Innovative Therapeutic Strategies for Neglected and Emerging Disease

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 4144

Special Issue Editors

The University of Chicago Medical Center, 5841 S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Centre de Coalition d’Innovation de Préparation aux Epidémies au Maroc, Mohammed VI polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
Interests: neglected and emergent diseases; virus; vaccine; treatment; chemoinformatics; zoonoses; antivirals; pathogen–host interactions; innate immunity; epidemiology
Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61802, USA
Interests: parasitic protozoa; host–parasite interactions; novel antiparasitic agents
Department of Virology, National Reference Laboratory for HIV, National Institute of Hygiene, Rabat, Morocco
Interests: HIV infection; measles prevention; surveillance; vaccination coverage
Molecular Microbiology laboratory and Coalition Center UM6P: Mohammed VI polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
Interests: host–microbe interactions; bacterial virulence mechanisms; type III secretion system; shigellosis; functional gene analysis; neglected infection diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications related to human systemic protozoal infections that are the cause of different neglected and emergent diseases. This topic is broken down into three subtopics with the aim to discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these diseases.

  1. Intestinal protozoa: Cryptosporidium, Eimeria, Coccidia, Isospora, Giardia, Entamoeba;
  2. Blood protozoa: Plasmodium, Babesia, African Trypanosomes;
  3. Systemic protozoa: Toxoplasma, Neospora, Sarcocystis, Trichomonas, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania.

Neglected and emergent diseases remain a significant public health and economic burden worldwide. The threat is further deepened by the continued emergence of new (most of which are zoonotic), unrecognized, and old infectious disease epidemics of global impact. Climate change, globalization of trade and travel, and recrudescence across time of different pathogens presents a challenge to the management of these diseases. The need of treatment or vaccines is an urgent task for the parasite research community. This research topic will provide an adequate multidisciplinary platform for the interchange of valuable information (both basic and applied research) that feeds the next wave of drug and vaccine development. This Special Issue will present recent updates on emerging and neglected infectious diseases organized in the three subtopics mentioned above and highlight the scope, dynamics, and advances in infectious disease management.

The Special Issue will bring together different approaches and innovative discoveries in different diseases to look for solutions to the current problems of infectious diseases.

Dr. Kamal El Bissati
Dr. William Harold Witola
Dr. Hicham Oumzil
Dr. Abdelmounaaim Allaoui
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • human systemic protozoal infections
  • intestinal protozoa
  • blood protozoa
  • systemic protozoa
  • parasite

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 9663 KiB  
Article
Characterization of the RNA-Binding Protein TcSgn1 in Trypanosoma cruzi
by Camila Oliveira, André P. Gerber, Samuel Goldenberg and Lysangela R. Alves
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 986; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9050986 - 02 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1895
Abstract
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) participate in several steps of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, such as splicing, messenger RNA transport, mRNA localization, and translation. Gene-expression regulation in trypanosomatids occurs primarily at the post-transcriptional level, and RBPs play important roles in the process. Here, we [...] Read more.
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) participate in several steps of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, such as splicing, messenger RNA transport, mRNA localization, and translation. Gene-expression regulation in trypanosomatids occurs primarily at the post-transcriptional level, and RBPs play important roles in the process. Here, we characterized the RBP TcSgn1, which contains one RNA recognition motif (RRM). TcSgn1 is a close ortholog of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein ScSgn1, which plays a role in translational regulation in the cytoplasm. We found that TcSgn1 in Trypanosoma cruzi is localized in the nucleus in exponentially growing epimastigotes. By performing immunoprecipitation assays of TcSgn1, we identified hundreds of mRNAs associated with the protein, a significant fraction of them coding for nucleic acids binding, transcription, and endocytosis proteins. In addition, we show that TcSgn1 is capable of interacting directly with the poly(A) tail of the mRNAs. The study of parasites under nutritional stress showed that TcSgn1 was localized in cytoplasmic granules in addition to localizing in the nucleus. Similar to ScSgn1, we observed that TcSgn1 also interacts with the PABP1 protein, suggesting that this protein may play a role in regulating gene expression in T. cruzi. Taken together, our results show that RNA-binding protein TcSgn1 is part of ribonucleoprotein complexes associated with nuclear functions, stress response, and RNA metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Therapeutic Strategies for Neglected and Emerging Disease)
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12 pages, 3372 KiB  
Article
Adherence of Trichomonas vaginalis to SiHa Cells is Inhibited by Diphenyleneiodonium
by Yeeun Kim, Young Ha Lee, In-Wook Choi, Bu Yeon Heo, Ju-Gyeong Kang, Jae-Min Yuk, Guang-Ho Cha, Eun-Kyeong Jo and Jaeyul Kwon
Microorganisms 2020, 8(10), 1570; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms8101570 - 13 Oct 2020
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Abstract
Microbial adhesion is critical for parasitic infection and colonization of host cells. To study the host–parasite interaction in vitro, we established a flow cytometry-based assay to measure the adherence of Trichomonas vaginalis to epithelial cell line SiHa. SiHa cells and T. vaginalis were [...] Read more.
Microbial adhesion is critical for parasitic infection and colonization of host cells. To study the host–parasite interaction in vitro, we established a flow cytometry-based assay to measure the adherence of Trichomonas vaginalis to epithelial cell line SiHa. SiHa cells and T. vaginalis were detected as clearly separated, quantifiable populations by flow cytometry. We found that T. vaginalis attached to SiHa cells as early as 30 min after infection and the binding remained stable up to several hours, allowing for analysis of drug treatment efficacy. Importantly, NADPH oxidase inhibitor DPI treatment induced the detachment of T. vaginalis from SiHa cells in a dose-dependent manner without affecting host cell viability. Thus, this study may provide an understanding for the potential development of therapies against T. vaginalis and other parasite infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Therapeutic Strategies for Neglected and Emerging Disease)
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