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Objectives: Human babesiosis is an emerging and potentially fatal tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic parasites of the Babesia genus. Among these, Babesia duncani is particularly notable for causing severe and life-threatening illness in humans. Accurate diagnosis and effective disease management hinge on the detection of active B. duncani infections. While molecular assays are available to detect the parasite in blood, a reliable method for identifying biomarkers of active infection remains elusive., Methods: We developed the first B. duncani antigen capture assays, targeting two immunodominant antigens, BdV234 and BdV38. These assays were validated using established in vitro and in vivo B. duncani infection models, and following drug treatment., Results: The assays demonstrated no cross-reactivity with other species such as B. microti, B. divergens, Babesia MO1, or Plasmodium falciparum, and can detect as few as 115 infected erythrocytes/µl of blood. Screening of 1731 blood samples from various biorepositories, including samples previously identified as Lyme and/or B. microti-positive, as well as new specimens from wild mice, revealed no evidence of B. duncani infection or cross-reactivity., Conclusions: These assays hold significant promise for various applications, including point-of-care testing for the early detection of B. duncani in patients, field tests for screening reservoir hosts, and high-throughput screening of blood samples intended for transfusion., Competing Interests: Declarations of competing interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths and has resulted in disastrous societal and economic impacts worldwide. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, abnormal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines have been observed and were associated to the severity of the disease. Type I (-α/β) and Type III (IFN-λ) interferons are family members of cytokines that play an important role in fighting viral replication during the early phases of infection. The location and timing of the IFNs production have been shown to be decisive for the COVID-19 outcome. Despite the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, a better understanding of the involvement of IFNs as players in antiviral immunity in the COVID-19 pathophysiology is necessary to implement additional potent prophylactic and/or therapeutic approaches. In this study, we investigated the role of type I and III IFN in COVID-19 pathophysiology. We first analyzed the IFN-α, IFN-β and IFN- λ mRNA expression in nasopharyngeal swabs and blood samples from Moroccan patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and secondly correlated these IFNs expressions with COVID-19 clinical and biological parameters. Our results showed that in the upper airways of patients with mild, non-severe, or severe COVID-19 manifestations, the IFN- α, - β and - λ are expressed in the same manner as in controls. However, in blood samples their expression was downregulated in all groups. Univariate linear models with interferons as predictors to evaluate clinical-biological parameters highlighted that the main clinical-biological relations were found when testing: FiO2, Lymphocyte values and virus load. Furthermore, the multivariate models confirmed that quantifications of interferons during COVID-19 are good biological markers for tracking COVID-19 pathophysiology., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by insulin deficiency due to the destruction of pancreatic β cells, leading to hyperglycemia, which in turn induces vascular complications. In the current study, we investigated the effect of intraperitoneal administration of clove essential oil (CEO: 20 mg/kg body weight) on certain oxidative stress and glucose metabolism enzymes, as well as the expression of proinflammatory mediators. Administration of CEO to diabetic rats showed a significant decline in blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, and xanthine oxidase, compared to the streptozotocin group. Furthermore, these treated rats elicited a notable attenuation in the levels of lipid peroxides, and thiols groups in both liver and brain tissues. The activities of antioxidant and metabolic enzymes were reverted to normality in diabetic upon CEO administration. In addition to its protective effects on red blood cell hemolysis, CEO is a potent α-amylase inhibitor with an IC 50 =298.0±2.75 μg/mL. Also, treatment of diabetic rats with CEO significantly reduced the iNOS expression in the spleen. Our data showed that CEO has potential beneficial effects on diabetes, which can possibly prevent the pathogenesis of diabetic micro- and macrovascular complications., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an infectious disease, considered as a major public health problem in different regions of the world. The current treatments are limited due to their toxicity and treatment failures, which have increased the search for new substances of natural origin to control this infection. Capparis spinosa is an important medicinal plant, rich in biochemical compounds with a broad range of activities including antimicrobial effects. Nevertheless, more investigations are still needed to determine its effect on Leishmania parasites. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of C. spinosa' extracts on Leishmania major promastigotes and amastigotes growth as well as on L-arginine metabolic pathways, especially the production of leishmanicidal molecules such as nitric oxide. Our results showed that C. spinosa' methanolic and aqueous extracts contained polyphenols and flavonoids at different concentrations. The methanolic extract of C. spinosa, compared to the aqueous extract, showed significantly higher amounts of total polyphenols (21.23 ± 1.08) mg GAE/g of dw (P < 0.05), as well as a higher antioxidant activity evaluated respectively by Reducing Power and DPPH (EC 50 : 0.31 ± 0.02 and 7.69 ± 1.28) mg/ml. Both extracts significantly inhibited L. major promastigotes and intra-macrophagic amastigotes growth in vitro in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.001) and induced NO production not only in Leishmania-infected macrophages but also in uninfected macrophages, without showing any cytotoxicity in vitro. Furthermore, in silico docking studies showed that C. spinosa compounds identified by RP-HPLC exhibited inhibitory activity against the arginase enzyme. The leishmanicidal effect of C. spinosa may be due to its phenolic content and its mechanism of action may be mediated by an increase in NO production and by the inhibition of arginase enzyme in silico. These findings support the hypothesis that C. spinosa might be a valuable source of new biomolecules for leishmaniasis treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Post-kala-azar dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a rare skin syndrome observed after treatment of visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) with pentavalent antimonial organic salts, never described in Morocco before. Here we report a case in an immunocompetent adult., Case: A 36-year-old-man from Tata in southern Morocco, with a history of visceral Leishmaniasis 2 years before and treated with meglumine antimoniate and amphotericin B with good clinical course, was hospitalized in dermatology for an erythematous papulo-nodular closet of the face. Six months ago, he presented oral mucosa involvement, then 3 months later, cutaneous lesions appeared on the face. The dermatological examination revealed a papulo-nodular erythematous closet extending to the nose and both cheeks, crusty and lupoid lesions on the forehead, around the eyes and chin, associated with an ulcerative and painless lesion on the heeL. The examination of the oral mucosa revealed an ulceration of the posterior third of the tongue and a papillomatous aspect of the soft palate. The skin biopsy and smear found some amastigote forms of Leishmania bodies. ITS1 PCR was positive (genus Leishmania). The HIV serology was negative. The diagnosis of PKDL was then evoked. The patient received intra-muscular injections of meglumine antimoniate with good progress., Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first case of generalised leishmaniasis suggesting PKDL reported in a Moroccan immunocompetent adult., (Copyright © 2021 SFMTSI.)

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Clinical manifestations of this disease are the result of a complex interplay of diverse factors, including the genetic background and the immune status of the host. Understanding the impact of these factors on the CL pathology may provide new targets to manage the infection and improve clinical outcome. The NLRP3 inflammasome, an innate immune complex of several cell types, seems to be involved in the CL physiopathology. Current studies of its role show contradictory effects of this complex on the evolution of Leishmania infection in mice and humans. In this review, we discuss the data regarding different roles of the NLRP3 inflammasome in murine and human CL., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are the first phagocyte recruited and infected by Leishmania . They synthetize superoxide anions (O 2 - ) under the control of the NADPH oxidase complex. In Morocco, Leishmania major and L. tropica are the main species responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The impact of these parasites on human PMN functions is still unclear. We evaluated the in vitro capacity of primary Moroccan strains of L. major and L. tropica to modulate PMN O 2 - production and p47 phox phosphorylation status of the NADPH oxidase complex. PMNs were isolated from healthy blood donors, and their infection rate was measured by microscopy. O 2 - production was measured by superoxide dismutase-inhibitable reduction of cytochrome C. P47 phox phosphorylation was analyzed by Western blot using specific antibodies against Ser328 and Ser345 sites. Whereas we did not observe any difference in PMN infectivity rate, our results indicated that only L. tropica promastigotes inhibited both fMLF- and PMA-mediated O 2 - production independently of p47 phox phosphorylation. Leishmania soluble antigens (SLAs) from both species significantly inhibited O 2 - induced by fMLF or PMA. However, they only decreased PMA-induced p47phox phosphorylation. L. major and L. tropica modulated differently O 2 - production by human PMNs independently of p47 phox phosphorylation. The inhibition of ROS production by L. tropica could be a mechanism of its survival within PMNs that might explain the reported chronic pathogenicity of L. tropica CL.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has emerged in China in December 2019 and rapidly spread to more than 196 countries worldwide. The physiopathology of human SARS-CoV-2 has not been completely understood, but its pathogenesis has been linked to a disproportionate response of the immune system. Just as described for SARS and MERS, an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response, known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed in severe COVID-19 patients. It results from the release by immune and non-immune effector cells of substantial amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines and appears to contribute to SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary inflammation and extensive lung damage. In addition, hyper-coagulation and thrombosis resulted from the important release of pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to the lethality of subjects severely infected with SARS-CoV-2. It is therefore essential to have a deep understanding of the various cytokines involved in this exacerbated immune response, and that could be targeted by potential immunological treatments. The aim of this review was to gather the current knowledge about the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNFα in SARS-CoV-2 CRS, the probable causes and clinical outcomes of this phenomenon in severe cases of COVID-19., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)