Background and Purpose:Diabetic patients are more susceptible to oral candidiasis infection than non-diabetics due to the factors promoting oral carriage of Candida. Several factors can increase colonization of Candida species in the oral cavity such as xerostomia, which reduces the salivary flow and is a salivary pH disorder. In the current study, we aimed to identify and compare the colonization level of Candida spp. in the oral cavity of diabetic and non-diabetic groups. Materials and Methods:Swabs were taken from the mouth of 106 participants and were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) medium. Likewise, the saliva samples were collected for salivary glucose and pH measurements. The study was performed during June 2014-September 2015 on two groups of diabetic patients (n=58) and non-diabetics (n=48) as the control group. The Candida spp. were identified with PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) using the restriction enzymes HinfI and MspI and were differentiated by culture on CHROMagar Candida medium. Results:The frequency of Candida spp. was higher in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics. The most frequent Candida spp. in the diabetic patients were Candida albicans (%36.2), C. Krusei (%10.4), C. Glabrata (%5.1), and C. tropcalis .(%3.4)Likewise, C. albicans was the most frequent species (%27) in the non-diabetic individuals. In this study, the results of both methods for identification of the isolates were consistent with each other.Conclusion:Xerostomia and disturbance of physiological factors including pH and glucose can promote overgrowth of Candida flora in the oral cavity. These factors are considered important predisposing factors for oral candidiasis in diabetic patients. In the present study, it was observed that application of CHROMagar Candida and PCR-RFLP methods at the same time contributes to more accurate identification of isolates.

Background:PCR has been used for confirmation of leishmaniasis in epidemiological studies, but complexity of DNA extraction and PCR approach has confined its routine use in developing countries.Objectives:In this study, recent epidemiological situation of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in two hyper-endemic metropolises of Shiraz and Isfahan in Iran was studied using DNA extraction by commercial FTA cards and kinetoplastid DNA (kDNA)-PCR amplification for detection/identification of Leishmania directly from stained skin scraping imprints.Patients and Methods:Fifty four and 30 samples were collected from clinically diagnosed CL patients referred to clinical laboratories of leishmaniasis control centers in Isfahan and Shiraz cities, respectively. The samples were examined by direct microscopy and then scrapings of the stained smears were applied to FTA cards and used directly as DNA source in a nested-PCR to amplify kDNA to detect and identify Leishmania species.Results:Fifty four of 84 (64.2%) slides obtained from patients had positive results microscopically, while 79/84 (94%) of slides had positive results by FTA card-nested-PCR. PCR and microscopy showed a sensitivity of 96.4% and 64.2% and specificity of 100% and 100%, respectively. Interestingly, Leishmania major as causative agent of zoonotic CL was identified in 100% and 90.7% of CL cases from Isfahan and Shiraz cities, respectively, but L. tropica was detected from only 9.3% of cases from Shiraz city. All cases from central regions of Shiraz were L. tropica and no CL case was found in Isfahan central areas.Conclusions:Filter paper-based DNA extraction can facilitate routine use of PCR for diagnosis of CL in research and diagnostic laboratories in Iran and countries with similar conditions. Epidemiologic changes including dominancy of L. major in suburbs of Shiraz and Isfahan metropolises where anthroponotic CL caused by L. tropica had been established, showed necessity of precise studies on CL epidemiology in old urban and newly added districts in the suburbs.

Background: Esfahan Province is considered as one of the main focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. Recently, ZCL distribution is expanding through this province leading to report of new cases in non-endemic areas. In the current study epidemiological aspects of ZCL has been investigated in Naein County in Esfahan Province. Methods: Adult sand flies were collected from beginning to the end of their seasonal activity. Rodents were caught by Sherman live traps once a month for one year. To active case detection, a hundred households in each selected village were visited in November and December 2016. Nested-PCR was employed to detect Leishmania parasite in the vector, reservoir and human. Results: Totally 1562 sand flies including Phlebotomus sergenti, Phlebotomus papatasi, Sergentomyia sintoni and Sergentomyia mervinae were collected and identified. No Leishmania infection was detected in the collected sand flies. All of the 30 collected rodents were identified as Rhombomys opimus, and of these 3.3% and 26.7% were infected by Leishmania major using microscopic and molecular technique respectively. Totally, 914 individuals were investigated and the ulcer and scar rates of ZCL calculated to be at 1.1 and 15.3 per 1000 population, respectively. Molecular results confirmed L. major infection in human and reservoir samples. Conclusion: It is concluded that ZCL is established in the area in low endemicity, and it is extrapolated the disease will not be a serious increasing health problem in the near future in this region.

