CONCLUSIONS: This study provides molecular evidence for the occurrence and genetic variation of Colpodella spp. DNA in human fecal and tick-associated samples from Hebei Province, China. However, PCR-based detection alone cannot determine active infection, colonization, pathogenicity, or biological activity of the detected organisms. Further studies using additional molecular markers, culture systems, and biological approaches are required to clarify the ecological and potential health...

Publication date: November 2026 Source: #ticks and #tick-borne Diseases, Volume 17, Issue 6 Author(s): Yekaterina O. Ostapchuk, Olga A. Stukolova, Alibek Adil, Akerke O. Bissenbay, Artyom V. Kuligin, Marina I. Sokolova, Nurshat Abdolla, Sofiya A. Kan, Anzhelika V. Lushova, Yuliya V. Perfilyeva, Andrey M. Dmitrovskiy, Anna L. Shin, Andrey V. Zhigailov, Zaure Z. Sayakova, Guzel B. Shiderova, Nailya K. Ospanbekova, Gulzhan Trimova, Altynay Aubakirova, Meruyert Bayakhmetova, Gulzhan N. Abuova

Malaria-associated anemia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, affecting young children and pregnant women in endemic regions. This review synthesizes current evidence on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying malaria-associated anemia, emphasizing impaired erythropoiesis and increased destruction of uninfected erythrocytes. Ineffective erythropoiesis may result from the presence of parasites within the bone marrow, hemozoin accumulation, inflammatory cytokine responses, and altered iron availability. Persistent inflammation and oxidative stress promote erythrocyte shrinkage, with consequent eryptosis and premature clearance by splenic macrophages. #Plasmodium-induced immune responses promote anti-erythrocyte antibody production, which further contributes to erythrocyte removal. Malaria-associated anemia arises from interconnected alterations in erythrocyte production, survival, and clearance, highlighting its multifactorial nature and the need for more integrated studies to better characterize these mechanisms.

Blood-sucking insects, such as lice, act as potential vectors of vector-borne pathogens. The proposed study aimed to diagnose molecularly Bartonella sp., an arthropod-borne bacterium in Microthoracius lice collected from alpacas in Peru. Ninety-six lice of the Microthoracius genus were collected from alpaca crias from the Quenamari and Chillihua communities from Cuzco, Peru. All lice were molecularly analyzed by PCR protocols for Bartonella sp. Bartonella genus detection was performed by...

Publication date: Available online 11 October 2026 Source: Veterinary Parasitology Author(s): Reda Abdel Hameed, Marwa M. Attia, Hanan H. Abd-Elhafeez, Asmaa Hegazy, Eshraqa Ali, Kaseb D. Alanazi, Ayham Ali Bani Essa, Badr Huwaimel, Sara Abdelsayed, M. Abdullah, Mohamed Abdelsalam

Conventional microscopic diagnosis of Trichomonas spp. in vaginal discharge specimens relies entirely on organism motility. Herein, we established a novel modified methyl green-acid fuchsin staining method to differentiate Trichomonas vaginalis from leukocytes and epithelial cell nuclei based on staining characteristics, rather than motility. To evaluate the performance of this novel method, 2133 vaginal discharge specimens were subjected to clinical testing using safranin staining microscopy,...

Remote and vast ecosystems present a challenge for biodiversity monitoring. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana is one such ecosystem spanning 52,800 km2, a mosaic of fossilized rivers, clay pans, semi-arid sand dunes, scrub, and woodland. It is one of the last remaining untouched wildernesses in the world and hosts unique biodiversity, including populations of threatened mammals. Due to its extreme arid environment, size, and inaccessibility, surveying biodiversity across the reserve is both logistically and technically difficult. Here we demonstrate that a low-effort approach of sampling soil across the reserve is an efficient way to rapidly assess the terrestrial mammal biodiversity using eDNA metabarcoding. We found that eDNA from soil near waterholes performed better at capturing local biodiversity than soil from roads. eDNA metabarcoding detected 38 mammal species, 15 bird species and two amphibians and a simultaneously conducted camera trapping study detected 29 mammal species. eDNA was particularly powerful for detecting small-bodied taxa, including murids, mongooses and bats, which were largely missed by camera traps, while camera trapping was aimed at and performed well for detecting felids. Mammal species that had a higher activity nearby eDNA sampling points (i.e., a higher number of camera trapping recordings nearby) had a higher probability of being detected via eDNA. We propose that simple soil collection for eDNA metabarcoding, particularly close to animal congregation points such as savanna waterholes, offers a practical, scalable and cost-effective strategy for DNA-based biomonitoring in large, remote areas such those in Southern Africa.

Many animals use the Earth's magnetic field to orient and navigate over long distances, yet the sensory mechanism that underlies this ability remains unresolved. A central question is whether the compass depends on light: a cryptochrome-based radical-pair mechanism, best characterised in birds, requires a photon to generate the magnetically sensitive species, whereas magnetic particle-based and inductive mechanisms do not. In mammals, which lack the light-sensitive cryptochromes that the avian model requires, this question is unresolved. Here we tested whether migratory bats, Pipistrellus nathusii, require light for migratory orientation, studying wild migrants at a major flyway under laboratory-controlled light conditions, including verified total darkness. Bats were acclimated to starlight-level illumination or to total darkness before release into a circular arena in which take-off direction was recorded, and take-off latency was taken in every trial as a control for behavioural state. Bats released under starlight-level illumination, and bats released in total darkness after starlight acclimation, both oriented in the south-westerly direction typical of free-flying bats at this flyway; their mean headings lay 11 degrees apart and did not differ in direction, in angular concentration, or in take-off latency. Bats released in total darkness after prolonged darkness produced the same mean heading but did not reach significance under a Rayleigh test, and did not differ from either other group. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a migratory mammal expresses its seasonally appropriate migratory heading in total darkness. Bats orienting in darkness took off five to eight minutes after their last photon exposure, seven to eight orders of magnitude beyond the microsecond lifetime of the only cryptochrome radical pair demonstrated to exist and to be magnetically sensitive. Because a compass reading is informative only at the moment of the directional decision, a signal generated before a bat entered darkness could not encode its heading at take-off; the magnetically sensitive species must therefore form without photons. The radical pairs capable of doing so have not been shown to exist, even in vitro. A migratory mammal thus expresses its seasonal heading without concurrent light, in a lineage lacking the photoreceptor on which the light-dependent compass in birds relies.

