Toxocariasis is a worldwide parasitic zoonosis and mainly caused by Toxocara canis. Humans can be infected by accidental ingestion of T. canis embryonated ova through contacting with contaminated ...food, water, or encapsulated larvae in paratenic hosts' viscera or meat. Since humans are the paratenic host of T. canis, the wandering and neuroinvasive larvae can cause mechanical tissue damage and the excretory-secretory antigens (TcES Ag) might induce neuroinflammatory responses in the brain. Human cerebral toxocariasis (CT) has been reported to cause several neurological symptoms and may develop into neurodegenerative diseases. However, the roles of astrocytes involved in the pathogenesis of CT remained largely unclear.
This study intended to investigate the cytotoxic effects of TcES Ag on astrocytes as assessed by apoptosis and autophagy expression.
Our results showed TcES Ag treatment reduced cell viability and caused morphological changes. Expressions of autophagy associated proteins including Beclin 1, phosphor-mTOR and LC3-Ⅱ were not significantly changed; however, p62 as well as the cell survival protein, mTOR, was concomitantly decreased in TcES Ag treatment. Significantly accelerated cleaved caspase-3 and cytochrome c expression as well as enhanced caspase-9 and caspase-8 activation were found in astrocytes with TcES Ag treatment. Caspase-3 activity and apoptotic cells numbers were also increased as detected by fluorescence microscopy.
We concluded that TcES Ag may trigger astrocytes apoptosis predominantly through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways rather autophagy, revealing a novel role of astrocytes in the pathogenesis of CT.
The vines and leaves of
L. are used as herbal medicines to treat inflammation-related disorders. However, their safety profile remains uncharacterized, and the constituents in their extracts that ...exert anti-inflammatory and adverse effects remain unclear. This study isolated the characteristic cucurbitane-type triterpenoid species in the vines and leaves of
L. and analyzed their cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory effects, and underlying mechanisms. Four structurally related triterpenoids-momordicines I, II, IV, and (23E) 3β,7β,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23-dien-19-al (TCD)-were isolated from the triterpenoid-rich fractions of extracts from the vines and leaves of
. Momordicine I was cytotoxic on normal cells, momordicine II exerted milder cytotoxicity, and momordicine IV and TCD had no obvious adverse effects on cell growth. TCD had anti-inflammatory activity both in vivo and in vitro. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, TCD inhibited the inhibitor kappa B kinase/nuclear factor-κB pathway and enhanced the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, heme oxygenase-1, and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 and p38. Thus, the vines and leaves of
should be used with caution. An extraction protocol that can enrich TCD but remove momordicine I would likely enhance the safety of the extract.
Anisakid larvae are the food-borne pathogen highly prevalent among numerous marine fishes. Accidental consumption of infected raw or poorly cooked fish fillets may cause anisakiasis.
This study used ...the multidisciplinary approach to investigate the occurrence of Anisakis nematodes in commonly consumed fish species, Scomber australasicus and Trichiurus lepturus purchased in Taipei Xinyi traditional fish market.
All the Anisakis larvae collected herein were identified morphologically as Anisakis type I or Anisakis type II. The prevalence and the mean intensity of Anisakis larvae collected from S. australasicus was 80.77%, 26.8 (10–32) and 100%, 49.0 (27–70) for T. lepturus. Using molecular analysis, 83.33% (180/216) were identified as Anisakis pegreffii, 6.05% (13/216) as Ascaris typica, 1.85% (4/216) as Ascaris physeteris and 8.80% (19/216) as hybrid genotype (A. pegreffii + Anisakis simplex) in S. australasicus. In T. lepturus, 86.31% (290/336) were identified as A. pegreffii, 2.38% (8/336) as A. typica, and 11.31% (38/336) as hybrid genotype (A. pegreffii + A. simplex s.s). The molecular phylogenetic analysis shows two cluster clades, one group includes A. pegreffii complex and the other include Ascaris paggiae, Ascaris brevispiculata, and A. physeteris.
Thus, A. pegreffii is the most abundant species and may be the potential causes of human infection.
PDF
