Rafael Toledo

University of Valencia | UV · Cellular Biology and Parasitology

Intestinal helminthiases affect millions of people worldwide, mainly in developing regions, where they cause a significant negative impact on human health and socioeconomic growth of affected populations. However, intestinal helminthiases are still among the most neglected tropical diseases. Protective immunity against intestinal helminths is assoc...

Echinostoma caproni is an intestinal trematode that has been extensively used as an experimental model to investigate the factors determining the resistance to intestinal helminths or the development of chronic infections. ICR mice are permissive hosts for E. caproni in which chronic infections are developed, concomitantly with local Th1 responses,...

Intestinal trematodes are among the most common types of parasitic worms. About 76 species belonging to 14 families have been recorded infecting humans. Infection commonly occurs when humans eat raw or undercooked foods that contain the infective metacercariae. These parasites are diverse in regard to their morphology, geographical distribution and...

Background: Despite the fact that prison inmates are a population at higher risk than other groups of suffering from intestinal parasite infections in relation to their living conditions, information about these diseases in prison environments is still scarce. Herein, we analyze the status of intestinal parasite infections in a Spanish prison. Me...

Three recent studies of Blastocystis epidemiology in mammalian hosts identified four novel sequences that appeared to share B. lapemi as the most similar sequence. However, full-length ssu rRNA gene sequences were not available to confirm the validity of these new subtypes. In the present study, Nanopore MinION sequencing was used to obtain full-le...

Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode with no tissue phases in the definitive host that has been extensively used as an experimental model to study the factors that determine resistance against intestinal helminths. In E. caproni infections in mice, interleukin-25 (IL-25) plays a critical role and it is requir...

There is a lack of epidemiological information concerning intestinal parasitic infections, and especially in soil-transmitted helminths, occurring in some departments of Nicaragua. Up to now, this is the first study involving two nearby areas (Puerto Cabezas and Siuna municipalities) of the Región Autónoma Atlántico Norte (R.A.A.N.). One stool samp...

In the present paper, we review two of the most neglected intestinal food-borne trematodiases: echinostomiasis, caused by members of the family Echinostomatidae, and gastrodiscoidiasis produced by the amphistome Gastrodiscoides hominis . Both parasitic infections are important intestinal food-borne diseases. Humans become infected after ingestion o...

The autonomous Valencian Community (Spain) has experienced intense population growth with economic difficulties or deprivation in basic goods, ranking as the sixth Spanish autonomous region with the highest percentage of a population at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The objective of this work is to assess the level of enteroparasites in a Va...

Background Rwanda is a sub-Saharan country, where intestinal parasite infections, anemia and undernutrition coexist. The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between intestinal parasite infections and undernutrition/anemia to clarify the priorities of intervention in the rural area of Gakenke district in the Northern Province of Rw...

Background The cytokine interleukin-25 (IL-25) is recognized as the most relevant initiator of protective T helper 2 (Th2) responses in intestinal helminth infections. This cytokine induces resistance against several species of intestinal helminths, including the trematode Echinostoma caproni. E. caproni has been extensively used as an experimental...

Background: Interleukin-25 (IL-25) is recognized as the most relevant initiator of protective Th2 responses in intestinal helminth infections. It is well known that IL-25 induces resistance against several species of intestinal helminths, including the trematode Echinostoma caproni. Echinostoma caproni has been extensively used as an experimental m...

Background: Interleukin-25 (IL-25) is recognized as the most relevant initiator of protective Th2 responses in intestinal helminth infections. It is well known that IL-25 induces resistance against several species of intestinal helminths, including the trematode Echinostoma caproni. Echinostoma caproni has been extensively used as an experimental m...

Background: Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been extensively used to investigate the factors that determine the rejection of intestinal helminths. In this sense, several studies have shown that IL-25 is critical for the development of resistance against E. caproni in mice. In fact, treatment...

Background: Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been widely employed to investigate the factors determining the rejection of intestinal helminths. In this sense, several studies have shown that IL-25 is essential for the development of resistance against E. caproni in mice. In fact, treatment of m...

Background: Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been extensively used to investigate the factors that determine the rejection of intestinal helminths. In this sense, several studies have shown that IL-25 is critical for the development of resistance against E. caproni in mice. In fact, treatment o...

Background: Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been extensively used to investigate the factors that determine the rejection of intestinal helminths. In this sense, several studies have shown that IL-25 is critical for the development of resistance against E. caproni in mice. In fact, treatment o...

Hydatidic disease (echinococcosis) is a significant health problem in Nepal. In humans, mainly involves liver and commonly remains silent without symptoms or causing only mild pressure symptomatology. However, inadequate invasive medical procedures may cause the rupture of the cyst with serious complications, anaphylactic shock and death. Herein, w...

