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Background. Wuchereria bancrofti is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis transmitted by mosquito vectors. In the vector-parasite interaction and among other proteins, actin-1 has been implicated for successful transmission of the pathogen in laboratory-controlled experiments. However, validation of this finding from the pathogen’s natural environment is required. Objective. This study is aimed at evaluating actin-1 expression upon Wuchereria bancrofti infection in mosquito vectors collected during an epidemiology study in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nigeria. Methods. Mosquitoes were collected and identified using morphological keys, which include length of maxillary palps, pale spots on the wings, and scale patterns on the abdomen. This was followed by detection of the 188 bp SspI marker of Wuchereria bancrofti infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mRNA levels of the actin-1 gene were evaluated in the infected Anopheles gambiae sl and Culex quinquefasciatus and their controls, which were adult reared from the larvae in the study area. Results. The mosquitoes were identified to be Anopheles gambiae sl and Culex quinquefasciatus, while infection by Wuchereria bancrofti was confirmed by amplification of the 188 bp SspI marker. A 4.85 and 4.09 relative fold increase in actin-1 gene expression in Wuchereria bancrofti-infected Anopheles gambiae sl and Culex quinquefasciatus was observed. Thus, for the first time we reported that the actin-1 gene in wild caught mosquito vectors (Anopheles gambiae sl and Culex quinquefasciatus) infected with Wuchereria bancrofti is upregulated. Conclusion. The actin-1 gene is upregulated and similarly expressed during W. bancrofti infection in mosquito vectors in the study area and this may likely serve as a biomarker and viable strategy for the control of parasite transmission in endemic areas.

Cancer is a prime public health burden that accounts for approximately 9.9 million deaths worldwide. Despite recent advances in treatment regimen and huge capital investment in the pharmaceutical sector, there has been little success in improving the chances of survival of cancer patients. Drug repurposing sometimes termed drug repositioning is a strategy of discovery and redeveloping existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes. This novel approach is highly efficient, considerably cuts research and development costs, reduces the drug development timeline, maximizes therapeutic value and consequently increases success rate with minimum risk of failure. In this review, prioritizing drug repurposing to activate immune and inflammatory responses to target tumor cells through immune surveillance mechanism is a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Cancer immunotherapy cover myriad of therapeutic approaches as cytokine therapy, immune checkpoint blockade therapy, cancer vaccines, natural killer cells, adoptive T cell therapies, monoclonal antibodies, oncolytic viruses, computational approach and host of others. In the current pipeline, drug repurposing is devoid of adequate funding and the necessary legal support for research and development by stakeholders. At the moment, immunotherapy strategies combine with computational biology could be considered the new milestone in drug re-profiling for cancer treatment.

Degradation of homologous mRNA in some cells or organisms is possible through the introduction of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), via a process called RNA interference (RNAi). The dsRNAs are processed into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) which consequently bind to the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), and causes degradation of target mRNAs. RNAi has been widely used to study gene modifications and functions hence has the possibility to control disease pathogens or vectors. This promising potential led researchers to discovery gene control mechanisms in tropical diseases, by manipulating genes of pathogens and vectors, protozoans, animal parasitic helminthes and disease-transmitting vectors, such as insects. Many pathogens and vectors cause severe parasitic diseases in tropical regions and it is challenging to control them once the host has been invaded intracellular. The aim of this work is to show how RNA interference can be used as treatment candidate for controlling some neglected tropical disease as it is highly effective in impeding parasitic development and their proliferation within their host.Keywords: Mosquitoes, Parasitic protozoa, Helminthes, Insect vector