Effect of Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections on Physical Fitness of School Children in C?te d'Ivoire

Background

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis are important public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa causing malnutrition, anemia, and retardation of physical and cognitive development. However, the effect of these diseases on physical fitness remains to be determined.

Methodology

We investigated the relationship between schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and physical performance of children, controlling for potential confounding of Plasmodium spp. infections and environmental parameters (i.e., ambient air temperature and humidity). A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 156 school children aged 7–15 years from Côte d''Ivoire. Each child had two stool and two urine samples examined for helminth eggs by microscopy. Additionally, children underwent a clinical examination, were tested for Plasmodium spp. infection with a rapid diagnostic test, and performed a maximal multistage 20 m shuttle run test to assess their maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂ max) as a proxy for physical fitness.

Principal Findings

The prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium, Plasmodium spp., Schistosoma mansoni, hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides infections was 85.3%, 71.2%, 53.8%, 13.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Children with single, dual, triple, quadruple and quintuple species infections showed VO₂ max of 52.7, 53.1, 52.2, 52.6 and 55.6 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹, respectively. The VO₂ max of children with no parasite infections was 53.5 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹. No statistically significant difference was detected between any groups. Multivariable analysis revealed that VO₂ max was influenced by sex (reference: female, coef. = 4.02, p<0.001) and age (years, coef. = −1.23, p<0.001), but not by helminth infection and intensity, Plasmodium spp. infection, and environmental parameters.

Conclusion/Significance

School-aged children in Côte d''Ivoire showed good physical fitness, irrespective of their helminth infection status. Future studies on children''s physical fitness in settings where helminthiasis and malaria co-exist should include pre- and post-intervention evaluations and the measurement of hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and nutritional parameters as potential co-factors to determine whether interventions further improve upon fitness.     

Crystal structure of Spy0129, a Streptococcus pyogenes class B sortase involved in pilus assembly

Sortase enzymes are cysteine transpeptidases that mediate the covalent attachment of substrate proteins to the cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria, and thereby play a crucial role in virulence, infection and colonisation by pathogens. Many cell-surface proteins are anchored by the housekeeping sortase SrtA but other more specialised sortases exist that attach sub-sets of proteins or function in pilus assembly. The sortase Spy0129, or SrtC1, from the M1 SF370 strain of Streptococcus pyogenes is responsible for generating the covalent linkages between the pilin subunits in the pili of this organism. The crystal structure of Spy0129 has been determined at 2.3 Å resolution (R = 20.4%, Rfree  = 26.0%). The structure shows that Spy0129 is a class B sortase, in contrast to other characterised pilin polymerases, which belong to class C. Spy0129 lacks a flap believed to function in substrate recognition in class C enzymes and instead has an elaborated β6/β7 loop. The two independent Spy0129 molecules in the crystal show differences in the positions and orientations of the catalytic Cys and His residues, Cys221 and His126, correlated with movements of the β7/β8 and β4/β5 loops that respectively follow these residues. Bound zinc ions stabilise these alternative conformations in the crystal. This conformational variability is likely to be important for function although there is no evidence that zinc is involved in vivo.     

Population genomic evidence that human and animal infections in Africa come from the same populations of Dracunculus medinensis

BackgroundGuinea worm–Dracunculus medinensis–was historically one of the major parasites of humans and has been known since antiquity. Now, Guinea worm is on the brink of eradication, as efforts to interrupt transmission have reduced the annual burden of disease from millions of infections per year in the 1980s to only 54 human cases reported globally in 2019. Despite the enormous success of eradication efforts to date, one complication has arisen. Over the last few years, hundreds of dogs have been found infected with this previously apparently anthroponotic parasite, almost all in Chad. Moreover, the relative numbers of infections in humans and dogs suggests that dogs are currently the principal reservoir on infection and key to maintaining transmission in that country.Principal findingsIn an effort to shed light on this peculiar epidemiology of Guinea worm in Chad, we have sequenced and compared the genomes of worms from dog, human and other animal infections. Confirming previous work with other molecular markers, we show that all of these worms are D. medinensis, and that the same population of worms are causing both infections, can confirm the suspected transmission between host species and detect signs of a population bottleneck due to the eradication efforts. The diversity of worms in Chad appears to exclude the possibility that there were no, or very few, worms present in the country during a 10-year absence of reported cases.ConclusionsThis work reinforces the importance of adequate surveillance of both human and dog populations in the Guinea worm eradication campaign and suggests that control programs aiming to interrupt disease transmission should stay aware of the possible emergence of unusual epidemiology as pathogens approach elimination.     

