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Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic flagellated protozoan which is responsible for human urogenital infections. Several zymodemes of T. vaginalis have been reported from various parts of the worlds on the basis of isoenzyme patterns. This study was conducted to characterize the isolated organisms of T. vaginalis from HIV patients using isoenzyme electrophoresis in Fars and Kerman provinces, southeast Iran. Methods: Eighteen mass cultivated isolates of T. vaginalis in the modified TYI-S-33 medium were analyzed using isoenzyme electrophoresis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of five different enzyme systems were used to characterize T. vaginalis isolates: (i) Glucose- 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), (ii) Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI), (iii) Malate dehydrogenase (MDH), (iv) Malic enzyme (ME), and (v) Phosphoglucomutase (PGM). Results: MDH, GPI, PGM, and ME enzyme systems showed a homogeneity and detected an identical enzyme pattern in all isolates. Meanwhile, G6PD revealed two different enzyme patterns. The isoenzyme electrophoretic profiles divided 18 T. vaginalis isolates into two zymodemes. Zymodeme 1 contained Shiraz isolates and zymodeme 2 contained Kerman isolates. Conclusion: The polymorphism of Iranian human isolates of T. vaginalis could be assessed by biochemical study using appropriate enzyme systems. Isoenzyme analysis is a promising method for the characterization of T. vaginalis. New molecular studies with increased number of enzyme loci and genetic markers are suggested to classify more zymodemes of Trichomonas in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to characterize genetically and to compare the most frequently occurring strains of Trichomonas vaginalis isolated from southern Iran. Methods: Totally, 150 vaginal swab and urine specimens were collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic women from May 2012 to Jun 2013.This study implemented a sensitive and reliable PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing method on the actin gene. Moreover, one representative sample of each identified genotype was subjected to sequencing. Results: Twenty-four T. vaginalis isolates were positive and6 distinct electrophoretic patterns (H, E, G, I, M, N) were identified. Genotypes H and I were found to be more prevalent (50 and 37.5%) in Kerman and Shiraz, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis showed that two isolates were located as a separated clade with the other T. vaginalis isolates. Conclusion: The obtained findings showed a considerable genetic polymorphism of clinical isolates from the population studied. More studies may be warranted in future as to unveiling any possible links between a given genotype/cluster and pathogenic behavior of T. vaginalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Here, we established the mouse models of chronic toxoplasmosis by T. gondii Tehran strain to provide a good understanding about defining the possible association between T. gondii exposure and learning and memory impairments. Moreover, as secondary objective of the present study, we hypothesized whether administration of an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor could reduce learning and memory impairments induced by T. gondii infection. Methods: Twenty-four male BALB/c mice were used to establishment of latent toxoplasmosis. The animal model of Toxoplasma infection was established by the intraperitoneal inoculation of 20-25 tissue cysts from Tehran strain of T. gondii. Donepezil (2 mg/kg) an AChE inhibitor to treat Alzheimer disease was injected intraperitoneally once a day for two weeks starting from post-infection day 90. Morris water maze (MWM) task was used to assay spatial learning and short term spatial memory in all groups. One-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test was used to assess differences between experimental groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Toxoplasma infection impaired spatial leaning and short term spatial memory of the infected BALB/c mice, whereas donepezil, an AChE inhibitor, improved impairments induced by Toxoplasma infection. Conclusion: T. gondii infection through increasing AChE reduces the level of Acetylcholine (Ach) and consequently affects learning and memory activity in infected hosts, whereas, donepezil as an AChE inhibitor improves these impairments by restoring ACh levels at synapses of neurons in brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of the present study was morphometric and molecular characterization of Fasciola isolates from ruminants in Iran., Methods: Flukes were collected from the livers of 54 naturally infected sheep and cattle. The proportion of body length to width (L/W) of each fresh fluke was measured using a digital caliper. We employed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to explore the reliability of L/W for differentiating the two species. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-sequencing was performed on ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes. The sequences were then analyzed and phylogenetic relationships were investigated., Result: Forty-eight out of 54 isolates (88.9%) were identified as F. hepatica and four isolates (7.4%) as F. gigantica. All the sheep isolates were F. hepatica, while 4 out of 10 cattle were infected with F. gigantica. The morphometric study revealed an L/W ratio of 1.2 to 6.5 in Fasciola isolates with significantly higher L/W ratio in F. gigantica (p<0.00). According to the ROC curve analysis, the L/W value of 3.55 was regarded as the critical value to discriminate between the two species., Conclusions: Findings of the present study indicate the presence of both Fasciola species in southeastern Iran. The phylogenetic analysis revealed two different clades representing F. hepatica and F. gigantica. The two isolates in this study were described as Fasciola sp. The mitochondrial DNA of these isolates were similar to F. hepatica, while their ITS fragments were identical to F. gigantica.

There are conflicting reports concerning the association of Toxoplasma gondii infection with increased risk of mental disorders. This investigation will provide a good understanding about defining the possible association between T. gondii exposure and risk of anxiety and cognitive alterations. Besides, a secondary objective of this study was to determine the effect of pioglitazone administration on the possible alterations induced by T. gondii exposure. Male BALB/c mice were used for this study. The animal model of Toxoplasma infection was established by the intraperitoneal inoculation of 20-25 tissue cysts from Tehran strain of T. gondii. Pioglitazone (20 mg/kg, i.p.1/day) was administered to the animals for 2 weeks before behavioural tests. Behavioural tests including open-field, elevated plus-maze and passive avoidance learning were evaluated in the groups. Since cytokines were implicated as a contributing factor for mood disorders, the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs) were examined by real-time PCR. Findings demonstrated that T. gondii caused anxiety-like symptoms and impaired cognitive functions of the infected BALB/c mice, whereas pioglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist, showed a promising effect against the cognitive impairments induced by Toxoplasma infection. The results also revealed that the mRNA levels of the aforementioned cytokines were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the infected mice compared to the uninfected BALB/c ones. Pioglitazone can be offered as a potential neuroprotective agent in the treatment of patients with T. gondii infection that manifests anxiety and cognitive impairments; however, further studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms.