A new species of Dollfusiella Campbell & Beveridge, 1994 (Cestoda: Eutetrarhynchidae), with remarks on Halysiorhynchus macrocephalus (Shipley & Hornell, 1906) (Cestoda: Mixodigmatidae) from the bowmouth guitarfish Rhina ancylostoma Bloch & Schneider (Rhinidae) in the Persian Gulf

Systematic Parasitology - Dollfusiella nimai n. sp. (Cestoda: Eutetrarhynchidae) is described from the intestine of Rhina ancylostoma Bloch & Schneider in the Persian Gulf. The number of...     

Redescription of Flexophora ophidii Prost & Euzet, 1962 (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae) from Ophidion barbatum (Ophidiidae) off the Algerian coast,Mediterranean Sea

Systematic Parasitology - The diclidophorid Flexophora ophidii Prost & Euzet, 1962, the type- and only species of the genus Flexophora Prost & Euzet, 1962, has never been...     

Two new species of threadlike blood flukes (Aporocotylidae), with a molecular revision of the genera Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2004 and Phthinomita Nolan & Cribb, 2006

Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2004 and Phthinomita Nolan & Cribb, 2006 are sister genera of threadlike blood flukes (Trematoda: Aporocotylidae) infecting teleost fishes of the tropical Indo-west Pacific. Here, we report new collections of these genera from Australia, Indonesia, and Japan. A new species of Ankistromeces, Ankistromeces kawamurai n. sp., is described from Siganus spinus (Linnaeus) off Okinawa, Japan, and a new species of Phthinomita, Phthinomita abdita n. sp., from Choerodon cephalotes (Castelnau), in Moreton Bay, Australia; the new species are morphologically cryptic within their respective genera and are delineated by molecular and ecological data. Ankistromeces olsoni Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is reported from Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn) off Heron Island (southern Great Barrier Reef), Lizard Island (northern Great Barrier Reef), and Okinawa and Wakayama Prefectures, Japan and from Siganus spinus (Linnaeus) from off Bali, Indonesia. Ankistromeces mariae Nolan & Cribb, 2004 is re-reported from the type-host, Meuschenia freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard), from a new location, Gypsy Bay, Tasmania. Phthinomita poulini Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is re-reported from its type-locality, Lizard Island, from a range of mullids, including five new host species, and its range is extended to include Moreton Bay. Phthinomita symplocos Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is reported from Bali and P. hallae Nolan & Cribb, 2006, P. jonesi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, P. littlewoodi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, and P. munozae Nolan & Cribb, 2006 are each re-reported from their type-host and type-localities. New cox1 mtDNA data were generated for all known species of these two genera from new and archival material. Analyses of these data enabled an evaluation of all known Phthinomita species; P. robertsthomsoni Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is synonymised with P. adlardi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, and P. brooksi Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is synonymised with P. sasali Nolan & Cribb, 2006. We highlight the failure of ITS2 data to delineate closely related aporocotylid species. In contrast, cox1 sequence data are proving reliable and effective in this context and we recommend their incorporation in future studies of blood fluke taxonomy.

     

Differential Enhancement of a Cutaneous HPV Promoter by ΔNP63α, JUN and Mutant p53

The mechanism through which cutaneous papillomaviruses induce lesions is largelyunknown. Ectopic expression of the ΔNP63α isoform highly increased the viral promoteractivity. The co-expression of c-Jun mediated and increased the ΔNP63α activity by bindingto the AP-1 site in an enhancer region of the HPV 20 URR. This strong activation by ΔNP63αis diminished in the presence of wtp53 and abolished by the simultaneous expression of “hotspot”mutant p53 R248W. We demonstrate that c-Jun is responsible for the viral promoteractivation through its direct interaction with both ΔNP63α and wtp53. The down-regulationby p53 mutant R248W is accompanied by reduced protein levels of ΔNP63α andphosphorylated c-Jun. The data presented in this study provide insight into a possiblemechanism through which these cellular proteins may modulate a cutaneous papillomavirusgenome to induce viral replication, latent infection or malignant trasnformation.     

Redescription and molecular characterisation of Allogastrocotyle bivaginalis Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983 (Monogenea: Gastrocotylidae) from Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich) (Perciformes: Carangidae) off the Algerian coast,Mediterranean Sea

Systematic Parasitology - Allogastrocotyle bivaginalis Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983, the sole species of Allogastrocotyle Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983, was described from...     

ΔNp63α Levels Correlate with Clinical Tumor Response to Cisplatin

After exposure to damaging agents, the p53 tumor suppressor is stabilized mediating cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. p53 family member, ΔNp63α promotes cell proliferation and accelerates tumor growth. We previously found that the genotoxic stress agents induced a decrease of ΔNp63α . We further observed that genotoxic stress mediated phosphorylation of ΔNp63α targeting it into proteasome degradation. Here, we found that high ΔNp63 protein levels in primary tumors accurately predicted response to platinum based chemotherapy and a favorable outcome in head and neck cancer patients. Our data suggest that degradation of ΔNp63α is part of the cellular response to DNA damage in head and neck cancers. The findings may have implications for the rational use of DNA damaging agents in human cancer.     

Description of a new species of Dermoergasilus Ho & Do, 1982 (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) from the redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais) (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in Basrah,southern Iraq

Systematic Parasitology - A new species of Dermoergasilus Ho & Do, 1982 (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) parasitic on the gills of the redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais) from Basrah,...     

A new species of Benedenia Diesing, 1858 (Monogenea: Capsalidae) parasitic on Lethrinus haematopterus Temminck & Schlegel (Perciformes: Lethrinidae) from Japan

Systematic Parasitology - A new species of capsalid monogenean, Benedenia armata n. sp., is described from Lethrinus haematopterus Temminck & Schlegel (Perciformes: Lethrinidae) from off...     

