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Eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2030 requires a better understanding of the disease transmission, especially the asymmetric distribution of worm burden in individuals living and sharing the same environment. It is in this light that this study was designed to identify human genetic determinants associated with high burden of S. mansoni and also with the plasma concentrations of IgE and four cytokines in children from two schistosomiasis endemic areas of Cameroon. In school-aged children of schistosomiasis endemic areas of Makenene and Nom-Kandi of Cameroon, S. mansoni infections and their infection intensities were evaluated in urine and stool samples using respectively the Point-of-care Circulating Cathodic Antigen test (POC-CCA) and the Kato Katz (KK) test. Thereafter, blood samples were collected in children harbouring high burden of schistosome infections as well as in their parents and siblings. DNA extracts and plasma were obtained from blood. Polymorphisms at 14 loci of five genes were assessed using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and amplification-refractory mutation system. The ELISA test enabled to determine the plasma concentrations of IgE, IL-13, IL-10, IL-4 and IFN-γ. The prevalence of S. mansoni infections was significantly higher (P < 0.0001 for POC-CCA; P = 0.001 for KK) in Makenene (48.6% for POC-CCA and 7.9% for KK) compared to Nom-Kandi (31% for POC-CCA and 4.3% for KK). The infection intensities were also higher (P < 0.0001 for POC-CCA; P = 0.001 for KK) in children from Makenene than those from Nom-Kandi. The allele C of SNP rs3024974 of STAT6 was associated with an increased risk of bearing high burden of S. mansoni both in the additive (p = 0.009) and recessive model (p = 0.01) while the allele C of SNP rs1800871 of IL10 was protective (p = 0.0009) against high burden of S. mansoni. The alleles A of SNP rs2069739 of IL13 and G of SNP rs2243283 of IL4 were associated with an increased risk of having low plasma concentrations of IL-13 (P = 0.04) and IL-10 (P = 0.04), respectively. This study showed that host genetic polymorphisms may influence the outcome (high or low worm burden) of S. mansoni infections and also the plasma concentrations of some cytokines., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A good understanding of tsetse fly population structure and migration is essential to optimize the control of sleeping sickness. This can be done by studying the genetics of tsetse fly populations. In this work, we estimated the genetic differentiation within and among geographically separated Glossina palpalis palpalis populations from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast. We determined the demographic history of these populations and assessed phylogenetic relationships among individuals of this sub-species. A total of 418 tsetse flies were analysed: 258 were collected in four locations in Cameroon (Bipindi, Campo, Fontem and Bafia), 100 from Azaguié and Nagadoua in Ivory Coast and 60 from Malanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We examined genetic variation at three mitochondrial loci: COI, COII-TLII, and 16S2. 34 haplotypes were found, of which 30 were rare, since each was present in <5% of the total number of individuals. No haplotype was shared among Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo populations. The fixation index F ST of 0.88 showed a high genetic distance between Glossina palpalis palpalis populations from the three countries. That genetic distance was correlated to the geographic distance between populations. We also found that there is substantial gene flow between flies from locations separated by over 100 km in Cameroon and between flies from locations separated by over 200 km in Ivory Coast. Demographic parameters suggest that the tsetse flies from Fontem (Cameroon) had reduced in population size in the recent past. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that Glossina palpalis palpalis originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are genetically divergent from the two other countries as already published in previous studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense causes human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). Between 1990 and 2015, almost 440000 cases were reported. Large-scale screening of populations at risk, drug donations, and efforts by national and international stakeholders have brought the epidemic under control with <2200 cases in 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the goals of gambiense-HAT elimination as a public health problem for 2020, and of interruption of transmission to humans for 2030. Latent human infections and possible animal reservoirs may challenge these goals. It remains largely unknown whether, and to what extend, they have an impact on gambiense-HAT transmission. We argue that a better understanding of the contribution of human and putative animal reservoirs to gambiense-HAT epidemiology is mandatory to inform elimination