加快寄防人才培养促进寄防事业发展

针对寄生虫病防治及人才队伍的现状,提出了加强专业教育、搞好在岗培训、提倡以老带新和鼓励在职自学等措施来加快寄防人才培养,促进寄防事业的发展。     

From chloroplasts to “cryptic” plastids: evolution of plastid genomes in parasitic plants

To date, more than 130 plastid genomes (plastomes) have been completely sequenced. Of those, 12 are strongly reduced plastid genomes from heterotrophic plants or plant-related species that exhibit a parasitic lifestyle. Half of these species are land plants while the other half consists of unicellular species that have evolved from photosynthetic algae. Due to their specialized lifestyle, parasitic lineages experienced a loss of evolutionary pressure on the plastid genome and, in particular, on the photosynthesis-related genes. This made them tolerant for the accumulation of detrimental mutations and deletions in plastid genes. That parasitic plants are naturally occurring plastome mutants makes them a rich source of information concerning plastome evolution and the mechanisms that are involved. This review reports on the progress made in recent years with parasitic plant plastomes and attempts to summarize what we can learn from analysing the genomes of functionally reduced, or cryptic, plastids. Particularly, the loss of genes for a plastid-encoded RNA polymerase as well as an intron maturase and the retention of the gene for the large subunit of the Calvin cycle enzyme Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) in selected species will be discussed.     

Malaria parasite carbonic anhydrase: inhibition of aromatic/heterocyclic sulfonamides and its therapeutic potential

Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) is responsible for the majority of life-threatening cases of human malaria, causing 1.5-2.7 million annual deaths. The global emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites necessitates identification and characterization of novel drug targets and their potential inhibitors. We identified the carbonic anhydrase (CA) genes in P. falciparum. The pfCA gene encodes anα-carbonic anhydrase, a Zn²⁺-metalloenzme, possessing catalytic properties distinct from that of the human host CA enzyme. The amino acid sequence of the pfCA enzyme is different from the analogous protozoan and human enzymes. A library of aromatic/heterocyclic sulfonamides possessing a large diversity of scaffolds were found to be very good inhibitors for the malarial enzyme at moderate-low micromolar and submicromolar inhibitions. The structure of the groups substituting the aromatic-ureido- or aromatic-azomethine fragment of the molecule and the length of the parent sulfonamide were critical parameters for the inhibitory properties of the sulfonamides. One derivative, that is, 4- (3, 4-dichlorophenylureido)thioureido-benzenesulfonamide (compound 10) was the most effective in vitro Plasmodium falciparum CA inhibitor, and was also the most effective antimalarial compound on the in vitro P. falciparum growth inhibition. The compound 10 was also effective in vivo antimalarial agent in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei, an animal model of drug testing for human malaria infection. It is therefore concluded that the sulphonamide inhibitors targeting the parasite CA may have potential for the development of novel therapies against human malaria.     

中国华支睾吸虫病主要流行区省级寄生虫病 防治机构能力调查

目的　了解中国华支睾吸虫病主要流行区省级寄生虫病防治机构人员现状和能力情况。方法　通过问卷调查,收集广东、广西、黑龙江和吉林4省（自治区）省级寄生虫病防治机构人员配备和能力情况,并进行分析。结果 　2018年广东、广西、黑龙江和吉林4省（自治区）共有37名寄生虫病防治人员,其中专职人员33人、兼职人员4人。广东和广西省级寄生虫病防治机构配备人员相对较多,分别有12人和16人;黑龙江和吉林配备人员较少,分别有3人和6人。37名寄生虫病防治人员中,≤ 35、＞ 35～45岁和＞ 45岁者分别占24.32%、37.84%和37.84%;男性占54.05%;学历以本科及以上为主（86.49%）;职称以中级及以上为主（78.38%）。负责华支睾吸虫病防治的人员有29人,但均同时参与其他寄生虫病防治工作。37名寄生虫病防治人员中,可进行加藤片制作和阅片者分别有33人和34人,能开展鱼体内囊蚴检测者30人,能开展免疫学和分子生物学实验者分别有24人和16人。参与省级课题研究者最多（26人）,其次为参与国家级课题研究者（19人）,但参与国际课题研究及承担课题者较少。34人（91.89%）参与过国家级寄生虫病培训,但仅12人（32.43%）参加过一周以上的培训。结论　广东、广西、黑龙江和吉林4省（自治区）省级寄生虫病防治机构人员配备相对较少,人员防治能力较强,但科研能力相对薄弱。     

Parasitic nodule of the thyroid in a patient with Graves’ disease

 We report a case of a parasitic nodule of the thyroid in a patient with Graves’ disease, which mimicked a lymph node metastasis from a primary occult thyroid carcinoma. The patient was a 67-year-old Japanese woman with a past history of subtotal thyroidectomy for Graves’ disease, who was referred to our hospital because of a right cervical mass. A lymph node-like lesion measuring 1.5 cm in diameter was palpable, distinct from the remnant of the right thyroid lobe. Thyroid scintigraphy using ¹²³I-Na revealed a hot lesion at the upper lateral portion of the right thyroid lobe, and this was resected. Microscopically, the mass showed thyroid follicles with lymphocytic infiltration and lymphoid follicles. Clear ground glass nuclei, nuclear grooving and intranuclear inclusions were not observed. No morphological evidence of the lymph node was found in the mass by reticulin staining. Parasitic nodules of the thyroid in patients with Graves’ disease may mimic a metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid. Received: 21 January 1998 / Accepted: 15 April 1998     

ICOS+ Th cells produce distinct cytokines in different mucosal immune responses

T cell activation, differentiation and effector functions depend on signals delivered through the antigen-specific TCR and non-clonal costimulatory receptors on the T cell. Activated T cells express the inducible costimulator (ICOS). We examined the co-expression of ICOS with Th cytokines in mucosal immune responses. ICOS+CD4+ Th cells expressed strikingly different cytokines depending on the type of infection encountered and the cells' anatomical localization. In the Th2-dominated response to Schistosoma mansoni, ICOS expression of CD4+ cells isolated from the liver was strongly associated with the expression of IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and T1/ST2, but not with the chemokine receptor CXCR5, a pattern consistent with Th2 effector cells. In the secondary lymphatic organs of schistosome-infected mice, ICOS expression was randomly correlated with Th2 effector-cytokines, but positively correlated with CXCR5 expression; a pattern consistent with follicular Th cells. In Th cells isolated from gut or liver of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii, ICOS expression was positively correlated with IFN-gamma production. Finally, in the severe combined immunodeficiency transfer colitis model, ICOS expression was strongly positively associated with IFN-gamma and IL-2. Thus, ICOS appears to costimulate distinct effector functions in different immune responses, depending on factors such as the nature of the antigen encountered and localization and chronicity of the immune response.