Species of Blastocystis Alexieff, 1911 are anaerobic intestinal protists found in humans and many kinds of animals that mainly cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and other clinical symptoms. At present, data on the prevalence and subtype diversity of species of Blastocystis in domestic rabbits are very limited. The purpose of this study was to characterise the infection rate and gene subtype distribution of Blastocystis sp. in domestic rabbits in Henan Province, Central China, and provide foundation for prevention and control of the disease caused by Blastocystis sp. in domestic rabbits. DNA was extracted from 286 fresh rabbit faecal samples collected from four areas of Henan Province, Central China. All DNA samples were screened using PCR and positive samples were sequenced to identify individual subtypes based on the small ribosomal subunit (SSU rRNA) gene. The overall infection rate of Blastocystis sp. in domestic rabbits in Henan Province was 15% (43/286). Three subtypes were identified, including ST1 (26/43, 60%), ST3 (5/43, 12%) and ST7 (12/43, 28%), all of which belonged to potentially zoonotic subtypes, ST1 was the dominant gene subtype. These results showed that infection with Blastocystis sp. was common in domestic rabbits in Henan Province, Central China, and was represented by zoonotic subtypes. Therefore, special attention should be paid to reduce the risk of transmission of Blastocystis sp. from domestic rabbits to humans.

Blastocystis is an anaerobic intestinal protozoan parasite found in humans and many kinds of animals that mainly causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and other clinical symptoms. At present, research on the prevalence and subtype diversity of Blastocystis in domestic pigeons is very limited. The purpose of this study was to detect the infection rate and gene subtype distribution of Blastocystis in domestic pigeons in Henan Province, Central China, to provide a foundation for preventing and controlling Blastocystis in domestic pigeons. Fecal DNA was extracted from 504 fresh fecal samples of pigeons collected from four areas in Henan Province, Central China. All DNA samples were investigated by polymerase chain reaction, and positive samples were sequenced to analyze the gene subtypes based on small ribosomal subunit (SSU rRNA) gene. The overall infection rate of Blastocystis in pigeons in Henan Province was 7.7% (39/504). Four subtypes (STs) of Blastocystis were identified including ST1 (2/39, 5.1%), ST3 (16/39, 41%), ST4 (1/39, 2.6%), and ST7 (20/39, 51.3%), all of which belonged to zoonotic subtypes, and ST7 was the dominant gene subtype. The results show that Blastocystis infection is common in domestic pigeons in Henan Province, Central China, and the pathogens were zoonotic subtypes. Particular attention should be given to reducing the risk of transmission of Blastocystis from domestic pigeons to humans.

Blastocystis sp. is one of the most common intestinal parasites in humans and many animals. To further understand the infection of Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) and the distribution of its genotype in some areas of Henan Province, China, 793 stool samples from outpatients and inpatients in Xinxiang City and Xinyang City, Henan Province were collected from April 2020 to July 2022. The samples were detected by polymerase chain reaction and analyzed by univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis. The results showed that the infection rates of B. hominis in Xinxiang and Xinyang were 10.97% (51/465) and 10.98% (36/328), respectively. Although there were no significant differences in B. hominis infection between gender, age, residence, and disease background, the incidence of hematochezia significantly differed from the incidence of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation among participants (χ2 = 15.795, p = 0.002). A total of 87 positive samples were sequenced and compared with Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, and five subtypes (ST1, ST3, ST4, ST6, and ST7) were identified, of which ST3 was the dominant subtype (63.22%, 55/87), followed by ST7 (17.24%, 15/87) and ST1 (16.09%, 14/87). This is the first study that analyzed the prevalence and subtype distribution of B. hominis in southern and northern Henan Province, thus providing new insights into the epidemiology of B. hominis.

As an immunosuppressive receptor, T-cell immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domain (TIGIT) play a critical part in cellular immune regulation mediated by pathogen infection. Whereas, TIGIT expression on splenic T cells in hosts infected with Toxoplasma gondii cysts has not been studied. In this study, we detected TIGIT expression and the changes of immune function in the spleen by flow cytometry and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). We found that TIGIT expression on splenic T cells increased significantly post infection. At the same time, splenic TIGIT+TCM cells were activated and transformed into TIGIT+TEM cells during the infection, and the cytotoxicity of TIGIT+ T cells was reduced in the later stage of infection. This study shows that chronic T. gondii infection can upregulate TIGIT expression on the surface of T cells and affect immune cell function.

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