The fish-borne parasitic zoonoses have been limited for the most part to populations living in low- and middle-income countries, but the geographical limits and populations at risk are expanding ...because of growing international markets, improved transportation systems, and demographic changes such as population movements. While many in developed countries will recognize meat-borne zoonoses such as trichinellosis and cysticercosis, far fewer are acquainted with the fish-borne parasitic zoonoses which are mostly helminthic diseases caused by trematodes, cestodes and nematodes. Yet these zoonoses are responsible for large numbers of human infections around the world. The list of potential fish-borne parasitic zoonoses is quite large. However, in this review, emphasis has been placed on liver fluke diseases such as clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis and metorchiasis, as well as on intestinal trematodiasis (the heterophyids and echinostomes), anisakiasis (due to
Anisakis simplex larvae), and diphyllobothriasis. The life cycles, distributions, epidemiology, clinical aspects, and, importantly, the research needed for improved risk assessments, clinical management and prevention and control of these important parasitic diseases are reviewed.
Treatment of cartilage defects such as osteoarthritis (OA) and osteochondral defect (OCD) remains a huge clinical challenge in orthopedics. OA is one of the most common chronic health conditions and ...is mainly characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage, shown in the limited capacity for intrinsic repair. OCD refers to the focal defects affecting cartilage and the underlying bone. The current OA and OCD management modalities focus on symptom control and on improving joint functionality and the patient's quality of life. Cell-based therapy has been evaluated for managing OA and OCD, and its chondroprotective efficacy is recognized mainly through paracrine action. Hence, there is growing interest in exploiting extracellular vesicles to induce cartilage regeneration. In this review, we explore the in vivo evidence of exosomes on cartilage regeneration. A total of 29 in vivo studies from the PubMed and Scopus databases were identified and analyzed. The studies reported promising results in terms of in vivo exosome delivery and uptake; improved cartilage morphological, histological, and biochemical outcomes; enhanced subchondral bone regeneration; and improved pain behavior following exosome treatment. In addition, exosome therapy is safe, as the included studies documented no significant complications. Modifying exosomal cargos further increased the cartilage and subchondral bone regeneration capacity of exosomes. We conclude that exosome administration is a potent cell-free therapy for alleviating OA and OCD. However, additional studies are needed to confirm the therapeutic potential of exosomes and to identify the standard protocol for exosome-based therapy in OA and OCD management. Keywords: extracellular vesicle, exosome, chondrocyte, cartilage, osteoarthritis
Acanthoparyphium tyosenense Yamaguti, 1939 (Digenea: Echinostomatidae), was originally reported as an avian intestinal parasite; here, its presence is reported in 10 humans in the Republic of Korea. ...The patients were 9 adults aged 35–66 yr (males and females) and a young girl aged 7 yr residing in 2 coastal villages in Puan-gun, Chollabuk-do. The worms were recovered after treatment with praziquantel and purgation with magnesium salts. A total of 158 specimens (1–107 specimens/individual) was collected, together with varying numbers of other intestinal flukes. The patients had eaten various kinds of brackish water mollusks caught in an estuary near their villages. Five bivalves and a gastropod species suspected as sources of human infection were collected and examined. Two bivalves (Mactra veneriformis and Solen grandis) and the gastropod (Neverita bicolor) were found to be infected with the metacercariae of A. tyosenense; adult flukes were confirmed after the experimental infection of chicks. The results show that A. tyosenense infects humans and that brackish water mollusks are the source of human infection.
Background & Aims:
Serum response factor (SRF) regulates transcription of immediate early genes and muscle genes. In this study, we examined the role of SRF in gastric ulcer healing and the ...mechanisms involved.
Methods:
Gastric ulcers were induced in rats by serosal application of acetic acid. Gastric specimens were obtained sequentially after ulcer induction for analyses of SRF messenger RNA (mRNA), protein expression, and for immunohistochemistry. We examined the role of SRF in ulcer healing by local injection of an SRF expression plasmid into ulcers (gene therapy). To elucidate the cellular mechanisms of the action of SRF, we examined the effect of SRF overexpression on actin dynamics, cell migration, and proliferation in rat gastric epithelial cell (RGM1) and smooth muscle cell (A7R5). To determine the clinical relevance, we examined SRF expression in human gastric ulcer specimens.
Results:
Gastric ulceration activated SRF expression in epithelial cells lining regenerating glands and in myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cells of granulation tissue. SRF up-regulation in human gastric ulcers was similar to that found in rat gastric ulcers. Gene therapy with SRF significantly accelerated experimental gastric ulcer healing and promoted re-epithelialization and muscle restoration. Overexpression of SRF in RGM1 and A7R5 cells accelerates migration and proliferation of these cells by promoting actin polymerization and activation of immediately early genes.
Conclusions:
Activation of SRF is an important component of ulcer healing. SRF promotes migration and proliferation of gastric epithelial and smooth muscle cells, which are essential for re-epithelialization and restoration of muscular structures.
The genetic influence on host susceptibility to Neodiplostomum seoulense infection and fatality of the host was studied in 3 inbred strains of mice (BALB/c H-2d, C3H/He H-2k, and C57BL/6 H-2b). The ...survival of the mice, worm expulsion kinetics, worm size, number of eggs produced per day (EPD), and number of uterine eggs were observed from day 1 to day 40 postinfection (PI) with 100 or 200 metacercariae per mouse. Infection with N. seoulense was highly lethal to all 3 strains of mice, but the lethality was dose-dependent and varied according to the genetic backgrounds of the mice. The C3H/He mice exhibited the highest mortality, the lowest worm burdens and EPD, and the quickest expulsion of worms. It is suggested that different genetic backgrounds of mice appear to affect the host's capacity to expel N. seoulense and the fatality of the hosts themselves.
A total of 19 species of food-borne intestinal trematodes have been reported in humans in the Republic of Korea. They include 12 species of the Heterophyidae,
Metagonimus
yokogawai,
M.
takahashii,
M. ...miyatai,
Heterophyes
nocens,
H. heterophyes (imported)
, H. dispar (imported),
Heterophyopsis
continua,
Pygidiopsis
summa,
Stellantchasmus
falcatus,
Centrocestus
armatus,
Stictodora
fuscata, and
S. lari; four species of the Echinostomatidae,
Echinostoma
hortense,
E.
cinetorchis,
Echinochasmus
japonicus, and
Acanthoparyphium tyosenense; and one species each of the Neodiplostomidae,
Neodiplostomum
seoulense, Plagiorchiidae,
Plagiorchis muris, and Gymnophallidae,
Gymnophalloides seoi. Fresh water fish harbor the metacercarial stage of
M. yokogawai,
M.
takahashii, M. miyatai,
C.
armatus,
E.
hortense,
E.
cinetorchis,
E.
japonicus, or
P. muris. Brackish water fish serve as the second intermediate hosts for
H.
nocens,
H.
continua,
P.
summa,
S.
falcatus, S. fuscata, and
S. lari. Brackish water bivalves are the source of infection with
A. tyosenense. Tadpoles and frogs are the second intermediate hosts for
N.
seoulense, but the major source of human infection is the grass snake
Rhabdophis tigrina, a paratenic host. The metacercariae of
G. seoi are observed in oysters. The natural definitive hosts are, in most cases, mammals such as rats, cats and dogs. However, several species (
C. armatus, S. lari, E. japonicus, A. tyosenense, and
G. seoi) have birds as natural definitive hosts. Host–parasite relationships, pathogenesis and pathology, immunity, clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of these intestinal trematodes are briefly discussed.
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