strategies., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Human and animal trypanosomiases are two major constraints to development in Africa. These diseases are mainly transmitted by tsetse flies in particular by Glossina palpalis palpalis in Western and Central Africa. To set up an effective vector control campaign, prior population genetics studies have proved useful. Previous studies on population genetics of G. p. palpalis using microsatellite loci showed high heterozygote deficits, as compared to Hardy-Weinberg expectations, mainly explained by the presence of null alleles and/or the mixing of individuals belonging to several reproductive units (Wahlund effect). In this study we implemented a system of trapping, consisting of a central trap and two to four satellite traps around the central one to evaluate a possible role of the Wahlund effect in tsetse flies from three Cameroon human and animal African trypanosomiases foci (Campo, Bipindi and Fontem). We also estimated effective population sizes and dispersal. No difference was observed between the values of allelic richness, genetic diversity and Wright's FIS, in the samples from central and from satellite traps, suggesting an absence of Wahlund effect. Partitioning of the samples with Bayesian methods showed numerous clusters of 2-3 individuals as expected from a population at demographic equilibrium with two expected offspring per reproducing female. As previously shown, null alleles appeared as the most probable factor inducing these heterozygote deficits in these populations. Effective population sizes varied from 80 to 450 individuals while immigration rates were between 0.05 and 0.43, showing substantial genetic exchanges between different villages within a focus. These results suggest that the "suppression" with establishment of physical barriers may be the best strategy for a vector control campaign in this forest context., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tsetse flies, such as Glossina palpalis gambiensis, are blood-feeding insects that could be subverted as hosts of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense: initiated in the tsetse fly mid gut, the developmental program of this parasite further proceeds in the salivary glands. The flies act as vectors of this human-invasive parasite when their salivary glands sustain the generation of metacyclic trypomastigotes, the exclusive morphotypes pre-programmed to further develop in the human individuals. Briefly, once the metacyclic trypomastigotes have been deposited in the skin of humans from whom the parasite-hosting tsetse flies are taking their blood meals, the complex developmental program of this Trypanosoma brucei subspecies can result in a severe disease named sleeping sickness. Unveiling the processes that could prevent, in tsetse flies, the developmental program of T. b. gambiense could contribute reducing the prevalence of the disease. Using a global approach, we were curious to extract transcriptional signatures of Sodalis glossinidius, a symbiont hosted by three distinct groups of tsetse flies. To meet this objective, the transcriptome of S. glossinidius from susceptible and refractory tsetse flies was analyzed at 3, 10 and 20 days after flies blood feed on T. b. gambiense-hosting mice. Within this temporal window, 176 trypanosome responsive genes were shown to interact in well-defined patterns making it possible to distinguish flies susceptible to the parasite infection from refractory flies. Among the modulated transcripts in the symbiont population of flies refractory to trypanosome infection many were shown to cluster within the following networks: "lysozyme activity, bacteriolytic enzyme, bacterial cytolysis, cell wall macromolecule catabolic process". These novel data are further delineated in the following questions: could the activation of prophage hosted by S. glossinidius lead to the release of bacterial agonists that trigger the tsetse fly immune system along a profile that no more allows the parasite developmental program?, (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To understand the circulation and the spread of Trypanosoma congolense genotypes in animals of Fontem in the southwest region of Cameroon, T. congolense forest and T. congolense savannah were investigated in 397 domestic animals in eight villages. Out of the 397 domestic animals, 86 (21.7%) were found infected by trypanosomes, using the capillary tube centrifugation test. The PCR with specific primers identified 163 (41.1%) and 81 (20.4%) animals infected by T. congolense forest and T. congolense savannah, respectively; showing for the first time the circulation of T. congolense savannah in the Fontem region. No infection with T. congolense savannah was found in pigs whereas goats and sheep were infected by T. congolense forest and/or T. congolense savannah. The prevalence of trypanosomes varied significantly amongst villages and animal species. The genotyping of T. congolense forest positive samples using microsatellites markers showed that multiple genotypes occurred in 27.2% (44/163) of