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Pathogens
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Parasite Infection and Tropical Infectious Diseases
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Parasite Infection and Tropical Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 2989

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Po-Ching Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medicial University, Taipei, Taiwan
Interests: immunology and inflammatory responses of infected pathogens (especially parasites and bacteria); tropical medicine; diagnostic reagents; vaccine development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Parasitic infections and tropical infectious diseases have always been neglected in public health and medical research. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, research on infectious diseases has begun to receive more attention. In recent years, with the scientific developments in the field of molecular immunity and biological information, parasites and other tropical infectious diseases have also been found to have comorbidities with many diseases, and have even been found to have a causal relationship with each other, including between schistosomiasis and liver disease or bladder cancer; cysticercosis and dementia; dengue fever and cardiovascular disease; etc. In addition, many new or extinct tropical diseases have also been discovered or have re-emerged and caused harm. More investigations and research are needed to prevent the spread of these infections and cause large-scale outbreaks.

For this Special Issue, we invite you to send original or review papers on aspects of parasitic infections and tropical infectious diseases.

Dr. Po-Ching Cheng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • parasite infection
  • tropical diseases
  • chronic inflammation
  • anti-infectious drugs
  • pathogen–host interaction
  • bacteria and virus
  • pathogenesis
  • epidemiology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2551 KiB  
Article
Cystatins from the Human Liver Fluke Opisthorchis viverrini: Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis
by Amornrat Geadkaew-Krenc, Rudi Grams, Sinee Siricoon, Nanthawat Kosa, Dawid Krenc, Wansika Phadungsil and Pongsakorn Martviset
Pathogens 2023, 12(7), 949; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12070949 - 18 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1048
Abstract
A high incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) has been observed in Thailand. This usually rare cancer has been associated with infection with the human liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini. Secretions of the parasite that interact with the host are thought to be [...] Read more.
A high incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) has been observed in Thailand. This usually rare cancer has been associated with infection with the human liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini. Secretions of the parasite that interact with the host are thought to be a major component of its pathogenicity and proteolysis is a key biological activity of the secreted molecules. In this study, we present a molecular analysis of cysteine proteinase inhibitors (cystatins) of Opisthorchis viverrini. Six cDNA coding sequences of Opisthorchis viverrini cystatins, OvCys1–6, were cloned from the adult stage of the parasite using RT-PCR. Based on their sequences, OvCys1 and OvCys2 are classified as type 1 cystatins, while OvCys3–6 are classified as type 2 cystatins, with each containing a signal peptide and only one C-terminal disulfide bond. Their C-terminal region sequences are diverse compared with other cystatin members. Cystatins OvCys1, 3 and 4 were found in crude worm extracts and excretory-secretory (ES) products from the adult parasite using Western blot detection, while the other isoforms were not. Thus, OvCys1, 3 and 4 were selected for inhibition analysis and immune reactivity with Opisthorchis viverrini-infected hamster sera. OvCys1, 3, and 4 inhibited mammalian cathepsin L more effectively than cathepsin B. The pH range for their full activity was very wide (pH 3–9) and they were heat stable for at least 3 h. Unlike Fasciola gigantica cystatins, they showed no immune reactivity with infected hamster sera based on indirect ELISA. Our findings suggest that Opisthorchis viverrini cystatins are not major antigenic components in the ES product of this parasite and that other effects of Opisthorchis viverrini cystatins should be investigated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Parasite Infection and Tropical Infectious Diseases)
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18 pages, 2888 KiB  
Article
Differential Analysis of Key Proteins Related to Fibrosis and Inflammation in Soluble Egg Antigen of Schistosoma mansoni at Different Infection Times
by Ying-Chou Chen, I-An Chen, Shih-Yi Peng and Po-Ching Cheng
Pathogens 2023, 12(3), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12030441 - 11 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1528
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a major global health problem. Schistosomes secrete antigens into the host tissue that bind to chemokines or inhibit immune cell receptors, regulating the immune responses to allow schistosome development. However, the detailed mechanism of chronic schistosome infection-induced liver fibrosis, including the [...] Read more.
Schistosomiasis is a major global health problem. Schistosomes secrete antigens into the host tissue that bind to chemokines or inhibit immune cell receptors, regulating the immune responses to allow schistosome development. However, the detailed mechanism of chronic schistosome infection-induced liver fibrosis, including the relationship between secreted soluble egg antigen (SEA) and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, is still unknown. We used mass spectrometry to identify the SEA protein sequences from different infection weeks. In the 10th and 12th infection weeks, we focused on the SEA components and screened out the special protein components, particularly fibrosis- and inflammation-related protein sequences. Our results have identified heat shock proteins, phosphorylation-associated enzymes, or kinases, such as Sm16, GSTA3, GPCRs, EF1-α, MMP7, and other proteins linked to schistosome-induced liver fibrosis. After sorting, we found many special proteins related to fibrosis and inflammation, but studies proving their association with schistosomiasis infection are limited. Follow-up studies on MICOS, MATE1, 14-3-3 epsilon, and CDCP1 are needed. We treated the LX-2 cells with the SEA from the 8th, 10th, and 12th infection weeks to test HSC activation. In a trans-well cell model in which PBMCs and HSCs were co-cultured, the SEA could significantly induce TGF-β secretion, especially from the 12th week of infection. Our data also showed that TGF-β secreted by PBMC after the SEA treatment activates LX-2 and upregulates hepatic fibrotic markers α-SMA and collagen 1. Based on these results, the CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) screened at the 12th infection week could be investigated further. This study clarifies the trend of immune mechanism variation in the different stages of schistosome infection. However, how egg-induced immune response transformation causes liver tissue fibrosis needs to be studied further. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Parasite Infection and Tropical Infectious Diseases)
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