Trypanosoma vivax is a unicellular parasite spread by biting flies and an important livestock pathogen across sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Alongside its better known relative, T. brucei, it causes animal trypanosomosis. An accurate genome sequence is essential to functional genetics as well as the design of novel diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. However, the existing T. vivax genome sequence is fragmentary, making it difficult to examine genomic features such as the Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes that are the basis for antigenic variation, a key phenotype that underpins immune evasion by African trypanosomes. Our aim was to produce a T. vivax genome sequence with improved contiguity to properly characterise the VSG genes. We present a new core genome assembly in 23 scaffolds, forming approximately 10 chromosomes. Many scaffolds are articulated with extensive sub-telomeric domains that, like T. brucei, contain VSG gene arrays but in T. vivax these are near-perfect repeats of intact genes. Using transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of VSG expression during bloodstream infection we show that the active VSG is expressed from a sub-telomeric array while other arrays are silent. We find no evidence for a VSG expression site at the telomeres or elsewhere. Therefore, although monoallelic expression and antigenic switching occur in T. vivax, the familiar regulatory mechanism of T. brucei does not exist in T. vivax. This improved T. vivax genome assembly demonstrates that T. brucei is a poor guide for T. vivax genetics generally and for regulation of antigenic variation specifically.

Publication date: Available online 12 October 2026 Source: Veterinary Parasitology Author(s): Thirunavukkarasu Santhoshkumar, Ramanathan Shenbaga Praveen, Chinnaperumal Kamaraj, Thamarai Rajkumar, Venkatesan Karthick

Background: Approximately 25% of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) develop a psychotic disorder, and the syndrome shares key neurodevelopmental features with psychosis in the general population. The olfactory system develops early in utero, providing a window into gestational disruptions relevant to psychosis risk. We hypothesized that 22q11DS would show impairments in olfactory function and structural anomalies of the olfactory system relative to psychosis spectrum (PS) youth without a known genetic syndrome and typically developing controls (TD). Methods: Participants included individuals with 22q11DS (n=101), PS (n=56), and TD (n=52). Sinonasal symptoms, odor identification, and discrimination (Sniffin' Sticks) behaviorally. Structural 3T MRI measured olfactory bulb volume, sulcus depth, and sulcus length. Sample sizes vary per analysis. Results: Relative to TD, 22q11DS showed elevated sinonasal burden (p

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania donovani and differentiates under the influence of biotope-specific gut bacteria in the Leishmania donovani-transmitting sand fly vector, Phlebotomus argentipes, which coexists with the Leishmania donovani-non-transmitting Sergentomyia species in the Indian subcontinent. Hypothesis: Sergentomyia are primarily herpetophilic. Interestingly, we identified a specific population of anthropophilic Sergentomyia babu babu, a proven naturally non-competent vector for transmitting Leishmania donovani, with high abundance and human-bite incidences in VL-non-endemic regions, compared with VL-endemic regions of India. Thus, the possibility of egesting gut bacteria to humans from VL-non-transmitting Sergentomyia and inducing downstream immune cascades remains undeniable. Innovation: We characterized gut bacteria from anthropophilic Sergentomyia babu babu in both VL-endemic and VL-non-endemic regions of India and found that a heat-inactivated formulation of Heyndrickxia sporothermodurans [NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA): PRJNA1403236], isolated from anthropophilic Sergentomyia babu babu from a VL-non-endemic region, prevented and cured L. donovani infection by inducing IL-23~Th17. More importantly, it also prevented the initial parasite establishment by inducing phagocytosis, ROS, and TNF- in circulatory Ly6G-CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report confirming that the gut bacteria of VL-non-transmitting sand flies are critical and need to be investigated in depth for developing therapeutics and/or prophylactics against visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and suggests that possible bite-transfer of gut bacteria from disease-non-transmitting vectors to hosts may restrict disease pathogenicity. Further clinical trials are needed to warrant (Indian patent: 202511041013, April 28, 2025).

CONCLUSION: Our findings establish YGTV as an underdiagnosed cause of human febrile illness, underscoring the transmission risks posed by tick vectors and rodent reservoirs. These results highlight the urgent need for enhanced clinical surveillance and diagnostic screening among patients presenting with FUO, particularly in regions where the virus is endemic.

Publication date: November 2026 Source: #ticks and #tick-borne Diseases, Volume 17, Issue 6 Author(s): Yekaterina O. Ostapchuk, Olga A. Stukolova, Alibek Adil, Akerke O. Bissenbay, Artyom V. Kuligin, Marina I. Sokolova, Nurshat Abdolla, Sofiya A. Kan, Anzhelika V. Lushova, Yuliya V. Perfilyeva, Andrey M. Dmitrovskiy, Anna L. Shin, Andrey V. Zhigailov, Zaure Z. Sayakova, Guzel B. Shiderova, Nailya K. Ospanbekova, Gulzhan Trimova, Altynay Aubakirova, Meruyert Bayakhmetova, Gulzhan N. Abuova

Blood-sucking insects, such as lice, act as potential vectors of vector-borne pathogens. The proposed study aimed to diagnose molecularly Bartonella sp., an arthropod-borne bacterium in Microthoracius lice collected from alpacas in Peru. Ninety-six lice of the Microthoracius genus were collected from alpaca crias from the Quenamari and Chillihua communities from Cuzco, Peru. All lice were molecularly analyzed by PCR protocols for Bartonella sp. Bartonella genus detection was performed by...

