Campillo JT et al. (2020) Parasit Vectors "Individuals living in an onchocerciasis focus and treated three-monthly with ivermectin develop fewer new onchocercal nodules than individuals treated annually."

Pion SDS, Boussinesq M, Campillo JT, Kamgno J, Gardon J, Chesnais CB

[Parasit Vectors, 2020]

BACKGROUND: Little information is available on the effect of ivermectin on the third- and fourth-stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus. To assess a possible prophylactic effect of ivermectin on this parasite, we compared the effects of different ivermectin regimens on the acquisition of onchocercal nodules. METHODS: We analyzed data from a controlled randomized clinical trial of ivermectin conducted in the Mbam Valley (Cameroon) between 1994 and 1998 in a cohort of onchocerciasis infected individuals. The number of nodules that appeared between the start and the end of the clinical trial was analyzed, using ANOVA and multivariable Poisson regressions, between four treatment arms: 150 g/kg annually, 800 g/kg annually, 150 g/kg 3-monthly, and 800 g/kg 3-monthly. RESULTS: The mean number of nodules that appeared during the trial was reduced by 17.7% in subjects treated 3-monthly compared to those treated annually (regardless of the dose). Poisson regression model, adjusting on subject's age and weight, initial number of nodules and intensity of O. volvulus infection in his village of residence, confirmed that the incidence of new nodules was reduced in 3-monthly treatment arms compared to annually treatment arms, and that the dosage of ivermectin does not seem to influence this effect. Furthermore, the number of newly acquired nodules was positively associated with the initial number of nodules. Analysis of disappearance of nodules did not show any significant difference between the treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, these results suggest for the first time in humans, that ivermectin has a partial prophylactic effect on O. volvulus. Three-monthly treatment seems more effective than annual treatment to prevent the appearance of nodules.

Hatakeyama S et al. (1999) Oncogene "JTB: a novel membrane protein gene at 1q21 rearranged in a jumping translocation."

Omine M, Osawa M, Ishikawa F, Hatakeyama S

[Oncogene, 1999]

1q21 is frequently involved in different types of translocation in many types of cancers. Jumping translocation (JT) is an unbalanced translocation that comprises amplified chromosomal segments jumping to various telomeres. In this study, we identified a novel gene human JTB (Jumping Translocation Breakpoint) at 1q21, which fused with the telomeric repeats of acceptor telomeres in a case of JT. hJTB (human JTB) encodes a trans-membrane protein that is highly conserved among divergent eukaryotic species. JT results in a hJTB truncation, which potentially produces an hJTB product devoid of the trans-membrane domain. hJTB is located in a gene-rich region at 1q21, called EDC (Epidermal Differentiation Complex). This is the first report identifying the gene involved in unbalanced translocations at 1q21.

Filingeri D (2015) J Neurophysiol "Humidity sensation, cockroaches, worms, and humans: are common sensory mechanisms for hygrosensation shared across species?"

Filingeri D

[J Neurophysiol, 2015]

Although the ability to detect humidity (i.e., hygrosensation) represents an important sensory attribute in many animal species (including humans), the neurophysiological and molecular bases of such sensory ability remain largely unknown in many animals. Recently, Russell and colleagues (Russell J, Vidal-Gadea AG, Makay A, Lanam C, Pierce-Shimomura JT. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111: 8269-8274, 2014) provided for the first time neuromolecular evidence for the sensory integration of thermal and mechanical sensory cues which underpin the hygrosensation strategy of an animal (i.e., the free-living roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans) that lacks specific sensory organs for humidity detection (i.e., hygroreceptors). Due to the remarkable similarities in the hygrosensation transduction mechanisms used by hygroreceptor-provided (e.g., insects) and hygroreceptor-lacking species (e.g., roundworms and humans), the findings of Russell et al. highlight potentially universal mechanisms for humidity detection that could be shared across a wide range of species, including humans.