animals sampled, whereas single genotypes were found in 73.8% (119/163) of samples. Some alleles were found in all animal species as well as in all villages and were responsible for major genotypes, whereas others (rare alleles) were identified only in some animals of few villages. These rare alleles were characteristic of specific genotypes, assimilated to minor genotypes which can be spread in the region through tsetse flies. The microsatellite markers show a low genetic variability and an absence of sub-structuration within T. congolense forest. The analysis of the microsatellite data revealed a predominant clonal reproduction within T. congolense forest. Pigs were the animal species with the highest number of different genotypes of T. congolense forest. They seem to play an important epidemiological role in the propagation and spread of different genotypes of T. congolense., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Human African trypanosomosis, caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, is a chronic disease, although various clinical patterns have been observed, from asymptomatic to acute forms. Since 2001 in Angola, 80% of patients have been found to be in the meningoencephalitic stage of the disease. The existence of an acute form of the disease caused by virulent strains of trypanosomes was suspected. To test this hypothesis, four sensitive and polymorphic microsatellite markers were used to characterize the trypanosome DNA extracted from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of 100 patients in the meningoencephalitic stage. Twenty-three patients were found with mixed T. b. gambiense genotypes in the blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid. The absence of association between the number of infecting genotypes, the presence of neurological signs and white blood cell counts in the cerebrospinal fluid, seems to indicate, at least in the context of the present study, the absence of virulent strains. However, out of five patients who died from encephalopathy syndrome during treatment with eflornithine, three harbored multiple infections., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Trypanosoma brucei subspecies undergo establishment and maturation in tsetse flies mid-gut and salivary glands, respectively. Successful establishment of trypanosomes in tsetse mid-gut as well as their migration to saliva gland depends on the ability of these parasites to adapt rapidly to new environmental conditions and to negotiate the physical barriers. To identify subspecies specific genes which are differentially regulated during the establishment of T. brucei subspecies in tsetse flies mid-gut, a comparative genomic analysis between different T. brucei subspecies was performed using microarrays containing about 23040 T. brucei shotgun fragments. The whole genome analyses of RNA expression profiles revealed about 274 significantly differentially expressed genes between T. brucei subspecies. About 7% of the differentially regulated clones did not match to any T. brucei predicted genes. Most of the differentially regulated transcripts are involved in transport across cell membrane and also in the purines metabolism. The genes selectively up regulated in T. brucei gambiense and T. brucei rhodesiense (human infective T. brucei) like snoRNA and HSP70 are expressed in response to stress. The high failure rate in the process of establishment and maturation of T. brucei gambiense during cyclical transmission in tsetse flies may result from the incapacity of this parasite to regulate its growth due to the expression of a variety of chaperones or heat shock proteins. Genes selectively up regulated in T. brucei brucei like NT8.1 nucleoside/nucleobase transporters and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase may favour the establishment of this subspecies in tsetse mid-gut. These genes appear as potential targets for investigations on the development of vaccine blocking the transmission of trypanosomes in tsetse flies.

Genetic variation of microsatellite loci is a widely used method for the analysis of population genetic structure of microorganisms. Seven microsatellite markers were used here to characterize Trypanosoma brucei gambiense isolates from Central Africa sub-region in order to improve knowledge on the population genetic structure of this subspecies. These markers confirmed the low genetic polymorphism within Central African T. b. gambiense isolates from the same focus and strong differentiation between different foci. The presence of many multilocus genotypes of T. b. gambiense and the excess of heterozygotes found in this study play in favour of a clonal reproduction of this parasite. But some data may be indicative of a unique recombination event in one subsample. The high F(ST) value indicates low migration rates between T. b. gambiense subpopulations (foci). Very negative F(IS) suggests fairly small clonal population sizes of this pathogen in the different human trypanosomosis foci of Central Africa., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)