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- Ngotho, Maina, et al.
(author)
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IL-10 is up regulated in early and transitional stages in vervet monkeys experimentally infected with Trypanosoma brueei rhodesiense
- 2006
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In: Parasitology international. - : Elsevier BV. - 1383-5769 .- 1873-0329. ; 55:4, s. 243-248
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IL-10 has been suggested as a possible parameter for human African trypanosomiasis stage determination. However, conclusive experimental studies have not been carried out to evaluate this, which is a prerequisite before a potential test can be validated in humans for diagnostic purposes. We used the vervet monkey model of trypanosomiasis to scrutinize IL-10 in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Five adult males were experimentally infected with T.b. rhodesiense. The infected animals became anemic and exhibited weight loss. Parasitemia was patent after 3 days and fluctuated around 3.7 x 10(7) trypanosomes/ml throughout the experimental period. The total CSF white cell counts increased from pre-infection means around 3 cells/mu l to a peak of 30 cells/mu l, 42 days post-infection (DPI). IL-10 was not detectable (< 2 pg/ml) in serum prior to infection. IL-10 serum concentrations increased to 273 pg/ml 10 DPI coinciding with the first peak of parasitemia. Thereafter the levels declined to a mean value of 77 pg/ml 34 DPI followed by a significant rise to a second peak of 304 pg/ml (p < 0.008) 42 DPI. There was no detectable IL-10 in CSF. IL-10 synthesis is thus stimulated both in the early and transitional stages of experimental trypanosomiasis. That IL-10 is produced in early stage disease is an interesting finding unlikely to be detected in humans where it is difficult to determine the exact time of infection. The IL-10 peak observed on day 42 of infection might indicate onset of parasite neuroinvasion coinciding with a peak in white blood cell counts in the blood and CSF.
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| 2. |
- Venegas, Juan A., et al.
(author)
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Cloning and characterization of a DNA polymerase beta gene from Trypanosoma cruzi
- 2009
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In: Parasitology international. - : Elsevier BV. - 1383-5769 .- 1873-0329. ; 58:2, s. 187-192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A gene coding for a DNA polymerase beta from the Trypanosoma cruzi Miranda clone, belonging to the TcI lineage, was cloned (Miranda Tcpol beta), using the information from eight peptides of the T. cruzi beta-like DNA polymerase purified previously. The gene encodes for a protein of 403 amino acids which is very similar to the two T. cruzi CL Brener (TcIIe lineage) sequences published, but has three different residues in highly conserved segments. At the amino acid level, the identity of TcI-pol beta with mitochondrial pol beta and pol beta-PAK from other trypanosomatids was between 68-80% and 22-30%, respectively. Miranda Tc-pol beta protein has an N-terminal sequence similar to that described in the mitochondrial Crithidia fasciculata pol beta, which suggests that the TcI-pol beta plays a role in the organelle. Northern and Western analyses showed that this T. cruzi gene is highly expressed both in proliferative and non-proliferative developmental forms. These results suggest that, in addition to replication of kDNA in proliferative cells, this enzyme may have another function in non-proliferative cells, such as DNA repair role similar to that which has extensively been described in a vast spectrum of eukaryotic cells.
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