by Olivia M. Shorthouse, Chloe Barnes, Stefano A. P. Colombo, Jessica Costa, Katrine Wonsbek, Anmoyul Mohon, Andrew S. MacDonald, Elizabeth Mann, Alice H. Costain, Juan F. Quintana Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness is a systemic parasitic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. HAT is associated with substantial immunological, metabolic, and neurological pathology. Although reproductive dysfunction has previously been recognised in both human and experimental T. brucei infection, whether parasites can directly infiltrate the female reproductive tract (FRT), and how infection may reshape the FRT immune landscape remains poorly understood. Using a murine model of T. brucei infection we reveal that parasites are localised in the uterine lining (endometrium) during both acute and chronic infection stages in mice. Chronic T. brucei infection was associated with progressive fat wasting, disruption of the reproductive (oestrous) cycle, uterine and ovarian atrophy, and extensive transcriptional dysregulation across the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Acute and chronic infection induced remodelling of the uterine immune landscape, characterised by T cell infiltration, pro-inflammatory myeloid activation, alongside broader type 1 inflammatory changes across reproductive tissues and HPG components. Ovarian pathology was accompanied by follicular degeneration, a reduction in corpora lutea and alterations to steroidogenic pathways. Hormonal rescue with the selective oestrogen receptor modulator, tamoxifen, restored uterine morphology and prevented oestrous cycle arrest, but did not reverse the infection-induced uterine immune remodelling, indicating that endocrine dysfunction and infection-driven inflammation are distinct processes. Taken together, these findings identify the FRT as a major target of T. brucei infection and demonstrate how chronic parasitic infection can disrupt reproductive physiology through a combination of immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. They also highlight the need to specifically assess the FRT in other models of systemic inflammation.

Foraging hematophagous flies such as the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, are shown or expected to sense multiple characteristics of visual host cues. These include relative intensity, spectral composition, and the angle and degree of polarization. Here, we investigated the role of each of these visual cue characteristics on stable fly attraction. In laboratory two-choice bioassays, we offered groups of female or male stable flies a choice between paired photostimuli that differed in their visual characteristics, recording the flies' landing responses on stimuli as the response criterion. Bioassay flies preferentially selected lower-intensity visual stimuli even when paired stimuli markedly differed in spectral composition and polarization characteristics (a high degree of horizontal or vertical polarization). When paired stimuli had identical relative intensity, flies failed to discriminate between the stimulus that presented ultraviolet, blue, green, and red wavebands and a corresponding paired stimulus lacking one of these wavebands. Our results support the hypothesis that foraging stable flies may respond to colour and polarization characteristics of visual stimuli as modulations of perceived intensity. Acquired knowledge on the mechanisms that underlie stable fly visual attraction may inform the design of vision-based traps so that they become optimally attractive to stable flies and other biting flies.

CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the first molecular characterization of Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus ticks infesting rodents in Iran. Our findings confirm the presence of Rhipicephalus turanicus on Rattus species. More significantly, we identified a distinct Haemaphysalis lineage parasitizing Calomyscus cf. bailwardi, a rodent endemic to the Zagros Mountains. The considerable genetic divergence observed in both the COX1 and ITS2 genes suggests that this Haemaphysalis lineage may represent...

Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic RNA viruses, including filoviruses, henipaviruses and Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV), pose a significant threat to human health. Due to their epidemic potential and high pathogenicity, these viruses are categorized as WHO priority pathogens, yet we still lack effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) against most of these dangerous pathogens, supporting that host-directed antivirals will be advantageous for broadly acting MCMs. Here we assessed the antiviral efficacy of SLR14, an immunomodulatory stem-loop RNA that activates RIG-I, for its activity against a panel of highly pathogenic viruses. SLR14 treatment provided broad-spectrum protection, markedly reducing infection with Ebola virus (EBOV), Marburg virus, and Sudan virus in human primary monocyte-derived macrophages, and Nipah virus replication in iPSC-derived endothelial cells, whether administered prophylactically or therapeutically. In vivo, a single dose of SLR14 protected mice against lethal RVFV infection when administered prophylactically, and, notably, retained significant efficacy when administered up to two days post-infection. Therapeutic SLR14 administration also improved survival rates of EBOV-infected mice. Although EBOV infection and SLR14 treatment activated overlapping innate immune pathways in human macrophages, viral infection induced a nonprotective response, whereas SLR14 elicited a well-regulated, markedly stronger and protective interferon-stimulated and inflammatory gene signature while avoiding prolonged IFN gene upregulation. Our data identify SLR14 as a potent host-directed therapeutic with broad antiviral efficacy against some of the most lethal viral pathogens.

Publication date: Available online 11 October 2026 Source: Veterinary Parasitology Author(s): Reda Abdel Hameed, Marwa M. Attia, Hanan H. Abd-Elhafeez, Asmaa Hegazy, Eshraqa Ali, Kaseb D. Alanazi, Ayham Ali Bani Essa, Badr Huwaimel, Sara Abdelsayed, M. Abdullah, Mohamed Abdelsalam

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, with an estimated 20 million human infections annually. Its diverse host range presents a significant zoonotic threat, yet the molecular mechanisms underpinning HEV-host interactions remain poorly characterised. Here, we used transposon-based insertion screening of the HEV pORF1 polyprotein to identify a novel region within the viral PCP domain that permits HA-epitope insertion, enabling the first epitope tagging of this domain. Combined with V5 tagging of the hypervariable region (HVR), this approach enabled the generation of a replication-competent stable cell line expressing dual-tagged ORF1. Co-immunoprecipitation and TMT-based LC-MS proteomics revealed that pORF1 interacts with host proteins involved in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) and the 26S proteasome. Pharmacological inhibition demonstrated that both pathways are required for efficient HEV replication. Treatment with the FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor bortezomib altered pORF1 precursor abundance and led to loss of full-length pORF1 through enhanced proteolysis. Importantly, the kinetics of ORF1 degradation following proteasome inhibition correlated with immediate loss of HEV replication, demonstrating a functional link between pORF1 proteostasis and viral replication. Collectively, our findings identify the ERAD network as a previously unrecognised requirement for HEV replication and establish a role for the 26S proteasome in maintaining pORF1 proteostasis.