Boegeriella nom. nov. (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae) for Walteriella Mendoza-Palmero,Mendoza-Franco,Acosta & Scholz, 2019, a junior homonym of Walteriella Kazantsev, 2001 (Coleoptera: Cantharidae)

Walteriella Mendoza-Palmero, Mendoza-Franco, Acosta & Scholz, 2019 was found to be a junior homonym of Walteriella Kazantsev, 2001 (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), also known as soldier beetles, and is replaced by Boegeriella nom. nov. (Dactylogyridae). The two species originally included into the genus, Walteriella conica Mendoza-Palmero, Mendoza-Franco, Acosta & Scholz, 2019 (type-species) and Walteriella ophiocirrus Mendoza-Palmero, Mendoza-Franco, Acosta & Scholz, 2019, are transferred as Boegeriella conica (Mendoza-Palmero, Mendoza-Franco, Acosta & Scholz, 2019) n. comb. and Boegeriella ophiocirrus (Mendoza-Palmero, Mendoza-Franco, Acosta & Scholz, 2019) n. comb.

     

Taxonomy of Electrogena antalyensis (Kazanci & Braasch, 1986) (Ephemeroptera,Heptageniidae)

Female imagines, subimagines, eggs and larvae of Electrogena antalyensis (Kazanci & Braasch) from Turkey are described for the first time. The results of a thorough analysis of larvae, based on the standard set of diagnostic characters for the identification of Electrogena species, are reported. The peculiarity of several characters places E. antalyensis in an isolated position within the genus Electrogena.     

p38α: A Suppressor of Cell Proliferation and Tumorigenesis

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38! is involved in numerous biological processes and is a drug target for inflammation-associated diseases. Genetic analysis in mice demonstrated that fetuses lacking p38! are embryonic lethal owing to impaired placental development. The function of p38! in mice after birth remained unclear until conditional alleles of p38α were used. It was found that p38α is essential for lung functionin both neonatal and adult mice. Increased proliferation and impaired differentiation are the hallmarks of p38α-deficient cells. Moreover, mice deficient in p38α are prone to cancerdevelopment using carcinogen or oncogene-induced cancer models. p38α can suppress cell proliferation by antagonizing the JNK/c-Jun pathway, which is an important regulator of proliferation and apoptosis. These findings suggest that therapeutic inhibition of p38 might lead to unwanted proliferation. Therefore, a combined inhibition of p38 and other pathways, such as the JNK pathway, should be considered for targeting cancer inflammation.     

Redescription of the spider Haplodrassus caspius Ponomarev & Belosludtsev, 2008, with the first description of the male (Araneae: Gnaphosidae)

Haplodrassus caspius Ponomarev & Belosludtsev, 2008, previously known only from females from northern Ciscaspian, is redescribed on the basis of the types and newly collected material. The male of Haplodrassus caspius is described for the first time. New findings extend the known range of the species southwestward to Azerbaijan.     

A review of fur-mites of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dubininetta</Emphasis> Fain &amp; Lukoschus, 1978 (Acariformes: Listrophoridae), ectoparasites of moles (Soricomorpha: Talpidae)

The fur mite genus Dubininetta Fain & Lukoschus, 1978 (Acariformes: Listrophoridae) represented by ectoparasites of moles (Soricomorpha: Talpidae) is revised. An amended diagnosis of this genus is provided. Two new species are described from moles in Vietnam: Dubininetta euroscaptor n. sp. from Euroscaptor parvidens (Miller) and Dubininetta abramovi n. sp. from Euroscaptor subanura Kawada, Son & Can. The insufficiently described D. taiwanensis (Fain & Lukoschus, 1978) from Mogera insularis (Swinhoe) (type-host) is redescribed based on the type-specimens and numerous newly collected in the Russian Far East specimens from Mogera robusta Nehring. The host ranges are considered for all species of Dubininetta. A key to the five species presently known in this genus is provided.     

Two philometrids (Nematoda: Philometridae) infecting the tigertooth croaker Otolithes ruber (Bloch & Schneider) (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) off Iran, including erection of a new genus

Two philometrid nematodes (Philometridae) are described from the marine perciform fish (tigertooth croaker) Otolithes ruber (Bloch & Schneider) (Sciaenidae) from off Iran: Clavinemoides annulatus n. g., n. sp. based on female specimens from the caudal fin of fish from the Persian Gulf and Philometra otolithi Moravec & Manoharan, 2013 from subgravid and nongravid females collected from the ovary of fishes in the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The monotypic genus Clavinemoides n. g. is mainly characterised by a triangular oral aperture, a markedly large anterior oesophageal bulb, a distinctly annulated body and numerous fine elevated transverse cuticular bands. The finding of P. otolithi in Iranian waters represents a new geographical record of this parasite species. An updated key to the genera of the Philometrinae Baylis & Daubney, 1926 is provided.     

Redescription and molecular identification of Isospora feroxis Berto,Luz, Flausino,Ferreira & Lopes, 2009 (Eimeriidae) from tyrant-flycatchers (Tyrannoidea) in South America

Systematic Parasitology - In the present study Isospora feroxis Berto, Luz, Flausino, Ferreira &amp; Lopes, 2009 is redescribed from the photosyntypes and from new samples from a short-crested...     

Polymorphism and genetic diversity of Isospora parnaitatiaiensis Silva,Rodrigues, Lopes,Berto, Luz,Ferreira & Lopes, 2015 (Eimeriidae) from antbirds (Thamnophilidae) in Brazil

Systematic Parasitology - Isospora parnaitatiaiensis Silva, Rodrigues, Lopes, Berto, Luz, Ferreira &amp; Lopes, 2015 was identified from a new host, the plain antvireo Dysithamnus mentalis...