To screen potential nematophagous fungi candidates for the biological control of parasitic nematodes in livestock, in vitro and in vivo studies of the native isolates of nematophagous fungi against the larvae of trichostrongylides were conducted. The in vitro predatory activity of 16 native nematophagous fungal isolates on the larvae of trichostrongylides in sheep feces was assessed. In the ten isolates of Duddingtonia flagrans, the reduction percentage for the infective larvae (L3) of Trichostrongylus colubriformis ranged from 57.21 to 99.83%, and that of Haemonchus contortus ranged from 62.12 to 99.88%. The analysis of the same assay on five isolates of Arthrobotrys superba and one isolate of A. cookedickinson (Monacrosporium cystosporum) showed comparable results with those for D. flagrans. To determine the excretion time of fungal isolates in feces after oral administration, D. flagrans (SDH035) were studied in vivo in sheep and rabbits. Results showed that the tested fungal isolates existed in sheep feces from 12 to 72 h after fungal treatment, and the fungal excretion in rabbit feces occurred at 4 h, reached a peak at 10 h, and declined gradually 18 h after oral administration. All the native fungal isolates were assessed after passing through the gastrointestinal tract of sheep. Treatment with isolates of D. flagrans significantly reduced the number of developing larvae in the feces, and the efficacies ranged from 55.15 to 98.82%. One out of the five isolates of A. superba and A. cookedickinson (BS002) survived after passing through the gastrointestinal tract, and the L3 reduction rates were 83.79 and 81.33%, respectively. Results of the present study provide information about the in vitro predatory activity of nematophagous fungi from China on the L3 of trichostrongylides and their ability to pass through the gastrointestinal tract before administering them for biocontrol.

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Purpose: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is a common chronic glomerulonephritis and the main cause of end-stage renal diseases. Recent evidence suggests that mannan binding lectin associated serine proteases 2 (MASP2) is related to IgAN; therefore, we investigated the expression and significance of MASP2 in serum and urinary extracellular vesicles (UEVs) in patients with IgAN.Methods: Thirty-eight patients with IgAN and 17 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. UEVs were extracted by ultracentrifugation. The separation by ultra-high-speed centrifuge was verified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Candidate internal references (TSG101, CD9, flotillin, β-actin and GAPDH) were identified by western blotting in the control group, and the expression of MASP2 in the UEVs was compared. The levels of MASP2 in the serum and UEVs in the IgAN and control groups were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: TEM and NTA results demonstrated that UEVs were successfully extracted. Western blotting results confirmed that TSG101 was suitable as an internal reference for this study. Compared with the control group, the IgAN group showed positive expression of MASP2. MASP2 levels in the UEVs, determined by ELISA, showed significant differences between IgAN and control groups, which were significantly positively correlated with the level of urinary microalbumin.Conclusions: The level of MASP2 in UEVs was related to IgAN and shows promise as a biomarker for evaluating the severity of renal injury and prognosis of IgAN, thereby helping to elucidate the role of MASP2 in the mannan-binding lectin pathway.

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