, anti-inflammatory). Notably, macrophages infected with zym 2.3 strains exhibited elevated expression of genes associated with control of inflammatory and microbicidal response, such as the IDO1/IL4I1-Kyn-AHR pathways and superoxide dismutase, and downregulation of transporters like ABC and AQP, compared to macrophages infected with zym 2.2 strains. Remarkably, the majority of these pathways remained upregulated even in the presence of the strong modulatory effect of antimonial drug. Together, these findings demonstrate that the initial and specific parasite-host interaction influences the ex vivo macrophage response to antimony. Identification of key pathways in macrophage responses associated with natural resistance to this antileishmanial, enhances understanding of host-response mechanisms in the outcome of Leishmania infection and response to treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013600"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145240141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NFATc1 regulates LAG3+CD8+ T cells in the spleen of mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii NSM.","authors":"Xingfei Pan, Feng Mo, Li Pan, Wei Xiao, Guikuan Liang, Xiongyu Xie, Haiwen Yuan, Haixia Wei, Shan Zhao, Lu Li, Lei Jia, Hongyan Xie, Jun Huang","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013605","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Malaria, an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium, is primarily characterized by anemia and splenomegaly. CD8 ⁺ T cells are known to play a key role in anti-malaria immunity. Lymphocyte Activation Gene 3 (LAG3), a critical immune checkpoint molecule, is pivotal in CD8 ⁺ T cell-mediated anti-tumor responses. However, the role of LAG3 ⁺ CD8 ⁺ T cells in anti-malarial immunity and the regulatory factors governing LAG3 expression in CD8 ⁺ T cells remain unclear. In this study, C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously infected with Plasmodium yoelii NSM. Splenic lymphocytes were isolated and analyzed using flow cytometry (FACs) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Results showed a significant upregulation of LAG3 expression in splenic CD8 ⁺ T cells post-infection. These LAG3 ⁺ CD8 ⁺ T cells displayed enhanced activation, responsiveness, proliferative capacity, and cytokine production. Additionally, activated nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) was found to co-express with LAG3 in splenic CD8 ⁺ T cells from infected mice. Dual-fluorescence reporter gene assays in 293T cells identified NFATc1 as a key transcription factor that binds to the LAG3 promoter sequence. Knockdown of NFATc1 via small interfering RNA (siRNA) reduced LAG3 expression. In conclusion, our findings suggest that splenic LAG3 ⁺ CD8 ⁺ T cells in Plasmodium yoelii NSM-infected C57BL/6 mice display enhanced functionality and imply that NFATc1 could positively regulate LAG3 expression.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013605"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145240184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Understanding the role of disease knowledge and risk perception in shaping preventive behavior for selected vector-borne diseases in Guyana.","authors":"Céline Aerts, Mélanie Revilla, Laetitia Duval, Krijn Paaijmans, Javin Chandrabose, Horace Cox, Elisa Sicuri","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013586","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013586","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008149.].</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013586"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12500141/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145240083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intestinal inflammation induced by heat-labile toxin-producing enterotoxigenic E: Coli infection and impact on immune responses in an experimental human challenge model.","authors":"Xueyan Zhang, Jessica Brubaker, Kawsar R Talaat, Chad K Porter, Brittany L Feijoo, Brittany M Adjoodani, Barbara DeNearing, Michael G Prouty, A Louis Bourgeois, David A Sack, Susanne Eder-Lingelbach, Christian Taucher, Subhra Chakraborty","doi":"10.1371/journal.pntd.0013025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) causes significant morbidity, mortality, and growth faltering among children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. While gut inflammation contributes to growth faltering, the role of ETEC in inflammation remains poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that ETEC-producing heat-labile toxin (LT) and heat-stable toxins (ST) induced significant inflammation in humans, but LT-ETEC strains are understudied. In this study, we evaluated the intestinal inflammation induced by the LT-ETEC strain LSN03-016011/A in a human challenge model. Stool samples were analyzed for pre- and post-challenge myeloperoxidase (MPO) and pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines, ETEC shedding, and ETEC-specific antibody responses. MPO, IL-1β, and CXCL-8 levels significantly increased post-ETEC challenge, but there was no significant difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants. Participants protected from severe diarrhea had higher levels of pre-challenge IL-10, IL-13, and IFN-γ compared to those not protected. The MPO and specific cytokine levels were significantly correlated with the seroconversion status to LT and the colonization factor antigen CS17. This study provides evidence that LT-ETEC strain can induce significant intestinal inflammation even in the absence of symptoms, highlighting the need for a vaccine and a better understanding of the impact of ETEC-attributable inflammation on child health in endemic areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":49000,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases","volume":"19 10","pages":"e0013025"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}