In recent times, some common "non-pathogenic" parasites, such as Blastocystis and Dientamoeba fragilis, have been associated to the aetiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), while host pro-inflammatory cytokine gene polymorphisms might have a role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Therefore, Blastocystis subtypes (ST), D. fragilis and gene promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in IBS patients and controls were studied. After giving written consent, 45 patients with symptoms of IBS according to the Rome III criteria and 45 controls were enrolled. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood for SNP analysis at position -174 for IL-6 as well as -238 and -308 for TNF-α. Blastocystis was more common in the IBS group (p = 0.043). Interestingly, D. fragilis was found more frequently in the control group (p = 0.002); Blastocystis ST1 and 3 were most frequent in both groups. Haploview analysis revealed linkage disequilibrium in TNF-α (p < 0.0001); however, none of the SNPs for IL-6 and TNF-α were found to be significantly related with IBS. The clinical and molecular approaches undertaken for the first time in Latin American IBS patients demonstrated an association with Blastocystis that supports a pathogenic role of this parasite in IBS Furthermore, co-infections with ST1 and ST3 were frequent; thus, the genetic diversity proposed within ST polymorphisms does not rule out that particular strains might be associated with disease. In addition, our results do not support a major contribution of IL-6 and TNF-α gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to IBS.

No abstract

Here, we review the human botfly (Dermatobia hominis), which belongs to a group of Diptera generically known as "myiasis-causing flies," characterized by the ability of their larvae to develop in animal flesh. In addition to its medical and economic importance, there is an academic interest in this botfly because of its peculiar biology, particularly because a phoretic diptera is needed to complete the life cycle. The larvae penetrate the host's skin, causing furuncle-like lesions that are pruritic, painful, and resemble subcutaneous nodules, producing irreversible perforations in the skin. Although D. hominis is distributed from Mexico to Argentina, a review performed by our working group from 1999 to 2015 determined that the countries with the highest infection rates in travelers are Belize, Bolivia, and Brazil. Interestingly, infected men show a higher variation in the distribution of the lesions than in women. Many treatment schemes have been suggested, including the application of highly dense liquids to the lesion to cause anoxia in the D. hominis larvae. We showed, for the first time, a Bayesian inference between D. hominis and other myiasis-causing flies. The flies grouped into two main clusters according to their capacity to produce facultative and obligatory myiasis, and D. hominis was phylogenetically close to Cuterebra spp.

Abstract. The nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome B gene and the antennal phenotypes were analyzed for the following triatomine species: Triatoma longipennis, Triatoma pallidipennis, and Triatoma picturata , which belong to the Phyllosoma complex. These species inhabit sympatric areas from Talpa de Allende, Autlan de Navarro, and Teocuitatlan de Corona in Jalisco, Mexico. Molecular marker analysis showed that the sympatric individuals are the natural crossbred descendents of different individuals living in close proximity in these natural areas that resulted in mixed populations. The antennal phenotype results are coincident with these genetic findings, which point to the high similitude between all Phyllosoma complex populations analyzed. These data support the hypothesis that these species are morphotypes with chromatic and genetic varieties, which preserves the possibility of natural breeding with fertile descent. In conclusion, our results strongly support the hypothesis that T. pallidipennis, T. longipennis, and T. picturata are subspecies of the Phyllosoma complex.

Abstract. The triatomines vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi are principal factors in acquiring Chagas disease. For this reason, increased knowledge of domestic transmission of T. cruzi and control of its insect vectors is necessary. To contribute to genetic knowledge of North America Triatominae species, we studied genetic variations and conducted phylogenetic analysis of different triatomines species of epidemiologic importance. Our analysis showed high genetic variations between different geographic populations of Triatoma mexicana, Meccus longipennis, M. mazzottii, M. picturatus, and T. dimidiata species, suggested initial divergence, hybridation, or classifications problems. In contrast, T. gerstaeckeri, T. bolivari, and M. pallidipennis populations showed few genetics variations. Analysis using cytochrome B and internal transcribed spacer 2 gene sequences indicated that T. bolivari is closely related to the Rubrofasciata complex and not to T. dimidiata. Triatoma brailovskyi and T. gerstaeckeri showed a close relationship with Dimidiata and Phyllosoma complexes.

Entamoeba gingivalis is a protozoan that resides in the oral cavity. Using molecular biology techniques, we identified a novel organism that shares the same ecological niche as E. gingivalis. To differentiate this organism from E. gingivalis, we named it “kamaktli variant.” By sequencing the 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rRNA region, we demonstrated that kamaktli variant is 89% identical to E. gingivalis. To elucidate the relationship between kamaktli variant and E. gingivalis, we performed a phylogenetic analysis. Both taxa clustered in the same clade with high support, indicating that the amoebas are closely related (98/99/1.00, maximum parsimony/maximum likelihood/MrBayes, respectively). Given this information, we propose that these molecular differences between kamaktli variant and E. gingivalis ST1 are sufficient to distinguish them as independent subtypes, and we name the new subtype “E. gingivalis ST2, kamaktli variant.”

Graphical abstract

Blastocystis spp is a common intestinal parasite of humans and animals that has been associated to the etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, some studies have not found this association. Furthermore, many biological features of Blastocystis are little known. The objective of present study was to assess the generation times of Blastocystis cultures, from IBS patients and from asymptomatic carriers. A total of 100 isolates were obtained from 50 IBS patients and from 50 asymptomatic carriers. Up to 50 mg of feces from each participant were cultured in Barret’s and in Pavlova’s media during 48 h. Initial and final parasitological load were measured by microscopy and by quantitative PCR. Amplicons were purified, sequenced and submitted to GenBank; sequences were analysed for genetic diversity and a Bayesian inference allowed identifying genetic subtypes (ST). Generation times for Blastocystis isolates in both media, based on microscopic measures and molecular assays, were calculated. The clinical symptoms of IBS patients and distribution of Blastocystis ST 1, 2 and 3 in both groups was comparable to previous reports. Interestingly, the group of cases showed scarce mean nucleotide diversity (π) as compared to the control group (0.011±0.016 and 0.118±0.177, respectively), whilst high gene flow and small genetic differentiation indexes between different ST were found. Besides, Tajima’s D test showed negative values for ST1-ST3. No statistical differences regarding parasitological load between cases and controls in both media, as searched by microscopy and by qPCR, were detected except that parasites grew faster in Barret’s than in Pavlova’s medium. Interestingly, slow growth of isolates recovered from cases in comparison to those of controls was observed (p<0.05). We propose that generation times of Blastocystis might be easily affected by intestinal environmental changes due to IBS probably because virulent strains with slow growth may be selected, reducing their genetic variability.