• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제36권4호
• /
• pp.249-254
• /
• 1998

간흡충은 현재 국내에서 가장 충란양성률이 높은 인체기생충으로 우수한 구충효과를 보이는 국산 프라지콴텔이 사용되고 있음에도 여전히 유행도가 높아 관리대책이 필요하다. 이 연구는 간흡충이 유행하는 한 마을에서 충란양성자를 6개월 간격으로 반복 검사 및 투약하면서 관리효과를 파악하고 간흡충증의 진단에서 복부초음파검사의 유용성을 검토하였다. 충북 괴산군의 한 마을에서 충란양성률이 처음 22.7％이었으나, 치료를 반복하면서 6개월 후에 19.6％, 12개월 후에 15.1％, 18개월 후에 12.2％, 24개월 후에 6.3％, 30개월 후에 11.4％, 42개월 후에 6.3％를 나타내었다. 한 번 이상 초음파 검사와 검변에 참여한 피검사자 총 123명 중에서 61명 (49.6％) 이 간내 담관이 관찰되어 양성소견을 보였으나, 이들 중에서 충란양성률은 18.7％ (23/123)이었다. 충란양성자 중에서 52.5％, 충란음성자 중에서 49％가 초음파 양성소견을 보여 충란양성 여부와 초음파 양성소견은 관련성이 없었다. 또한 치료 후에 초음파로 검사한 결과 치료 후 6개월 64.3％, 12개월 50％, 18개월 50％, 24개월 66.7％의 초음파 양성소견을 보였다. 비유행지에서 주민 64명의 충란음성자를 대상으로 초음파로 검사한 결과 20 (31.3％)명이 양성으로 관찰되었다. 이 연구의 결과에 의하면 6개월 간격으로 충란양성자를 3년 6개월간 지속적으로 투약하여도 간흡충증의 집단관리가 충분하지 못하며, 초음파검사는 유용성이 낮은 진단법임을 확인하였다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제37권1호
• /
• pp.21-26
• /
• 1999

The growth and development of Gymnophalloides seoi were studied in C3H/HeN mice and effects of immunosuppression of the host on the worm development were observed. Two hundred metacercariae of G. seoi were orally administered to each mouse, and worms were recovered on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 post-infection (PI). The worm recovery rate was significantly higher in immunosuppressed (ImSP) mice than in immunocompetent (ImCT) mice except on days 1 and 3 PI. The worms attained sexual maturity by day 3 PI with eggs in the uterus, and worm dimensions and the number of uterine eggs continuously increased until day 14 PI in ImSP mice. Worms recovered from ImSP mice were significantly larger in size than those from ImCT mice on days 1 and 3 PI, and the number of uterine eggs was significantly larger in ImSP mice on days 5 and 7 PI. Genital organs such as the ovary, testes, and vitellaria, that were already developed in the metacercarial stage. grew a little in size until day 14 PI. The results show that the C3H/HeN mouse is, though not excellent, a suitable laboratory host for G. seoi.

• 대한바이러스학회지
• /
• 제29권2호
• /
• pp.129-136
• /
• 1999

Transient transfection assay has been done to evaluate whether the c-jun activation would be prerequisite to the induction of permissiveness against human cytomegalovirus using in vitro cell model in which U937 has been induced to express CD11b and CD14 to become potential monocyte/macrophage cells by TPA treatment. U937 cells were treated with $10\;{\mu}M$, $50\;{\mu}M$ or $100\;{\mu}M$ of TPA. The cell morphology change was observed and the expression of the CD11b and CD14 was confirmed by FACS. Differentiated cells were transfected with pJLuc reporter vector which contained the wild type murine c-jun promoter spanning the SP1, CTF, ATF/CREB and MEF-2 binding sites upstream of the firefly luciferase gene. After 48 hrs of transfection, the cells were infected with HCMV Towne strain and the luciferase activity was assessed at 1 hand 4 h pi. The transfection assay showed no activation of the c-jun promoter at 1 h pi, instead, it showed 2 times increase of the its activity at 4 h pi. There was no difference of the c-jun promoter activation between TPA treated and untreated U937 cells, implying that c-jun activation might not be prerequisite for allowing cells to be premissive to HCMV, although HCMV infection itself could activate c-jun promoter.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제50권3호
• /
• pp.207-213
• /
• 2012