Phenuiviruses which include Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), classified by WHO as one of the top priority pathogens with outbreak potential, are emerging arthropod-borne viruses that pose an increasing threat to public health. In line with the prototype pathogen framework advanced by the NIAID, the sandfly-transmitted Toscana virus (TOSV) has been adopted as a prototype to advance understanding of relevant phenuiviruses and inform the development of broadly applicable medical countermeasures. In this study, we sought to isolate and characterize monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) elicited by natural TOSV infection to identify shared antigenic determinants. By employing the conserved envelope Gc glycoprotein as bait for antigen-specific B cell sorting, we recovered more than 1,450 memory B cells and identified 112 Gc-specific neutralizing mAbs. Over one-third of these mAbs exhibited cross-reactivity with RVFV, a genetically distinct phenuivirus. Selected mAbs provided prophylactic protection in a murine model of TOSV infection. Together, our findings establish Gc as an important target of protective neutralizing antibodies and provide insights that may guide the rational design of widely effective interventions, strengthening readiness against future phenuivirus outbreaks.

Multifunctional anatomical structures must accommodate potentially competing performance demands, leading to functional tradeoffs. The mammal rostrum (snout) is involved in multiple functions, including feeding, respiratory conditioning, olfaction, and, in most bats, echolocation. Therefore, it serves as an ideal system to investigate whether and how functional tradeoffs promote or constrain morphological diversification. While the external morphology of the rostrum has been linked with mechanical demands of feeding in bats, the factors and processes influencing its internal morphology, including the turbinals in the nasal cavity, remain comparatively unexplored. Here we investigate how internal rostral morphology reflects specialization and tradeoffs among respiratory air conditioning, echolocation, and olfaction by quantifying turbinal morphological diversity in a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse sample of bat species. We find that echolocation mode predominantly influences both the ethmoturbinal complex (ETc) and maxilloturbinal (MT) systems, with nasal-emitting bats having reduced and less complex turbinals compared to oral and non-laryngeally echolocating bat species. MT complexity and surface area are not associated with bioclimatic variables representing thermal variability and aridity. However, the ETc exhibits higher complexity in plantivorous bats than faunivorous bats, suggesting higher olfactory reliance. While MT morphological disparity was predominantly explained by echolocation mode, ETc morphological disparity was associated with both echolocation mode and diet, suggesting potentially opposing demands favoring turbinal reduction for sound transmission and elaboration for olfaction. Among nasal emitters, which must accommodate both demands within the nasal cavity, ETc complexity exhibited higher relative disparity compared to MT complexity. These patterns suggest that competing functional demands may promote or maintain morphological diversity, possibly through ecological specialization and/or many-to-one mapping between morphology and performance.

CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the diagnostic value of molecular tools and suggests potential shifts in transmission patterns in urban Vietnam.

Many animals use the Earth's magnetic field to orient and navigate over long distances, yet the sensory mechanism that underlies this ability remains unresolved. A central question is whether the compass depends on light: a cryptochrome-based radical-pair mechanism, best characterised in birds, requires a photon to generate the magnetically sensitive species, whereas magnetic particle-based and inductive mechanisms do not. In mammals, which lack the light-sensitive cryptochromes that the avian model requires, this question is unresolved. Here we tested whether migratory bats, Pipistrellus nathusii, require light for migratory orientation, studying wild migrants at a major flyway under laboratory-controlled light conditions, including verified total darkness. Bats were acclimated to starlight-level illumination or to total darkness before release into a circular arena in which take-off direction was recorded, and take-off latency was taken in every trial as a control for behavioural state. Bats released under starlight-level illumination, and bats released in total darkness after starlight acclimation, both oriented in the south-westerly direction typical of free-flying bats at this flyway; their mean headings lay 11 degrees apart and did not differ in direction, in angular concentration, or in take-off latency. Bats released in total darkness after prolonged darkness produced the same mean heading but did not reach significance under a Rayleigh test, and did not differ from either other group. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a migratory mammal expresses its seasonally appropriate migratory heading in total darkness. Bats orienting in darkness took off five to eight minutes after their last photon exposure, seven to eight orders of magnitude beyond the microsecond lifetime of the only cryptochrome radical pair demonstrated to exist and to be magnetically sensitive. Because a compass reading is informative only at the moment of the directional decision, a signal generated before a bat entered darkness could not encode its heading at take-off; the magnetically sensitive species must therefore form without photons. The radical pairs capable of doing so have not been shown to exist, even in vitro. A migratory mammal thus expresses its seasonal heading without concurrent light, in a lineage lacking the photoreceptor on which the light-dependent compass in birds relies.

Trypanosoma vivax is a unicellular parasite spread by biting flies and an important livestock pathogen across sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Alongside its better known relative, T. brucei, it causes animal trypanosomosis. An accurate genome sequence is essential to functional genetics as well as the design of novel diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. However, the existing T. vivax genome sequence is fragmentary, making it difficult to examine genomic features such as the Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes that are the basis for antigenic variation, a key phenotype that underpins immune evasion by African trypanosomes. Our aim was to produce a T. vivax genome sequence with improved contiguity to properly characterise the VSG genes. We present a new core genome assembly in 23 scaffolds, forming approximately 10 chromosomes. Many scaffolds are articulated with extensive sub-telomeric domains that, like T. brucei, contain VSG gene arrays but in T. vivax these are near-perfect repeats of intact genes. Using transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of VSG expression during bloodstream infection we show that the active VSG is expressed from a sub-telomeric array while other arrays are silent. We find no evidence for a VSG expression site at the telomeres or elsewhere. Therefore, although monoallelic expression and antigenic switching occur in T. vivax, the familiar regulatory mechanism of T. brucei does not exist in T. vivax. This improved T. vivax genome assembly demonstrates that T. brucei is a poor guide for T. vivax genetics generally and for regulation of antigenic variation specifically.