Genomic organization of the IGF1, IGF2, MYF5, MYF6 and GRF/PACAP genes across Salmoninae genera

Whole-genome duplication in the ancient ray-finned fish and subsequent tetraploidization in the ancestor to the salmonids have complicated genomic and candidate gene studies in these organisms as many genes with multiple copies are present throughout their genomes. In an attempt to identify genes with a potential influence on growth and development, we investigated the genomic positions of insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF1, IGF2), myogenic factors 5 and 6 (MYF5, MYF6) and growth hormone-releasing factor/pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (GRF/PACAP) in three salmonid species: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Our results suggest a tight association between the IGF1, MYF5 and MYF6 genes in all three species. We further localized the duplicated copies of IGF1 to the homeologous linkage groups RT-7/15 in rainbow trout and AC-3/24 in Arctic charr, and the two copies of MYF6 to homeologous linkage groups AS-22/24 in Atlantic salmon. Localization of GRF/PACAP to RT-7, AS-31 and AC-27 and IGF2 to RT-27, AS-2 and AC-4 in rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon and Arctic charr respectively is consistent with previously reported homologies among these chromosomal segments identified using other genetic markers. However, localization of the second copy of GRF/PACAP to RT-19 and AC-14 and the duplicated copy of IGF2 to AC-19 suggest a possible new homology/homeology between these chromosomes. These results might also be an indication of a more ancient polyploidization event that occurred deep in the ray-finned fish lineage.     

Filariasis Attenuates Anemia and Proinflammatory Responses Associated with Clinical Malaria: A Matched Prospective Study in Children and Young Adults

Background

Wuchereria bancrofti (Wb) and Mansonella perstans (Mp) are blood-borne filarial parasites that are endemic in many countries of Africa, including Mali. The geographic distribution of Wb and Mp overlaps considerably with that of malaria, and coinfection is common. Although chronic filarial infection has been shown to alter immune responses to malaria parasites, its effect on clinical and immunologic responses in acute malaria is unknown.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To address this question, 31 filaria-positive (FIL+) and 31 filaria-negative (FIL−) children and young adults, matched for age, gender and hemoglobin type, were followed prospectively through a malaria transmission season. Filarial infection was defined by the presence of Wb or Mp microfilariae on calibrated thick smears performed between 10 pm and 2 am and/or by the presence of circulating filarial antigen in serum. Clinical malaria was defined as axillary temperature ≥37.5°C or another symptom or sign compatible with malaria infection plus the presence of asexual malaria parasites on a thick blood smear. Although the incidence of clinical malaria, time to first episode, clinical signs and symptoms, and malaria parasitemia were comparable between the two groups, geometric mean hemoglobin levels were significantly decreased in FIL− subjects at the height of the transmission season compared to FIL+ subjects (11.4 g/dL vs. 12.5 g/dL, p<0.01). Plasma levels of IL-1ra, IP-10 and IL-8 were significantly decreased in FIL+ subjects at the time of presentation with clinical malaria (99, 2145 and 49 pg/ml, respectively as compared to 474, 5522 and 247 pg/ml in FIL− subjects).

Conclusions/Significance

These data suggest that pre-existent filarial infection attenuates immune responses associated with severe malaria and protects against anemia, but has little effect on susceptibility to or severity of acute malaria infection. The apparent protective effect of filarial infection against anemia is intriguing and warrants further study in a larger cohort.     

