Bloodmeal analysis in Culicoides midges collected near horses,donkeys and zebras in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

An upsurge in African horse sickness (AHS) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, from 2006 led to an epidemiological reassessment of the disease there. Light trapping surveys carried out near horses, donkeys and zebras in 2014–2016 collected 39 species of Culicoides midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) that are potential vectors of AHS. To establish if these midges fed on equids, DNA sequences were obtained from the gut contents of 52 female midges (35 freshly blood‐fed, 13 gravid and four parous), representing 11 species collected across 11 sites. Culicoides leucostictus fed on all three equids. Culicoides bolitinos, Culicoides imicola and Culicoides magnus fed on both horses and donkeys. Culicoides onderstepoortensis fed on donkeys, and Culicoides similis and Culicoides pycnostictus fed on zebras. Bloodmeals from cows, pigs, warthogs, impalas and a domestic dog were also identified in various species, but none of the midges tested had fed on birds. These results contribute to knowledge of the vectorial capacity of several species of Culicoides with regard to AHS in the Eastern Cape and point to potential reservoir hosts, of which donkeys, zebras and domestic dogs have previously been found to harbour AHS. Blood‐fed midges were also obtained throughout winter, indicating the potential for endemic AHS in the province.     

低氧低二氧化碳对大鼠脑血流的调节作用

低氧下脑血流与急性高原病有关,许多研究已证明,低氧不适应者的ＣＢＦ明显高于低氧适应者,而高原世居者则低于海平正常值。低氧下低动脉血二氧化碳分压有对抗低氧扩血管及降低ＣＢＦ的作用。因此研究低氧下低ＰａＣＯ２对ＣＢＦ的调节作用对于研究急性高原病的防治及其机理分析具有重要意义。本项研究目的：（１）揭示低氧下低ＰａＣＯ２与ＣＢＦ之间的关系;（２）通过增加通气量使ＰａＣＯ２下降至合适水平,以保护脑血流维持在     

减压病山羊纤维蛋白原肽链结构与空间构象的研究

本文报道了减压病山羊纤维蛋白原(FG)结构变化及减压病(DCS)气-血界面活性引起凝血反应的作用。雄性山羊15只,加压-减压发生Ⅰ或Ⅱ型DCS,采静脉血用冷乙醇提取血浆FG。经SDS-PG电泳和CM_(22)-色谱分离S-磺酸化FG,发现FG裂解肽段——带4和X、Y峰,(正常对照组无);经HPLC和组分分析发现FG含量和FG氨基酸残基数明显减少(P<0.05),表明FG参入凝血反应其肽链发生裂解。又经圆二色谱分析发现FG α-hilex％明显下降(P<0.01)。DCS山羊FG结构的改变,证实了气-血界面活性作用引起凝血反应。     

Reduction in Brain Glucose Utilization Rate after Tryptophol (3-Indole Ethanol) Treatment

Abstract: 3-Indole ethanol has been recently identified as the hypnotic agent in trypanosomal sleeping sickness, and because it is formed in vivo after ethanol or disulfiram treatment, it is also associated with the study of alcoholism. When administered intraperitoneally to rats (250 mg/kg) tryptophol induced a sleep-like state that lasted less than an hour (no righting reflex was apparent 2 min after injection, but it returned at 11 min in bovine serum albumin solution, and 47 min in 40% ethanol solution). In ethanol solutions, tryptophol reduced brain cortical glucose utilization by 55% to the basal brain metabolic rate, and this effect lasted less than 1 h. Synergistic effects of tryptophol and ethanol were suggested by the observation that in albumin solution, tryptophol reduced brain glucose utilization by 35%, but a normal rate was not observed until 2 h postinjection.     

Elevated serum and hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase in voles chronically infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

Chronic infections of voles (Microtus montanus) with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense result in marked elevations in both serum and hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase. Serum enzyme levels correlate poorly with hepatic levels but well with parasitemia. Because the trypanosome itself contains high levels of this same enzyme, it is hypothesized that lysis of extravascular parasites, possibly due to agglutination by variant-specific antibody, releases parasite enzymes into host tissues, resulting in the observed increase in serum enzyme levels. The possible role of increased tyrosine transamination in the behavioral syndrome of trypanosome-infected voles is considered.     

A genetic adaptive pattern＊low hemoglobin concentration in the himalayan highlanders

Mean hemoglobin （Hb） concentration of about 3 500 subjects derived from 17 studies of Himalayan highlanders （Tibetans, Sherpas, and Ladakhis） was compared with lowlanders （Chinese Han, Indian Tamils） lived in the Himalayas, and European climbers during Everest expeditions as well as Andean natives. The results found that Hb concentration in Himalayan highlanders was systemically lower than those reported for Andean natives and lowland immigrants. These comparative data demonstrated that a healthy native population may successfully reside at high altitude without a significant elevation in Hb, and the lower Hb levels of Himalayan highlanders than those of migrated lowlanders and Andean natives are an example of favourable adaptation over the generations. In addition, excessive polycythemia has frequently been used as a marker of chronic mountain sickness （CMS）. Altitude populations who have a higher Hb concentration also have a higher incidence of CMS. The low Hb in Himalayans suggested as showing adaptation over many generations in Tibetan stock. Recent work in Tibet, suggested that Tibetans there may have adapted to high altitude as a result of evolutionary pressure selecting for genes which give an advantage at altitude. All of the population genomic and statistical analysis indicated that EPAS1 and EGLN1 are mostly likely responsible for high altitude adaptation and closely related to low Hb concentration in Tibetans. These data supported the hypothesis that Himalayan highlanders have evolved a genetically different erythropoietic response to chronic hypoxia by virtue of their much longer exposure to high altitude.     

Oligopeptide Signaling through TbGPR89 Drives Trypanosome Quorum Sensing

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Enhanced endothelial nitric oxide-synthase activity in mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei

Infection of humans with Trypanosoma brucei causes sleeping sickness, which is invariably fatal if left untreated. The course of infection is characterised, among others, by multiple organ damage including cardiovascular dysfunctions such as hypotension and breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. The latter eventually leads to the parasite invasion into central nervous system and ultimately to the death of the patient. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesised from L-arginine via endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) is involved in the control of vascular tone and permeability. The present study explores the effect of T. brucei infection on the endothelium-dependent in vitro vasomotor response of isolated mouse aortas. Aorta rings were suspended in organ chambers for isometric tension recording. The endothelium-dependent NO-mediated relaxation in response to acetylcholine (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) was markedly enhanced in the infected mice compared to controls (P<0.05), whereas the endothelium-independent vasodilation to an exogenous NO-donor, sodium nitroprusside, was comparable in both groups. Norepinephrine-stimulated contraction was also comparable in the absence or presence of the NO-synthase inhibitor N(omega)-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 10(-4)M) in both groups. The enhanced endothelium-dependent relaxation in the infected mice correlated well with a 3.5-fold increase in eNOS protein level in these aortas as compared to those of control mice (P=0.05). Thus, T. brucei infection enhances eNOS protein expression in the endothelium, causing a pronounced vasodilation. Overproduction of NO in trypanosomiasis may be involved in the observed generalised hypotension and in an increased vascular permeability that facilitates T. brucei invasion into surrounding tissues and its penetration into the central nervous system in later phases of infection.