Some free-living amoebae are a potential threat to human health. The best known species are those of the genus Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931, which cause Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and other forms of tissue inflammation. The aim of the present study was to search for potential pathogenic genotypes of free-living amoeba in the sand in children's playgrounds. Our results confirmed that free-living amoebae were present in all examined playgrounds. Sequences of the 18S rDNA have shown that all isolated potentially pathogenic strains of amoebae belong to genotype T4 of Acanthamoeba. The potential pathogenicity of isolates was confirmed on mice. The presence of pathogenic amoebae in the examined sand may be a potential source of human infection., Marcin Cholewiński, Piotr Solarczyk, Monika Derda, Agnieszka Wojtkowiak-Giera, Edward Hadaś., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of multifunctional enzymes involved in cellular detoxification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of albendazole - drug of choice for trichinellosis - on the total activity and kinetics of cytosolic GST in the mouse intestines during experimental trichinellosis. Our results showed a statistically significant decrease in the total GST activity both in the small and large intestines of the mice infected with the nematode Trichinella spiralis (Owen, 1835) and treated with albendazole, compared with the control mice that were infected but untreated with the drug. Furthermore, albendazole administration modified the kinetics of substrate saturation of GST in the intestines of the infected mice because the drug caused changes in Michaelis constant values of this enzyme. Based on our observations, we suggest that the quaternary structure of GST from the mouse intestines is impacted by this drug during trichinellosis.