Publication date: Available online 8 October 2026 Source: Acta Tropica Author(s): Lizeth Fernanda Banguero Micolta, Lorena Freitas das Neves, Ana Cláudia Calchi, Michelli Inácio Gonçalves Funnicelli, Anna Claudia Baumel Mongruel, Jamille Bispo de Carvalho Teixeira, Katharine Costa dos Santos, Thammy Vieira Bittar, George Rego Albuquerque, Rosangela Zacarias Machado, Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti, Renata Santiago Alberto Carlos, Marcos Rogério André

Publication date: Available online 9 October 2026 Source: Veterinary Parasitology Author(s): João Victor França Moreira, Isabela Machado Serrano, Felipe Silva Santos Jesus, Denis Augusto Argolo Campos, Paola Alejandra Fiorani Celedon, Nilson Ivo Tonin Zanchin, Claudia Martins Carneiro, Alexandre Barbosa Reis, Fred Luciano Neves Santos

CONCLUSIONS: CoNS and C. acnes can invade osteoblast-like cells, supporting their role in the persistence of orthopaedic implant-associated infections. Vancomycin-eluted PMMA demonstrated significant antibacterial activity, supporting local antibiotic delivery as a complementary strategy for managing osteoarticular infections.

Background: European and Romanian recommendations for Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) emphasise cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis and a positive intrathecal antibody index (IAI) for diagnostic confirmation. We assessed whether antibiotic treatment in suspected LNB aligns with diagnostic recommendations. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-centre cohort study of patients with suspected LNB between 2008 and 2025, all with positive first-tier ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) Borrelia serology. Patients were classified as confirmed, probable, possible, or ruled-out LNB based on clinical presentation, serology, and CSF findings. We assessed factors associated with antibiotic treatment and temporal changes in diagnostic work-up and treatment patterns. Results: Among 58 patients, LNB was confirmed in 4 (6.9%), probable in 11 (19.0%), possible in 31 (53.4%), and ruled out in 12 (20.7%). Antibiotics were administered to 47 patients (81.0%), of whom 68.1% had possible or ruled out LNB. Antibiotic treatment was more frequent in early-stage than in late-stage disease (38/42, 90.5% vs. 9/16, 56.2%; p = 0.006); no significant association was detected with confirmed (p = 1.000) or ruled-out (p = 0.681) status. Between 2008 and 2019 and 2023–2025, IAI testing increased significantly (35.1% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.013), yet overall antibiotic use remained unchanged (81.1% vs. 81.0%, p = 1.000). Conclusions: Antibiotic treatment was poorly aligned with diagnostic classification, with most treated patients lacking confirmation. Improved diagnostic evaluation over time was not accompanied by a reduction in antibiotic use, highlighting a critical need for stronger diagnostic and antibiotic stewardship.

Dengue virus (DENV) causes dengue fever, a globally prevalent, epidemic-prone disease with no FDA-approved antivirals. Additionally, the available vaccine for DENV can increase the risk of severe dengue fever for those who have never had a DENV infection due to antibody-dependent enhancement. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify DENV antivirals. Drug repurposing, high-content screening, and machine learning were leveraged to efficiently identify antivirals likely to inhibit DENV replication. Using high-content screening in a DENV infection model, we characterized the morphological patterns of NS4B and envelope (E) protein expression over time and developed a viral pseudotime model that predicts infection progression to aid in phenotypic interpretation of drug effects. We then developed a single cell infection classifier for antiviral efficacy and performed high-throughput drug screening of 960 compounds. We identified four concentration-dependent inhibitors of DENV with nanomolar-to-submicromolar potencies: esomeprazole, GW4064, pralatrexate, and LY411575. With our pseudotime machine learning model trained on data from the time-series assay, we scored the concentration-dependent inhibitors to map their mechanism of action onto time points in the viral life cycle. Our most notable results show that LY411575, a gamma secretase inhibitor, exhibited an IC of 72 nM and reduced percent infection to near the level of the mock infection control. Pseudotime inferences generated mechanistic predictions that were supported by time-of-addition experiments, indicating that LY411575 arrests DENV infection before the development of late-stage infection associated morphologies, while retaining activity when added after inoculation.

V{delta}2+ {gamma}{delta} T cells contribute to antimalarial immunity via pro-inflammatory and cytotoxic mechanisms. Among children who have experienced repeated episodes of malaria, V{delta}2+ T cells develop reduced pro-inflammatory function through mechanisms that remain unknown. We hypothesized that recurrent malaria drives coordinated epigenetic and transcriptional remodeling of these semi-innate cells. Using PBMC from Ugandan children in cohorts spanning high and low transmission (10 children) and longitudinally across a marked decline in transmission (20 children, 3 timepoints), we profiled the epigenome and transcriptome of V{delta}2+ T cells by paired bulk ATAC-seq and RNA-seq and by CITE-seq. Higher malaria exposure was associated with reduced V{delta}2+ T cell TNF and IFN{gamma} production and with thousands of differentially accessible chromatin regions. Immunoregulatory genes including LYN, PLCG2, and HAVCR2 (Tim-3) showed increased chromatin accessibility and/or expression at high exposure, whereas pro-inflammatory gene (IFNG, GZMK, IL7R) and AP-1 (JUN/FOS) motif accessibility were increased at low exposure; linkage of regulatory elements with target genes corroborated these associations. Single-cell transcriptional analysis identified a cytotoxic CD8+CD16+CD57+ V{delta}2+ T cell subset. In our in vitro model, repeated stimulation with malaria-infected red blood cells or the phosphoantigen HMBPP was similarly associated with reduced V{delta}2+ T cell degranulation and cytokine production. Diminished responsiveness was predominantly TCR-dependent, accompanied by heightened p38 signaling, and was partially reversed by rest induced by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib. Together these data reveal how repeated malaria may reshape cellular immunity by reprogramming V{delta}2+ T cells toward a reversible, hyporesponsive state and highlight targets for therapeutically restoring their function.

