Parasites, which cause an enormous burden in the population of the third world, are a diverse group of organisms, many of which are sensitive to oxidative stress imposed by their hosts. In recent years, several selenoprotein families, some with antioxidant properties, have been described and characterized in metazoan parasites. Glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin glutathione reductase (TGR) ...

The transition between hosts is a challenge for digenetic parasites as it unpredictable. For Trypanosoma brucei subspecies, which are disseminated by tsetse flies, adaptation to the new host requires differentiation of stumpy forms picked up from mammals procyclic in fly midgut. Here we show that Alba-domain protein Alba3 not essential mammalian slender forms, nor required culture or mice. It c...

Infections caused by protozoan parasites continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe, with malaria leishmaniasis forming fulcrum these infections. Decreased effectiveness existing drugs increasing cases drug resistance have called for multifaceted approach development safe, efficacious, affordable leishmaniasis. The present review article aims unearth structur...

Over the past 15 years, DNA vaccines have gone from a scientific curiosity to one of the most dynamic research field and may offer new alternatives for the control of parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. We review here some of the advances and challenges for the development of DNA vaccines against these diseases. Many studies have validated the concept of using DNA vacci...

The histone-like proteins (HU) belong to a family of DNA architectural proteins that stabilize nucleoprotein complexes. We found a putative HU protein (TgGlmHMM_3045) in Toxoplasma gondii genome that was homologous to the bacterial HU protein. This putative sequence was located in the scaffold TGG_995361 of the chromosome 10. The sequence included the prokaryotic bacterial histone-like domain, ...

BACKGROUND Zoonoses pose a risk to public health. OBJECTIVE To carry out the investigation of the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of baboons, Papio anubis, frequenting the Wikki base Camp in Yankari National Park, Nigeria. METHOD Formol-ether concentration technique was used to isolate parasite eggs and cysts from faecal samples. RESULTS Parasites recovered were Ascaris lumbricoi...

INTRODUCTION Spontaneous sedimentation is an important procedure for stool examination. A modification of this technique using conical tubes was performed and evaluated. METHODS Fifty fecal samples were processed in sedimentation glass and in polypropylene conical tubes. Another 50 samples were used for quantitative evaluation of protozoan cysts. RESULTS Although no significant differences ...

In this overview, the basic biology of select protozoan parasites of veterinary importance was covered. These include the Apicomplexans, Eimeria, Theileria, Cryptosporidium, and the Flagellates Giardia and African trypanosomes. Available information was synthesized into a relatively simple information guide of potential interest to a wide reading audience. Where appropriate, references are made...