Investigation of antileishmanial activities of CaO nanoparticles on L. tropica and L. infantum parasites, in vitro.

Stibogluconate sodium and meglumine antimoniate are the main antimonials utilised as the primary treatment option for leishmaniasis. However, have a number of side effects that limit their use. Development of nanoparticles (NPs) use in biological research and remarkable antimicrobial effects and unique optical and structural properties of CaO NPs have motivated this study to evaluated the effect of different times/dilutions of CaO NPs on Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum. To evaluate the antileishmanial activity of CaO NPs, the cytotoxic effect of CaO NPs against L. tropica and L. infantum amastigotes, promastigotes, as well as macrophages, was evaluated using counting and MTT assay after adding different concentrations of CaO nanoparticles (800-6.25 µg/ml) to the parasite culture. The possible apoptosis by CaO NPs were evaluated via flow cytometry assay. The XRD-pattern related to CaO nanoparticles indicating the cubic phase structures. According the effects of nanoparticle on promastigotes the IC50 values of CaO nanoparticles within 72 h were 19.81 µg/ml for L. tropica and 22.57 µg/ml for L. infantum. The percentage of the normal, apoptotic, and necrotic cells was estimated to be 82.6%, 14.81%, and 2.69% for L. tropica, and 73.6%, 23.89%, and 2.58% for L. infantum, respectively. Our results showed acceptable in vitro activity level of CaO NPs against L. tropica and L. infantum promastigotes as well as intracellular amastigotes. CaO NPs were more effective against L. infantum compared to L. tropica in vitro study.

Microscopic and Molecular Detection of Sarcocystis cruzi (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) in the Heart Muscle of Cattle.

Background: Sarcocystis is a genus of coccidian protozoa that at least seven species of it can parasitize cattle. The global prevalence of Sarcocystis is close to 100% in adult cattle. The main aim of this study was to identify the infection rate of Sarcocystis spp. in heart of cattle in Tehran, Iran by microscopy and PCR-RFLP methods. Methods: Totally, 100 bovine heart samples were collected from the main slaughterhouse of Shahriar, Meysam slaughterhouse, west of Tehran in 2016. At first, heart samples were completely examined for the presence of sarcocystic macrocysts. Then, for microscopic examination, 50 g of each heart was digested in sterile condition using pepsin acid digestion method. Then, the species of the parasite were detected by PCR-RFLP technique and sequencing. Results: Overall, 97 of 100 of the heart muscle samples were infected with Sarcocystis. All the samples were detected as S. cruzi through similar patterns in PCR-RFLP. Conclusion: S. cruzi is the most common species in the heart of cattle slaughtered in Shahriar.