Herbarium collections represent an important but frequently underutilized source of information for documenting medicinal plant diversity and preserving ethnomedicinal knowledge. We assessed the medicinal plant diversity represented in herbarium records from the Gombe State University Herbarium (GSUH), Nigeria, and evaluated patterns in taxonomic composition, therapeutic applications, and plant parts reported for medicinal use. We also tested the hypothesis that the plant parts used medicinally are not randomly distributed across therapeutic or ailment categories, but that particular plant parts are disproportionately associated with specific therapeutic applications. The resulting dataset comprised 1,576 specimen records, including 768 recorded as medicinal plant species across 94 families and 1,426 medicinal-use records (Table S1). Fabaceae was the most species-rich family (15.8%), followed by Asteraceae (9.3%), Malvaceae (4.8%), Lamiaceae (4.4%), Rubiaceae (3.2%), and Apocynaceae (3.2%). The most frequently represented therapeutic themes were infections and sexually transmitted diseases (50.7%), gastrointestinal disorders (41.9%), pain, inflammation, and rheumatism (41.9%), fever and malaria (40.2%), and skin diseases and wounds (40.0%). Individual species had a mean of 2.98 therapeutic themes, with medicinal breadth ranging from 1 to 7 themes. A species-aware permutation test confirmed that the observed plant-part and therapeutic-theme association was significantly stronger than expected under random association (9,999 permutations, P < 0.0001). These findings demonstrate the value of herbarium collections as taxonomically anchored resources for recovering information on medicinal plant diversity. Integrating herbarium records with published ethnomedicinal knowledge provides a reproducible framework for linking plant diversity, taxonomy and traditional medicinal applications and highlights the potential of underutilised African herbaria for ethnopharmacological research.

While mosquito invasions and associated pathogens are increasingly prominent in Europe, evidence gaps remain for many northerly regions where proactive management interventions may be most effective. At the regional periphery of Europe, there remains a significant knowledge gap concerning mosquito vector distributions in Northern Ireland. This study aimed to address this major gap by systematically surveying larval and adult mosquito populations in key habitats (ponds, reedbeds, saltmarsh, wet grasslands, wet woodlands, and urban gardens). We further identified environmental drivers of important vector species abundance and screened collected specimens with molecular techniques to identify presence of cryptic human-biting vector species. In Northern Ireland, mosquitoes (including potential bridge vectors of West Nile and Usutu viruses) were found to be widely distributed. Between May and August 2025, a total of 2430 mosquitoes (951 adults and 1479 larvae) were collected over 196 trap nights and 76 larval collections. Collections encompassed 17 species, with Culex pipiens/torrentium being the most widely distributed and abundant taxon recorded. Mosquito abundances were greatest in reedbed habitats, related negatively with rainfall and peaked in June and July. A subset of Culex pipiens/torrentium mosquitoes were identified to species/biotype level using PCR, with the majority (89.3%) identified as Culex pipiens pipiens and 9.3% as Culex torrentium. Importantly, the first detections of Culex pipiens/molestus hybrids (1.8%) on the island of Ireland were found. This work underscores the wide, yet previously undocumented abundance and distribution of potential zoonotic vectors in Northern Ireland and provides an important baseline for management planning and future research, while contributing to broader understandings of environmental population drivers and distributions.

Chagas cardiomyopathy (ChCM) affects up to 30% of patients with chronic Chagas disease and lacks reliable biomarkers for severity and conduction abnormalities. We profiled cardiac autoantibodies using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, followed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay validation and machine learning analysis. Six autoantibodies linked to glycolysis, adenosine triphosphate metabolism, and sarcomere structure distinguished ChCM stages (area under the curve: 0.87;...

by Albin Teulet, Sebastian Schornack Rhizobia are soil bacteria that establish nitrogen-fixing symbioses with legumes. While many rhizobia use a Type III Secretion System to deliver “Nodulation Outer Protein” (Nop) effectors, some uniquely use these proteins to initiate nodule organogenesis, bypassing classical signalling. The molecular functions of these effectors remain largely unknown due to extreme sequence divergence. Using AlphaFold2-mediated structural proteomics, we identified a modular architecture in rhizobial effectors composed of 22 distinct structural units. We reveal that many Nop effectors are cryptic transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulators, harbouring unrecognised nucleic acid–binding modules and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domains. Crucially, these modules are conserved in specific plant pathogens, such as gall-inducing Pantoea, where our predicted structural units align with experimentally validated DNA-binding domains. Furthermore, we discovered the BPN (B3 and PUA-like nucleic acid binding) domain as a structural mimic of plant B3-domain transcription factors, pointing to a direct mechanism for hijacking legume development. Our findings strongly suggest that rhizobia employ a modular domain-fusion strategy to act as direct genetic modulators, uncovering a conserved mechanism used by both symbionts and pathogens to hijack host developmental programmes.

Publication date: Available online 7 October 2026 Source: Acta Tropica Author(s): Abadi Gebremariam, Eyob Zigta, Dawit Kidane, Desalegn Tadese, Abraham Awala, Mekonnen Yohannes

CONCLUSIONS: The Black Box provides a highly efficient, automated solution for real-time malaria vector surveillance. By delivering accurate, timely ecological data, it supports dynamic risk assessment and enables targeted interventions, addressing key limitations of current control programs.

