Blastocystis is a ubiquitous enteric protozoan found in the intestinal tracts of humans and a wide range of animals. Evidence accumulated over the last decade suggests association of Blastocystis with gastrointestinal disorders involving diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation, nausea, and fatigue. Clinical and experimental studies have associated Blastocystis with intestinal inflammation, and i...

Intestinal parasites are a problem for public health all over the world. The infection with Blastocystis, a protozoan of controversial pathogenicity, is one of the most common among them all. In this study, the occurrence of intestinal parasites, with emphasis on Blastocystis, in patients at the Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro was investigated in Uberaba (MG) through microscopy of dir...

Domestic dogs and cats are commonly infected with a variety of protozoan enteric parasites, including Blastocystis spp. In addition, there is growing interest in Blastocystis as a potential enteric pathogen, and the possible role of domestic and in-contact animals as reservoirs for human infection. Domestic animals in shelter environments are commonly recognized to be at higher risk for carriag...

Blastocystis is an ubiquitous, enteric protozoan of humans and many other species. Human infection has been associated with gastrointestinal disease such as irritable bowel syndrome, however, this remains unproven. A relevant animal model is needed to investigate the pathogenesis/pathogenicity of Blastocystis. We concluded previously that pigs are likely natural hosts of Blastocystis with a pot...

163 The first identification of Blastocystis dates back to more than 100 years even though the scientific knowledge acquired during this period to understand the taxonomy, biology, and pathogenic capabilities of Blastocystis is not entirely convincing. However, in recent decades, the studies focusing on pathogenicity and taxonomy of Blastocystis have taken up the speed. The editors Dr. Heinz Me...

Blastocystis is a polymorphic intestinal parasite that is common in humans. A total of 51 asymptomatic and symptomatic patients positive for Blastocystis only were included in the study. Symptoms were mainly nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms. Blastocystis isolates were xenically cultured and subtyped. Blastocystis species subtype 3 was the predominant subtype. Intrasubtype differences (vacu...

In the tropics, there are too few studies on isolation of Blastocystis sp. subtypes from water sources; in addition, there is also an absence of reported studies on the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in water during different seasons. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in river water and other water sources that drained aboriginal v...

Blastocystis is an emerging protistan parasite colonizing the human intestine. It is frequently reported to cause general intestinal symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. We recently demonstrated that Blastocystis rearranged cytoskeletal proteins and induced intestinal epithelial barrier compromise. The effect of Blastocystis on enterocyte apoptosis is unknown, and a possible link...

23 24 Blastocystis is a ubiquitous enteric protozoan found in the intestinal tract of humans and a 25 wide range of animals. Accumulating evidence over the last decade suggests association 26 of Blastocystis with gastrointestinal disorders involving diarrhea, abdominal pain, 27 constipation, nausea and fatigue. Clinical and experimental studies have associated 28 Blastocystis with intestinal in...

Termination codons in mRNA molecules are typically specified directly by the sequence of the corresponding gene. However, in mitochondria of a few eukaryotic groups, some mRNAs contain the termination codon UAA deriving one or both adenosines from transcript polyadenylation. Here, we show that a similar phenomenon occurs for a substantial number of nuclear genes in Blastocystis spp., divergent ...