Infectious Disease News & Articles

1 The effects of environmental factors on the virulence of Trichomonas vaginalis Microbes and Infection, February 14, 2013
Figueroa-Angulo EE et al. - This review focused on potential regulatory mechanisms of trichomonas vaginalis virulence properties, cytoadherence, cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, hemolysis, induction of apoptosis, and immune evasion in response to environmental factors of the human urogenital tract, iron, zinc, and polyamines. Understanding the multifactorial nature of trichomonal pathogenesis and its regulation may help to unravel the survival strategies of trichomonads and to implement ...

2 Modern diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis infection Sexually Transmitted Infections, May 7, 2013
Hobbs MM et al. - Recent advances in tests for the sexually transmitted protozoan parasite trichomonas vaginalis have increased opportunities for diagnosis and treatment of this important sexually transmitted infection. This review summarises currently available tests, highlighting their performance characteristics, advantages and limitations. The recent development of molecular tests for the detection of T vaginalis, including rapid antigen detection and nucleic acid amplification ...

3 Hydrogenosome Metabolism Is the Key Target for Antiparasitic Activity of Resveratrol against Trichomonas vaginalis Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 16, 2013
Mallo N et al. - Metronidazole (MDZ) and related 5-nitroimidazoles are the recommended drugs for treatment of trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted disease caused by the protozoan parasite trichomonas vaginalis. In this study, the authors analyzed for the first time the in vitro effects of the natural polyphenol resveratrol (RESV) on T. vaginalis. In view of the results, the authors propose hydrogenosomal metabolism as a key target in the design of novel antiparasitic drugs.

4 Deep sequencing of Trichomonas vaginalis during the early infection of vaginal epithelial cells and amoeboid transition International Journal for Parasitology, May 21, 2013
Gould SB et al. - The human pathogen trichomonas vaginalis has the largest protozoan genome known, potentially encoding approximately 60,000 proteins. To what degree these genes are expressed is not well known and only a few key transcription factors and promoter domains have been identified. The exposure of oxygen-adapted parasites to human epithelial cells primarily induces cytoskeletal rearrangement and proliferation, reflecting the rap

5 Diagnosis and molecular characterization of Trichomonas vaginalis in sex workers in the Philippines Pathogens and Global Health, May 23, 2013
Queza MIP et al. - trichomonas vaginalis is a pathogenic protozoon which causes the sexually transmitted infection, trichomoniasis. The absence or non-specificity of symptoms often leads to misdiagnosis of the infection. In this study, 969 samples consisting of vaginal swabs and urine were collected and screened from social hygiene clinics across the Philippines. PCR primer set TVK3/7 and culture had the same and the best expected average performance [receiver-operating ...

6 Association of Trichomonas vaginalis with its symbiont Mycoplasma hominis synergistically upregulates the in vitro proinflammatory response of human monocytes Sexually Transmitted Infections, May 7, 2013
Fiori PL et al. - Since local inflammation is thought to play a central role in T vaginalis infection, the authors investigated the in vitro response of human macrophages to naturally mycoplasma-free T vaginalis, as compared to a mycoplasma-infected trichomonad isolate. The findings suggest that the presence of M hominis in T vaginalis isolates might play a key role in inflammation during trichomoniasis, thus affecting the severity of the disease. The synergistic upregulation ...

7 Quantity, not frequency, of alcohol use moderates the association between multiple sexual partners and Trichomonas vaginalis among women attending an urban STD clinic Sexually Transmitted Infections, April 22, 2013
Scott-Sheldon LAJ et al. - The purpose of this study is to investigate alcohol use, sexual risk behaviour and trichomoniasis in a sample of low-income, largely minority, women patients at a publicly funded sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in the USA. The number of sexual partners predicted the probability of trichomoniasis when women reported drinking large quantities of alcohol. Because having multiple sexual partners increases the risk for STD transmission, ...