- Home
- Collections
- Hookworm
Hookworm
Collection Contents
-
-
Molecular cloning and purification of Ac-TMP, a developmentally regulated putative tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease released in relative abundance by adult Ancylostoma hookworms.
Pages: 238–244More LessA cDNA encoding a putative tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease was cloned from an Ancylostoma caninum adult hookworm cDNA library by immunoscreening with anti-hookworm secretory products antiserum. Ac-TMP (A. caninum tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase) is encoded by a 480-bp mRNA with a predicted open reading frame of 140 amino acids (molecular weight, 16,100 Da) that contains one potential N-linked glycosylation site and an N-terminal Cys-X-Cys consensus sequence. The open reading frame corresponds to a putative hookworm tissue inhibitor of metalloproteases (TIMP) with 33% identity and 50% similarity to the N-terminal domain of human TIMP-2. Analysis by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction indicates that transcription of Ac-tmp is restricted to the adult stage. The protein was isolated from A. caninum adult secretory products by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and identified as one of the most abundant proteins released by the parasite. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a TIMP from a parasitic invertebrate.
-
-
-
Malaria, intestinal parasites, and schistosomiasis among Barawan Somali refugees resettling to the United States: a strategy to reduce morbidity and decrease the risk of imported infections.
Pages: 115–121More LessIn 1997, enhanced health assessments were performed for 390 (10%) of approximately 4,000 Barawan refugees resettling to the United States. Of the refugees who received enhanced assessments, 26 (7%) had malaria parasitemia and 128 (38%) had intestinal parasites, while only 2 (2%) had Schistosoma haematobium eggs in the urine. Mass therapy for malaria (a single oral dose of 25 mg/kg of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) was given to all Barawan refugees 1-2 days before resettlement. Refugees >2 years of age and nonpregnant women received a single oral dose of 600 mg albendazole for intestinal parasite therapy. If mass therapy had not been provided, upon arrival in the United States an estimated 280 (7%) refugees would have had malaria infections and 1,500 (38%) would have had intestinal parasites. We conclude that enhanced health assessments provided rapid on-site assessment of parasite prevalence and helped decrease morbidity among Barawan refugees, as well as, the risk of imported infections.
-