The egg morphology of minute intestinal flukes (MIF) that can occur as human infections in the Republic of Korea, i.e., Metagonimus yokogawai, M. miyatai, M. takahashii, Heterophyes nocens, Heterophyopsis continua, Stellantchasmus falcatus, Stictodora fuscata, Pygidiopsis summa, and Gymnophalloides seoi, was studied in comparison with Clonorchis sinensis. The adult worms were obtained from residents of endemic areas, and their intrauterine eggs were studied and measured using light microscopy; the length, width, length-width ratio (LWR), and Faust-Meleney index (FMI). Several specimens were processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and before gold-coating, the uterine portion of each fluke was etched with a sharp pin in order to expose the eggs. The MIF eggs were ovoid, pyriform, or elliptical with a size range of $21-35{\times}12-21{\mu}m$. S. fuscata eggs revealed the highest FMI (largest in the area) and lowest LWR, whereas P. summa eggs showed the lowest FMI and medium LWR. SEM revealed that G. seoi and S. fuscata had remarkably clean shell surface lacking the muskmelon-like structure which is prominent in C. sinensis eggs. In Metagonimus spp., H. continua, H. nocens, and S. falcatus eggs, minute surface ridges were recognizable though less prominent compared with C. sinensis. On the surface of P. summa eggs, thread-like curly structures were characteristically seen. The results revealed that important differential keys for MIF eggs include the length, width, area (FMI), shape of the eggs, and the extent of the muskmelon-like structure or ridges on their shell surface and operculum.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제44권1호
• /
• pp.49-54
• /
• 2006

In order to develop tools for an early serodiagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection, we evaluated the usefulness of P. falciparum liver stage antigen-3 (LSA-3) as a serodiagnostic antigen. A portion of LSA-3 gene was cloned, and its recombinant protein (rLSA-3) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by column chromatography. The purified rLSA-3 and 120 test blood/serum samples collected from inhabitants in malaria-endemic areas of Mandalay, Myanmar were used for this study. In microscopic examinations of blood samples, P. falciparum positive rate was $39.1\%$ (47/120) in thin smear trials, and $33.3\%$ (40/120) in thick smear trials. Although the positive rate associated with the rLSA-3 $(30.8\%)$ was lower than that of the blood stage antigens $(70.8\%)$, rLSA-3 based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay could detect 12 seropositive cases $(10.0\%),$ in which blood stage antigens were not detected. These results indicate that the LSA-3 is a useful antigen for an early serodiagnosis of P. falciparum infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제42권1호
• /
• pp.41-44
• /
• 2004

The pond smelt Hypomesus olidus and minnow Zacco platypus were collected from the Soyang and Daechung Lakes in January 2003, and their metacercarial infections was examined by the muscle compression and artificial digestion techniques. In the Soyang Lake, 161 metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis (0.35 per fish) were harvested from 459 pond smelts examined. Also, 13 metacercariae of C. sinensis (0.43 per fish), 1 of Metagonimus sp., 4 of Echinostoma sp., 148 of Centrocestus armatus and 44 unidentified species were collected from 30 minnows. In the Daechung Lake, 369 metacercariae of C. sinensis (3.69 per fish) and 51 unidentified species were recovered from 100 pond smelts. The metacercariae of C. sinensis were fed to experimental rats, in which the adult flukes were identified. The pond smelts and minnows collected from the Soyang and Daechung Lakes were verified to be the second intermediate hosts and the sources of human C. sinensis infection.

