Teguh Wahju Sardjono

Detection of immunogenic proteins from Anopheles sundaicus salivary glands in the human serum.

INTRODUCTION The saliva of mosquitoes has an important role in the transmission of several diseases, including malaria, and contains substances with vasomodulating and immunomodulating effects to counteract the host physiological mechanisms and enhance pathogen transmission. As immunomodulatory components, salivary gland proteins can induce the generation of specific IgG antibodies in the host, which can be used as specific biomarkers of exposure to Anopheles sundaicus . The objective of this study was to identify immunogenic proteins from the salivary glands of Anopheles sundaicus by reaction with sera from individuals living in malaria-endemic areas who are thus exposed to Anopheles mosquitoes. METHODS IgG antibodies targeting salivary gland proteins in serum samples from individuals living in malaria-endemic areas were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera from healthy individuals living in non-endemic areas were used as negative controls. Determination of the presence of salivary gland immunogenic proteins was carried out by western blotting. RESULTS Sixteen bands appeared in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with molecule weights ranging from 22 to 144kDa. Among the exposed individuals, IgG responses to salivary gland proteins were variable. Protein bands with molecular weights of 46, 41, 33, and 31kDa were the most immunogenic. These immunogenic proteins were consistently recognized by pooled serum and individual samples from people living in malaria-endemic areas but not by negative controls. CONCLUSIONS These results support the potential use of immunogenic proteins from the salivary glands of Anopheles as candidate markers of bite exposure or in malaria vaccines.

Unusual Presentation of Vivax Malaria with Anaemia, Thrombocytopenia, Jaundice, Renal Disturbance, and Melena: A Report from Malang, a Nonendemic Area in Indonesia

Most of the complications of malaria such as anaemia, thrombocytopenia, jaundice, and renal failure are commonly found in Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but the incidence of severe and complicated vivax malaria tends to be increasing. We report two cases of severe Plasmodium vivax malaria from Malang, a nonendemic area in Indonesia. Patients exhibited anaemia, thrombocytopenia, jaundice, renal disturbance, and melena. Microscopic peripheral blood examination and amplification of parasite 18s rRNA by polymerase chain reaction showed the presence of P. vivax and absence of P. falciparum. All patients responded well to antimalarial drugs.

Low Fetal Weight is Directly Caused by Sequestration of Parasites and Indirectly by IL-17 and IL-10 Imbalance in the Placenta of Pregnant Mice with Malaria.

The sequestration of infected erythrocytes in the placenta can activate the syncytiotrophoblast to release cytokines that affect the micro-environment and influence the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to fetus. The high level of IL-10 has been reported in the intervillous space and could prevent the pathological effects. There is still no data of Th17 involvement in the pathogenesis of placental malaria. This study was conducted to reveal the influence of placental IL-17 and IL-10 levels on fetal weights in malaria placenta. Seventeen pregnant BALB/C mice were divided into control (8 pregnant mice) and treatment group (9 pregnant mice infected by Plasmodium berghei). Placental specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin were examined to determine the level of cytoadherence by counting the infected erythrocytes in the intervillous space of placenta. Levels of IL-17 and IL-10 in the placenta were measured using ELISA. All fetuses were weighed by analytical balance. Statistical analysis using Structural Equation Modeling showed that cytoadherence caused an increased level of placental IL-17 and a decreased level of placental IL-10. Cytoadherence also caused low fetal weight. The increased level of placental IL-17 caused low fetal weight, and interestingly low fetal weight was caused by a decrease of placental IL-10. It can be concluded that low fetal weight in placental malaria is directly caused by sequestration of the parasites and indirectly by the local imbalance of IL-17 and IL-10 levels.

Endoglin Expression and the Level of Tgf-Β Are Increased In the Placental Tissue and Correlated with Low Fetal Weight in Malaria Infected Mice

Ceplukan ( Physalis minima L.) has long been used to treat various conditions in traditional medicine. This study aims to demonstrate the anxiolytic effects of Methanol Extract of Ceplukan Leaves (MECL) in the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) test and correlate to IL-6 level of ovariectomized rat brain. Total of 24 Wistar rats were divided into six groups: one normal group, one group of 1 month ovariectomized (ovx), one group of 2 months ovx, three groups of 2 months ovx (each given with MECL 500; 1500 and 2500 mg/kg doses for 1 month). The anxiety-like behavior level was measured by EPM test. After EPM test, the brain was removed to measure level of IL-6 by ELISA. The data were processed and analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation. We found that the MECL-treated rats enter the opened-arm higher than the control rats. It indicates that the MECL-treated rats are less anxious than the control rats. The results also show the decreased of IL-6 level in MECL-treated rats.