Deglycosylation of Excretory-Secretory Antigens of the Second-Stage Larvae of Toxocara cati Improves Its Efficacy in the Diagnosis of Human Toxocariasis

Pouryousef, Ali; Sarkari, Bahador; Alavi, Amir Mootabi; Omidian, Mostafa; Mikaeili, Fattaneh

doi:10.1155/2023/3024063

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Unfortunately, until today the diagnosis of toxocariasis has not been easy. In clinical settings, apart from typical clinical signs of VLM or OT and a compatible exposure history [ 16 ], serological tests are available for the detection of antibodies against Toxocara larvae in infected patients, but cannot distinguish acute infection, chronic infection and exposure [ 17 – 19 ]. Molecular tools including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been established on the basis of the amplification of specific DNA fragments of Toxocara larvae (usually the first and second internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene) from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or cerebrospinal fluid of suspected patients [ 20 – 22 ], which are highly invasive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alterations of plasma circulating microRNAs in BALB/c mice with Toxocara canis visceral and cerebral larva migrans

Yang,

Chen,

Zheng

et al. 2024

Parasites Vectors

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Background Human toxocariasis is a neglected parasitic disease characterised by the syndromes visceral, cerebral, and ocular larva migrans. This disease is caused by the migrating larvae of Toxocara roundworms from dogs and cats, affecting 1.4 billion people globally. Via extracellular vesicles (EVs), microRNAs have been demonstrated to play roles in host–parasite interactions and proposed as circulating biomarkers for the diagnosis and follow-up of parasitic diseases. Methods Small RNA-seq was conducted to identify miRNAs in the infective larvae of T. canis and plasma EV-containing preparations of infected BALB/c mice. Differential expression analysis and target prediction were performed to indicate miRNAs involved in host–parasite interactions and miRNAs associated with visceral and/or cerebral larva migrans in the infected mice. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify circulating miRNAs from the infected mice. Results This study reports host and parasite miRNAs in the plasma of BALB/c mice with visceral and cerebral larva migrans and demonstrates the alterations of these miRNAs during the migration of larvae from the livers through the lungs and to the brains of infected mice. After filtering unspecific changes in an irrelevant control, T. canis-derived miRNAs and T. canis infection-induced differential miRNAs are predicted to modulate genes consistently involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling and pathways regulating axon guidance and pluripotency of stem in the infected mice with visceral and cerebral larva migrans. For these plasma circulating miRNAs predicted to be involved in host-parasite crosstalk, two murine miRNAs (miR-26b-5p and miR-122-5p) are experimentally verified to be responsive to larva migrans and represent circulating biomarker candidates for visceral and cerebral toxocariasis in BALB/c mice. Conclusions Our findings provide novel insights into the crosstalk of T. canis and the mammalian host via plasma circulating miRNAs, and prime agents and indicators for visceral and cerebral larva migrans. A deep understanding of these aspects will underpin the diagnosis and control of toxocariasis in humans and animals. Graphical Abstract

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