Conventional adaptive T cell responses contribute to the pathogenesis of Schistosoma japonicum infection, leading to liver fibrosis. However, the role of gamma-delta (γδ) T cells in this disease is less clear. γδ T cells are known to secrete interleukin-17 (IL-17) in response to infection, exerting either protective or pathogenic functions. In the present study, mice infected with S. japonicum ...

Partial sequences of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) synthase genes derived from the Rhodobacter-Rhodovulum group and from the Rhodopseudomonas palustris-Bradyrhizobium japonicum group of the alpha-Proteobacteria were subjected to phylogenetic analysis to investigate the relationships of phototrophic and non-phototrophic bacteria in the alpha-Proteobacteria . The four Rhodovulum species formed a mon...

In an attempt to isolate and characterize peptides mimicking epitopes of metalloprotease and explore their immunological protection against Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum), polyclonal anti-metalloprotease sera was prepared to screen a 12-mer random peptide library to isolate phages binding specially to antisera IgG. Then, phage ELISA, animal immunization, DNA sequencing, Western blotting a...

BACKGROUND Trematodes belonging to the genus Schistosoma cause schistosomiasis. The relationship between schistosomes and their intermediate hosts varies among snails. This study investigated the effects of S. japonicum on its snail host, Oncomelania hupensis, and cercarial release rythmicity of S. japonicum and the effects of light on it. METHODS Seven groups of O. hupensis (n = 40 each) wer...

BACKGROUND Plants within the Orobanchaceae are an agriculturally important group of parasites that attack economically important crops to obtain water and nutrients from their hosts. Despite their agricultural importance, molecular mechanisms of the parasitism are poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We developed transient and stable transformation systems for Phtheirospermum jap...

Chemotherapy has been used on a large scale in countries where the blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum is endemic. This has led to a lower intensity of infections and consequently lower diagnostic values of commonly used diagnostic tests like serology and Kato-Katz stool smear. We designed a novel real-time PCR method for detection of S. japonicum in stool samples. Further, we evaluated different...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the degree of synergism between helminth species in their combined effects on anemia. METHODS Quantitative egg counts using the Kato-Katz method were determined for Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, Trichuris trichiura, and Schistosoma japonicum in 507 school-age children from helminth-endemic villages in The Philippines. Infection intensity was defined in three categories...

Mushroom cultivation benefits humankind as it deliberately encourages wild mushrooms to be commercially propagated while recycling agricultural wastes. Ganoderma neo-japonicum is a rare polypore mushroom found growing on decaying Schizostachyum brachycladium (a tropical bamboo) clumps in Malaysia. The Malaysian indigenous tribes including the Temuans and Temiars use the basidiocarps of G. neo-j...

BACKGROUND Ultrasonography allows for non-invasive examination of the liver and spleen and can further our understanding of schistosomiasis morbidity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We followed 578 people in Southwest China for up to five years. Participants were tested for Schistosoma japonicum infection in stool and seven standard measures of the liver and spleen were obtained using ultraso...

Despite effective chemotherapy, schistosomiasis remains a major public health problem in the developing world, with at least 200 million active infections resulting in significant morbidity. Rapid reinfection after treatment, accompanied by extensive residual morbidity, mandates alternative control strategies, including vaccine development. Paramyosin, a myofibrillar protein found only in inver...