Background Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a disease caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato  (s.l.). The treatment of CE mainly relies on the use of benzimidazoles, which can commonly cause adverse side effects. Therefore, more efficient treatment options are needed. Drug repurposing is a useful approach for advancing drug development. We have evaluated the in vitro protoscolicidal effects of tropisetron and granisetron in E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) and assessed the expression of the calcineurin (CaN) and calmodulin (CaM) genes, both of which have been linked to cellular signaling activities and thus are potentially promising targets for the development of drugs. Methods Protoscoleces (PSC) of E. granulosus (s.s.) (genotype G1) obtained from sheep hepatic hydatid cysts were exposed to tropisetron and granisetron at concentrations of 50, 150 and 250 µM for various periods of time up to 10 days. Cyclosporine A (CsA) and albendazole sulfoxide were used for comparison. Changes in the morphology of PSC were investigated by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Gene expression was assessed using real-time PCR at the mRNA level for E. granulosus calcineurin subunit A (Eg-CaN-A), calcineurin subunit B (Eg-CaN-B) and calmodulin (Eg-CaM) after a 24-h exposure at 50 and 250 µM, respectively. Results At 150 and 250 µM, tropisetron had the highest protoscolicidal effect, whereas CsA was most effective at 50 µM. Granisetron, however, was less effective than tropisetron at all three concentrations. Examination of morphological alterations revealed that the rate at which PSC were killed increased with increasing rate of PSC evagination, as observed in PSC exposed to tropisetron. Gene expression analysis revealed that tropisetron at 50 μM significantly upregulated Eg-CaN-B and Eg-CaM expression while at 250 μM it significantly downregulated both Eg-CaN-B and Eg-CaM expressions; in comparison, granisetron decreased the expression of all three genes at both concentrations. Conclusions Tropisetron exhibited a higher efficacy than granisetron against E. granulosus (s.s.) PSC, which is probably due to the different mechanisms of action of the two drugs. The concentration-dependent effect of tropisetron on calcineurin gene expression might reflect its dual functions, which should stimulate future research into its mechanism of action and evaluation of its potential therapeutical effect in the treatment of CE. Graphic Abstract

Background:In recent years, triazole-resistant environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus have emerged in Europe and Asia. Azole resistance has been reported in patients who are treated with long-term azole therapy or exposure of the fungus spores to the azole fungicides used in agriculture. To date, a wide range of mutations in A. fumigatus have been described conferring azole-resistance, which commonly involves modifications in the cyp51A gene. We investigated antifungal susceptibility pattern of environmental isolates of A. fumigatus.Materials and Methods:In this study, 170 environmental samples collected from indoors surfaces of three hospitals in Iran. It was used β-tubulin gene to confirm the all of A. fumigatus isolates, which was identified by conventional methods. Furthermore, the antifungal susceptibility of itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole was investigated using broth microdilution test, according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility testing reference method.Results:From a total of 158 environmental molds fungi obtained from the hospitals, 58 isolates were identified as A. fumigatus by amplification of expected size of β-tubulin gene (~500 bp). In this study, in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing has shown that there were not high minimum inhibitory concentration values of triazole antifungals in all of the 58 environmental isolates of A. fumigatus.Conclusion:Our findings demonstrated that there was not azole-resistant among environmental isolates of A. fumigatus. Medical triazoles compounds have structural similarity with triazole fungicide compounds in agriculture, therefore, resistance development through exposure to triazole fungicide compounds in the environment is important but it sounds there is not a serious health problem in drug resistance in environmental isolates in Iran.