Mosquito Feeding Assays to Determine the Infectiousness of Naturally Infected Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Carriers

Introduction

In the era of malaria elimination and eradication, drug-based and vaccine-based approaches to reduce malaria transmission are receiving greater attention. Such interventions require assays that reliably measure the transmission of Plasmodium from humans to Anopheles mosquitoes.

Methods

We compared two commonly used mosquito feeding assay procedures: direct skin feeding assays and membrane feeding assays. Three conditions under which membrane feeding assays are performed were examined: assays with i) whole blood, ii) blood pellets resuspended with autologous plasma of the gametocyte carrier, and iii) blood pellets resuspended with heterologous control serum.

Results

930 transmission experiments from Cameroon, The Gambia, Mali and Senegal were included in the analyses. Direct skin feeding assays resulted in higher mosquito infection rates compared to membrane feeding assays (odds ratio 2.39, 95% confidence interval 1.94–2.95) with evident heterogeneity between studies. Mosquito infection rates in membrane feeding assays and direct skin feeding assays were strongly correlated (p<0.0001). Replacing the plasma of the gametocyte donor with malaria naïve control serum resulted in higher mosquito infection rates compared to own plasma (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.68–2.19) while the infectiousness of gametocytes may be reduced during the replacement procedure (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.52–0.70).

Conclusions

Despite a higher efficiency of direct skin feeding assays, membrane feeding assays appear suitable tools to compare the infectiousness between individuals and to evaluate transmission-reducing interventions. Several aspects of membrane feeding procedures currently lack standardization; this variability makes comparisons between laboratories challenging and should be addressed to facilitate future testing of transmission-reducing interventions.     

Backreef and beach carbonate sediments of the Red Sea,Saudi Arabia: impacts of reef geometry and currents on sediment composition

Three sites in the Red Sea were investigated to assess the variability of composition in Holocene sediments of the backreef environment within 0–2 m of water depth. This is important because composition of the sediment is commonly used to estimate water depth in ancient carbonate rocks. The site located at the King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia) contains a fringing reef with the reef tract located very close to the beach at the north end, flaring to the south to produce a narrower backreef area compared to the other two sites. This geometry produces a north to south current with a velocity of up to 15 cm s^?1, particularly during high onshore winds. The sediments contain predominantly non-skeletal grains, including peloids, coated grains, ooids, and grapestones that form on the bottom. The percentage of coralgal grains in the sediment was significantly lower than at the other two sites studied. Om Al Misk Island and Shoaiba have a much lower-velocity current within the backreef zone and contain predominantly coralgal sediments from the beach to the landward edge of the reef tract. The two locations containing the predominantly coralgal microfacies were statistically similar, but the King Abdullah Economic City site was statistically different despite having a similar water depth profile. Slight differences in reef configuration, including reef orientation and distance from the shore, can produce considerable differences in sediment thickness and composition within the backreef environment, which should induce caution in the interpretation of water depth in ancient carbonate rocks using composition.

     

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) from Sun-Tailed Monkeys (Cercopithecus solatus): Evidence for Host-Dependent Evolution of SIV within the C. lhoesti Superspecies

Recently we reported the characterization of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVlhoest) from a central African l'hoest monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti lhoesti) that revealed a distant relationship to SIV isolated from a mandrill (SIVmnd). The present report describes a novel SIV (SIVsun) isolated from a healthy, wild-caught sun-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti solatus), another member of the l'hoest superspecies. SIVsun replicated in a variety of human T-cell lines and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of macaques (Macaca spp.) and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas). A full-length infectious clone of SIVsun was derived, and genetic analysis revealed that SIVsun was most closely related to SIVlhoest, with an amino acid identity of 71% in Gag, 73% in Pol, and 67% in Env. This degree of similarity is reminiscent of that observed between SIVagm isolates from vervet, grivet, and tantalus species of African green monkeys. The close relationship between SIVsun and SIVlhoest, despite their geographically distinct habitats, is consistent with evolution from a common ancestor, providing further evidence for the ancient nature of the primate lentivirus family. In addition, this observation leads us to suggest that the SIVmnd lineage should be designated the SIVlhoest lineage.