by Olivia M. Shorthouse, Chloe Barnes, Stefano A. P. Colombo, Jessica Costa, Katrine Wonsbek, Anmoyul Mohon, Andrew S. MacDonald, Elizabeth Mann, Alice H. Costain, Juan F. Quintana Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness is a systemic parasitic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. HAT is associated with substantial immunological, metabolic, and neurological pathology. Although reproductive dysfunction has previously been recognised in both human and experimental T. brucei infection, whether parasites can directly infiltrate the female reproductive tract (FRT), and how infection may reshape the FRT immune landscape remains poorly understood. Using a murine model of T. brucei infection we reveal that parasites are localised in the uterine lining (endometrium) during both acute and chronic infection stages in mice. Chronic T. brucei infection was associated with progressive fat wasting, disruption of the reproductive (oestrous) cycle, uterine and ovarian atrophy, and extensive transcriptional dysregulation across the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Acute and chronic infection induced remodelling of the uterine immune landscape, characterised by T cell infiltration, pro-inflammatory myeloid activation, alongside broader type 1 inflammatory changes across reproductive tissues and HPG components. Ovarian pathology was accompanied by follicular degeneration, a reduction in corpora lutea and alterations to steroidogenic pathways. Hormonal rescue with the selective oestrogen receptor modulator, tamoxifen, restored uterine morphology and prevented oestrous cycle arrest, but did not reverse the infection-induced uterine immune remodelling, indicating that endocrine dysfunction and infection-driven inflammation are distinct processes. Taken together, these findings identify the FRT as a major target of T. brucei infection and demonstrate how chronic parasitic infection can disrupt reproductive physiology through a combination of immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. They also highlight the need to specifically assess the FRT in other models of systemic inflammation.

Alphaviruses are mosquito-transmitted pathogens in the Togaviridae family that cause severe arthritogenic or encephalitic disease in humans. Swelling of peripheral joints and soft tissues is a hallmark of arthritogenic alphavirus infection, although the mechanism by which tissue edema occurs is not well understood. The cell surface protein, matrix remodeling-associated protein 8 (MXRA8), is a cell entry receptor for several arthritogenic alphaviruses. Global loss of MXRA8 expression in mice abrogates foot swelling and reduces virus dissemination. Here, we demonstrate that specific ablation of MXRA8 from platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFR) cells, including fibroblasts, phenocopies the foot swelling and dissemination deficits observed in chikungunya virus (CHIKV)-infected global MXRA8 knock-out mice. Edema in the foot requires CHIKV infection of PDGFR+ cells, which enhances both infection efficiency and permeability of endothelial cells. CHIKV-induced vascular leakage requires both MXRA8 expression and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling and contributes to dissemination by enabling virus access to the bloodstream. Collectively, our study establishes the role of MXRA8-dependent cell tropism in CHIKV dissemination and pathogenesis.

Foraging hematophagous flies such as the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, are shown or expected to sense multiple characteristics of visual host cues. These include relative intensity, spectral composition, and the angle and degree of polarization. Here, we investigated the role of each of these visual cue characteristics on stable fly attraction. In laboratory two-choice bioassays, we offered groups of female or male stable flies a choice between paired photostimuli that differed in their visual characteristics, recording the flies' landing responses on stimuli as the response criterion. Bioassay flies preferentially selected lower-intensity visual stimuli even when paired stimuli markedly differed in spectral composition and polarization characteristics (a high degree of horizontal or vertical polarization). When paired stimuli had identical relative intensity, flies failed to discriminate between the stimulus that presented ultraviolet, blue, green, and red wavebands and a corresponding paired stimulus lacking one of these wavebands. Our results support the hypothesis that foraging stable flies may respond to colour and polarization characteristics of visual stimuli as modulations of perceived intensity. Acquired knowledge on the mechanisms that underlie stable fly visual attraction may inform the design of vision-based traps so that they become optimally attractive to stable flies and other biting flies.

Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic RNA viruses, including filoviruses, henipaviruses and Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV), pose a significant threat to human health. Due to their epidemic potential and high pathogenicity, these viruses are categorized as WHO priority pathogens, yet we still lack effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) against most of these dangerous pathogens, supporting that host-directed antivirals will be advantageous for broadly acting MCMs. Here we assessed the antiviral efficacy of SLR14, an immunomodulatory stem-loop RNA that activates RIG-I, for its activity against a panel of highly pathogenic viruses. SLR14 treatment provided broad-spectrum protection, markedly reducing infection with Ebola virus (EBOV), Marburg virus, and Sudan virus in human primary monocyte-derived macrophages, and Nipah virus replication in iPSC-derived endothelial cells, whether administered prophylactically or therapeutically. In vivo, a single dose of SLR14 protected mice against lethal RVFV infection when administered prophylactically, and, notably, retained significant efficacy when administered up to two days post-infection. Therapeutic SLR14 administration also improved survival rates of EBOV-infected mice. Although EBOV infection and SLR14 treatment activated overlapping innate immune pathways in human macrophages, viral infection induced a nonprotective response, whereas SLR14 elicited a well-regulated, markedly stronger and protective interferon-stimulated and inflammatory gene signature while avoiding prolonged IFN gene upregulation. Our data identify SLR14 as a potent host-directed therapeutic with broad antiviral efficacy against some of the most lethal viral pathogens.

Communities living in biodiversity hotspots are at increased risk of pathogen exposure and spread due to insufficient access to nutrition, clean water, and sanitation. Viruses, in particular, have high epidemic and spillover potential, and widespread health impacts, yet, viral diversity and dynamics remain understudied in many high-risk regions. In Madagascar, a hotspot with unparalleled biodiversity, socioeconomic constraints, and a heavy burden of infectious diseases, ongoing healthcare initiatives provide opportunities to survey circulating viral diversity. Here, we used a metagenomic workflow to characterize the viromes of oral/nasal swabs from febrile individuals visiting a mobile healthcare clinic in southeastern Madagascar, of which 49% were malaria-positive (Plasmodium falciparum). We characterized sequences of human-infecting viruses from twelve families (Adenoviridae, Anelloviridae, Orthoherpesviridae, Papillomaviridae, Polyomaviridae, Astroviridae, Coronaviridae, Matonaviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Paramyxoviridae, Picornaviridae, and Sedoreoviridae). These viral sequences generally showed high similarity to known lineages circulating globally, but multiple viruses considered rare or emerging were identified (e.g. enterovirus C105, enterovirus C117). While we did not detect a significant association between malaria status and pathogenic virus presence, younger individuals had higher odds of having a pathogenic virus. Nonpathogenic viruses in Anelloviridae were prevalent and diverse with richness ranging from 0 to 70. Individuals with P. falciparum or a pathogenic virus tended to share more anelloviruses. We also detected viruses that are protist-associated, plant-infecting, or with unknown hosts. Overall, our work documents extensive viral diversity in Madagascar, highlighting how metagenomic workflows can be used to build viral genomic resources for pathogen surveillance in regions with high infectious disease burden.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, with an estimated 20 million human infections annually. Its diverse host range presents a significant zoonotic threat, yet the molecular mechanisms underpinning HEV-host interactions remain poorly characterised. Here, we used transposon-based insertion screening of the HEV pORF1 polyprotein to identify a novel region within the viral PCP domain that permits HA-epitope insertion, enabling the first epitope tagging of this domain. Combined with V5 tagging of the hypervariable region (HVR), this approach enabled the generation of a replication-competent stable cell line expressing dual-tagged ORF1. Co-immunoprecipitation and TMT-based LC-MS proteomics revealed that pORF1 interacts with host proteins involved in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) and the 26S proteasome. Pharmacological inhibition demonstrated that both pathways are required for efficient HEV replication. Treatment with the FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor bortezomib altered pORF1 precursor abundance and led to loss of full-length pORF1 through enhanced proteolysis. Importantly, the kinetics of ORF1 degradation following proteasome inhibition correlated with immediate loss of HEV replication, demonstrating a functional link between pORF1 proteostasis and viral replication. Collectively, our findings identify the ERAD network as a previously unrecognised requirement for HEV replication and establish a role for the 26S proteasome in maintaining pORF1 proteostasis.

Phenuiviruses which include Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), classified by WHO as one of the top priority pathogens with outbreak potential, are emerging arthropod-borne viruses that pose an increasing threat to public health. In line with the prototype pathogen framework advanced by the NIAID, the sandfly-transmitted Toscana virus (TOSV) has been adopted as a prototype to advance understanding of relevant phenuiviruses and inform the development of broadly applicable medical countermeasures. In this study, we sought to isolate and characterize monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) elicited by natural TOSV infection to identify shared antigenic determinants. By employing the conserved envelope Gc glycoprotein as bait for antigen-specific B cell sorting, we recovered more than 1,450 memory B cells and identified 112 Gc-specific neutralizing mAbs. Over one-third of these mAbs exhibited cross-reactivity with RVFV, a genetically distinct phenuivirus. Selected mAbs provided prophylactic protection in a murine model of TOSV infection. Together, our findings establish Gc as an important target of protective neutralizing antibodies and provide insights that may guide the rational design of widely effective interventions, strengthening readiness against future phenuivirus outbreaks.

Multifunctional anatomical structures must accommodate potentially competing performance demands, leading to functional tradeoffs. The mammal rostrum (snout) is involved in multiple functions, including feeding, respiratory conditioning, olfaction, and, in most bats, echolocation. Therefore, it serves as an ideal system to investigate whether and how functional tradeoffs promote or constrain morphological diversification. While the external morphology of the rostrum has been linked with mechanical demands of feeding in bats, the factors and processes influencing its internal morphology, including the turbinals in the nasal cavity, remain comparatively unexplored. Here we investigate how internal rostral morphology reflects specialization and tradeoffs among respiratory air conditioning, echolocation, and olfaction by quantifying turbinal morphological diversity in a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse sample of bat species. We find that echolocation mode predominantly influences both the ethmoturbinal complex (ETc) and maxilloturbinal (MT) systems, with nasal-emitting bats having reduced and less complex turbinals compared to oral and non-laryngeally echolocating bat species. MT complexity and surface area are not associated with bioclimatic variables representing thermal variability and aridity. However, the ETc exhibits higher complexity in plantivorous bats than faunivorous bats, suggesting higher olfactory reliance. While MT morphological disparity was predominantly explained by echolocation mode, ETc morphological disparity was associated with both echolocation mode and diet, suggesting potentially opposing demands favoring turbinal reduction for sound transmission and elaboration for olfaction. Among nasal emitters, which must accommodate both demands within the nasal cavity, ETc complexity exhibited higher relative disparity compared to MT complexity. These patterns suggest that competing functional demands may promote or maintain morphological diversity, possibly through ecological specialization and/or many-to-one mapping between morphology and performance.

CONCLUSION: Imported P. falciparum malaria remains challenging to diagnose and manage in malaria-free regions. This case series highlights that mNGS may provide complementary information beyond pathogen detection, particularly in patients with complex presentations or uncertain clinical trajectories. Integration of mNGS with conventional parasitological methods and clinical assessment may facilitate the management of imported malaria in non-endemic settings.

Publication date: November 2026 Source: #ticks and #tick-borne Diseases, Volume 17, Issue 6 Author(s): Maria V. Murgia, Phurchhoki Sherpa, Brianna Gast, Kayla Bliven, Catherine A. Hill

Domestic dogs may influence human microbiota and act as reservoirs or sentinels for zoonotic bacteria, yet little is known about these dynamics in Southeast Asia. Using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing from rectal swabs, we analyzed microbiota from dog-owner pairs from four villages of rural Thailand (Nan province) to assess microbial diversity, shared taxa, and zoonotic potential. Dogs exhibited higher microbial and putative pathogen diversity than humans, particularly during the rainy season. While dog-owner pairs shared more bacteria than unrelated individuals, overall overlap remained limited - likely driven by their dogs free-roaming lifestyles and broader environmental exposures. However, co-occurrence of putative zoonotic pathogens such as Shigella spp. and Klebsiella pneumoniae suggests dogs could serve as useful indicators for specific public health risks, with further targeted pathogen screening needed to validate these results. Our findings highlight the value of integrating dogs into zoonotic surveillance programs, particularly in regions with free-ranging dog populations and close human-animal contact.

Publication date: Available online 7 October 2026 Source: Acta Tropica Author(s): Laís Feliciano de Souza, Thamires Rezende Araújo, Nelson Meireles da Silva, Karina Cristina Paes Galdino, Carla Alves Rabello, Patricia Gonzaga Paulino, Carlos Luiz Massard, Maristela Peckle Peixoto, Huarrisson Azevedo Santos