• 대한수학회논문집
• /
• 제18권1호
• /
• pp.133-149
• /
• 2003

Local stability of steady states of an epidemic model is considered. An age structured S-I-R epidemic model with separable inter-cohort force of infection with external force is considered. Stability result for the nontrivial steady states is obtained.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권11호
• /
• pp.4513-4518
• /
• 2014

The prevalence of BRCA1 gene mutations in breast cancer differs between diverse ethnic groups. Relatively little information is known about patterns of BRCA1 mutations in early-onset breast cancer in women of Uighur or Han descent, the major ethnic populations of the Xinjiang region in China. The aim of this study was to identify BRCA1 mutations in Uighur and Han patients with early-onset (age <35 years), and sporadic breast cancer for genetic predisposition to breast cancer. For detection of BRCA1 mutations, we used a polymerase chain reaction single-stranded conformation polymorphism approach, followed by direct DNA sequencing in 22 Uighur and 13 Han women with early-onset sporadic breast cancer, and 32 women with benign breast diseases. The prevalence of BRCA1 mutations in this population was 22.9% (8/35) among early-onset sporadic breast cancer cases. Of these, 31.8% (7/22) of Uighur patients and 7.69% (1/13) of Han patients were found to have BRCA1 mutations. In 7 Uighur patients with BRCA1 mutations, there were 11 unique sequence alterations in the BRCA1 gene, including 4 clearly disease-associated mutations on exon 11 and 3 variants of uncertain clinical significance on exon 11, meanwhile 4 neutral variants on intron 20 or 2. None of the 11 BRCA1 mutations identified have been previously reported in the Breast Cancer Information Core database. These findings reflect the prevalence of BRCA1 mutations in Uighur women with early-onset and sporadic breast cancer, which will allow for provision of appropriate genetic counseling and treatment for Uighur patients in the Xinjiang region.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제38권2호
• /
• pp.51-57
• /
• 2000

Follow-up studies have been conducted every three years on the endemicity of Gymnophalloides seoi infection in a small coastal village of Chollanam-do (Province), Korea, since it was first known as an endemic area in 1994. Special attention was given to its egg laying capacity in the human host. In fecal examinations, the overall helminth egg and/or cyst positive rate was 78.7% (74/94) in 1997 and 76.6% (82/107) in 2000. Among them G. seoi eggs showed the highest rate; 71.3% (67/94) in 1997 and 72.0% (77/107) in 2000. The average number of eggs per gram of feces (EPG) was 1,015 in 1997, while a reduced rate of 353 was observed in 2000. In 1997, total of 320,677 adult flukes of G. seoi (av. 10,344/person, 94-69,125 in range) were collected from the diarrheic stools of 31 treated patients. The EPG/worm obtained from 21 cases ranged from 0.04 to 0.77 (av. 0.23), suggesting density-dependent constraints on the worm fecundity. The relationship between the worm burden (X) and EPG/worm (Y) can be expressed as $Y=0.42{\cdot}e{\cdot}^{-l.2x}(r=0.49)$. The results showed that G. seoi infection is persistently endemic in this village.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제44권4호
• /
• pp.367-372
• /
• 2006

In order to determine the distribution and prevalence of human cryptosporidiosis on western and southern coastal islands of Jeollanam-do (Province), fecal samples were collected from 2,541 people residing on 25 islands, 13 in the western coasts and 12 in the southern coasts, during July and August 2000. Fecal smears were prepared following formalin-ether sedimentation of the samples and stained by a modified acid-fast procedure. The presence of Cyptosporidium oocysts was determined by light microscopy. Cyptosporidium oocysts were detected in 38 specimens (1.5%). The oocyst positive rate varied (0-6.0%) according to island; the highest was detected on Oenarodo (6.0%), followed by Naenarodo (5.6%) and Nakwoldo (5.4%). The majority (35 persons, 94.6%) of Cryptosporidium-infected individuals were older than 50 years of age. Men (22/1, 159; 1.9%) were infected at a higher rate than women (16/1, 382; 1.2%). The results of the present survey indicate that human Cyptosporidium infections (due to Cyptosporidium hominis and/or C. parvum) are maintained at a relatively low prevalence on coastal islands of Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea.