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Category: publications

Nationwide Remapping of Schistosoma mansoni Infection in Rwanda Using Circulating Cathodic Antigen Rapid Test: Taking Steps Toward Elimination

Eugene Ruberanziza, Udo Wittmann, Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, Alphonse Mutabazi, Carl H. Campbell Jr, Daniel G. Colley, Fiona M. Fleming, Giuseppina Ortu, Govert J. van Dam, Irenee Umulisa, Jamie Tallant, Michee Kabera, Muhammed Semakula, Paul L. A. M. Corstjens, Tharcisse Munyaneza, Warren Lancaster, Jean Bosco Mbonigaba and Michelle N. Clements. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 May 18. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0866.

A terminal α3-galactose modification regulates an E3 ubiquitin ligase subunit in Toxoplasma gondii

Skp1, a subunit of E3 Skp1/Cullin-1/F-box protein ubiquitin ligases, is modified by a prolyl hydroxylase that mediates O2-regulation of the social amoeba Dictyostelium and the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The full effect of hydroxylation requires modification of the hydroxyproline by a pentasaccharide that, in Dictyostelium, influences Skp1 structure to favor assembly of Skp1/F-box protein subcomplexes. In Toxoplasma, the presence of a contrasting …

Antimalarial Diterpenoids From Vitex Rotundifolia: Isolation, Structure Elucidation, and in Vitro Antiplasmodial Activity

Vitex rotundifolia is an important medicinal plant frequently employed in traditional medicines for the treatment of various ailments. Although this plant species has been under exploration for its constituents by various research groups including our own group, no reports were found regarding the antimalarial potential of this plant or of its purified phytochemicals. Phytochemical investigation …

Supplemental Articles: Operational Research on Controlling and Eliminating Schistosomiasis (SCORE)

These articles are available online ahead of print and summarize much of the work of the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE). The articles will be published as a supplement to the July issue of The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation: Mission Accomplished The …

Directing Traffic: Chaperone-mediated protein transport in malaria parasites

The ability of eukaryotic parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa to cause devastating diseases is predicated upon their ability to maintain faithful and precise protein trafficking mechanisms. Their parasitic life cycle depends on the trafficking of effector proteins to the infected host cell, transport of proteins to several critical organelles required for survival, as well as …

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Anti-Trypanosomal Compounds

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a deadly neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. During the course of screening a collection of diverse nitrogenous heterocycles, we discovered two novel compounds that contain the tetracyclic core of the Yohimbine and Corynanthe alkaloids, were potent inhibitors of T. brucei proliferation and T. brucei methionyl-tRNA synthetase (TbMetRS) activity. Inspired by these key …

EAT-18 is an essential auxiliary protein interacting with the non-alpha nAChR subunit EAT-2 to form a functional receptor

Nematode parasites infect approximately 1.5 billion people globally and are a significant public health concern. There is an accepted need for new, more effective anthelmintic drugs. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on parasite nerve and somatic muscle are targets of the cholinomimetic anthelmintics, while glutamate-gated chloride channels in the pharynx of the nematode are affected by the …

Galtonosides A-E: Antiproliferative and Antiplasmodial Cholestane Glycosides from Galtonia regalis

An extract of Galtonia regalis from the Natural Products Discovery Institute showed moderate antiplasmodial activity, with an IC50 value less than 1.25 μg/mL. The two known cholestane glycosides 1 and 2 and the five new cholestane glycosides galtonosides A–E (3–7) were isolated after bioassay-directed fractionation. The structures of the new compounds were determined by interpretation of their NMR and mass spectra. Among …

Multi-target heteroleptic palladium bisphosphonate complexes

Bisphosphonates are the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis and other bone illnesses. Some of them have also shown antiparasitic activity. In search of improving the pharmacological profile of commercial bisphosphonates, our group had previously developed first row transition metal complexes with N-containing bisphosphonates (NBPs). In this work, we extended our studies to …