Interleukin-25 (IL-25) is recognized as the most relevant initiator of protective Th2 responses in intestinal helminth infections. It is well known that IL-25 induces resistance against several species of intestinal helminths, including the trematode Echinostoma caproni . E. caproni has been extensively used as an experimental model to study the fa...

Antibody trapping is a recently described strategy for immune evasion observed in the intestinal trematode Echinostoma caproni, which may aid to avoiding the host humoral response, thus facilitating parasite survival in the presence of high levels of local specific antibodies. Parasite-derived peptidases carry out the degradation of trapped antibod...

Rationale: Microbial keratitis caused by coinfection with more than one species of pathogens is a severe condition with a discouraging prognosis and the difficult diagnosis. Patient concerns: Herein, we report a case of microbial keratitis complicated by in a Nepali female inmunocompetent patient, no contact lens wearer. She reported a previous di...

Foodborne trematode infections are among the most neglected parasitic diseases, both in terms of research funding and public media. It is estimated that about 80 million people are currently infected with foodborne trematodes and about 1 billion are at risk of infection. Foodborne trematode infections generally cause chronic diseases with a variety...

Human populations living in the surrounding urban areas of large Brazilian cities have increased vulnerability to intestinal parasites. However, the epidemiological scenario of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in Curitiba, Paraná´s main city, remains largely unknown. To bridge this gap of knowledge, this study aims to determine the prevalence of in...

Digenetic trematodes form a major group of human parasites, affecting a large number of humans, especially in endemic foci. Over 100 species have been reported infecting humans, including blood, lung, liver, and intestinal parasites. Traditionally, trematode infections have been diagnosed by parasitological methods based on the detection and the id...

Intestinal trematodes are among the most common types of parasitic worms. About 76 species belonging to 14 families have been recorded infecting humans. Infection commonly occurs when humans eat raw or undercooked foods that contain the infective metacercariae. These parasites are diverse with regard to their morphology, geographical distribution,...

Fasciolopsiasis is rarely known as the parasitic disease in Nepal. Herein, we report a case of fasciolopsiasis in a 22-year-old man who was admitted in the hospital with abdominal pain, distension and loss of appetite for a month. He had previously diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis but, his abdominal pain was not resolving despite improvement in...

Fasciolopsiasis is rarely known as the parasitic disease in Nepal. Herein, we report a case of fasciolopsiasis in a 22-year-old man who was admitted in the hospital with abdominal pain, distension and loss of appetite for a month. He had previously diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis but, his abdominal pain was not resolving despite improvement in...

Gastrodiscoidiasis is a snail-transmitted zoonotic infection caused by the digenean trematode Gastrodiscoides hominis, which is the only species in the genus Gastrodiscoides infecting humans. We report a case of human gastrodiscoidiasis in a 66 years-old Nepali man without history of travels outside of Nepal who was admitted in the hospital with pa...

Rationale: Microbial keratitis caused by coinfection with more than one species of pathogens is a severe condition with an unfavorable prognosis. Patient concerns: An immunocompetent Nepali woman complained of pain in the left eye, redness, watering and decreased vision for 5 months. Interventions: The patient was discarded and accurately diagnosed...

Spermatological characteristics of the digenean Hypoderaeum conoideum (Echinostomatidae) collected from Anas platyrhynchos in the Lac d’Annecy (France) were reinvestigated using transmission electron microscopy. The previous study on this species only describes the presence of two axonemes of unequal lengths, a mitochondrion, a posterior nucleus, a...

Parasitic nematodes (roundworms) and platyhelminths (flatworms) cause debilitating chronic infections of humans and animals, decimate crop production and are a major impediment to socioeconomic development. Here we report a broad comparative study of 81 genomes of parasitic and non-parasitic worms. We have identified gene family births and hundreds...

Background Intestinal protozoan parasites are major contributors to the global burden of gastrointestinal disease causing significant socioeconomic consequences. Children living in resource-poor settings with restricted access to water and sanitary services are particularly at risk of these infections. Methods A prospective, community-based, cross...

The prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in schoolchildren from Corn Islands (Nicaragua) were examined to detect mono- or poly-STH infected children, measuring different intensity levels, and to elucidate measurably increased odds of being anemic. A total of 341 stool samples provided by 2- to 15-year-old children...

Whilst a wealth of data indicate that infections by gastrointestinal helminths are accompanied by significant alterations in the composition of the vertebrate gut flora, little is known of the immune-molecular mechanisms that regulate host-parasite-microbiota interactions. 'Traditional' experimental models of gastrointestinal helminthiases, in whic...

Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, broadly employed to study the host-dependent mechanisms that govern the evolution of intestinal helminth infections. Resistance against E. caproni homologous secondary infections has been reported in mice and appears to be related to the generation of a local Th2 response...

The class Trematoda is the largest group of Platyhelminths and includes two subclasses: Aspidogastrea and Digenea. Trematodes, and particularly Digeneans, is a large group of organisms with significant medical and veterinary interest. Over 100 species of digenetic trematodes have been reported infecting humans. Although the significant mortality an...

The aim of this study was to determine for the first time the prevalence of enteroparasites in preschool children originating from the seven departments of the Pacific region in Nicaragua. One stool sample of each of 1,217 children, from 6 months to 5 years of age, was collected and personal data were recorded on delivery of the container. Samples...

The symptomatology of Blastocystis cannot be attributed to any particular subtype, although can be related to a high Blastocystis infection load. One stool sample from each of 217 schoolchildren of Vale de Sol Paranaguá Bay (Paraná, Brazil) was collected. Three milliliters of each fixed stool sample were processed applying the formalin-ether concen...

The current strategy for the control of helminth infections relies on chemotherapy. However, resistance appearance is promoting the necessity of developing new drugs against trematodes. Herein, potential trematocidal effects of garlic (Allium sativum) are investigated in the context of intestinal foodborne trematodes, employing the Echinostoma capr...

Background: Helminth infections are among the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, causing an enormous impact in global health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. In this context, the study of helminth biology, with emphasis on host-parasite interactions, appears as a promising approach for developing new tools to prevent...

Quantitation of anti-IgA staining after incubation with protease inhibitors. Anti-IgA staining on worm surface was calculated as the percentage of image area covered by anti-HRP, FITC-conjugated, antibody (% AC) in worms incubated for 120 min in the presence and absence of protease inhibitors (PI). Vertical bars show standard deviation and asterisk...

Confirmation of antibody specificity. The specificity of the antibodies employed for double indirect immunofluorescence and/or immunogold labeling was tested by western blot. Excretory/secretory products (ESPs) were electrophoresed, blotted on nitrocellulose membrane and incubated against anti-Echinostoma caproni (Ec)-actin (lane 1), anti-Ec-enolas...

Double immunofluorescent staining of Echinostoma caproni surface at increasing time of in vitro incubation. 2D-images from laser confocal microscopy on the surface of E. caproni adults stained with anti-E. caproni actin (red) and anti-mouse IgG (green). Merge is shown in yellow. For each time point, representative images of XY and YZ axes are shown...

Quantitation of anti-IgA staining. Loss of anti-IgA staining on worm surface along time is shown as the decrease in the percentage of image area covered by anti-HRP, FITC-conjugated, antibody (% AC). Vertical bars show standard deviation and asterisks indicate statistical differences for each incubation time in relation to non-incubated worms (0 mi...

Targeting of Echinostoma caproni surface with anti-enolase antibody at increasing time of in vitro incubation. 2D-images from laser confocal microscopy on the surface of E. caproni adults stained with anti-E. caproni enolase (red) and anti-mouse IgA (green). Merge is shown in yellow. For each time point, representative images of XY and YZ axes are...

Transmission electron micrograph of a negative control for immunogold labelling. Negative controls were processed as samples but incubating the grids with pre-immune rabbit sera as primary antibody. T: tegument; ExV: extracellular vesicle; S: secretions. (TIF)

Helminths facilitate their parasitic existence through the production and secretion of different molecules, including proteins. Some helminth proteins can manipulate the host’s immune system, a phenomenon that is now being exploited with a view to developing therapeutics for inflammatory diseases. In recent years, hundreds of helminth genomes have...

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) prevalence, intensity, polyparasitism and co-infections in 425 children from 3 schools of Laguna de Perlas (Nicaragua) were investigated. Single stool samples were analysed by the formalin-ether method and the Kato-Katz. A total of 402 (94.6%) children were infected. Trichuris trichiura 308 (72.4%), Ascaris lumbricoi...

Recent studies have shown the importance of exosomes in the host-parasite relationship. These vesicles are an important part of the excretory/secretory pathway for proteins with the potential to alter immune responses. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the immunomodulatory role of exosomes in BALB/c mice using Echinostoma caproni as an e...

In the present paper, we analyse the effect of a primary infection of ICR mice with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) on the generation of resistance against homologous challenge infections. In ICR mice, E. caproni induces chronic infections concomitantly with strong responses characterized by the development of T-helper 1 (Th1)-typ...

Background: Hookworm eggs identification and quantification is usually carried out by Kato-Katz method. However various structures present in the smear may be confused with eggs of such parasites. Objective: To document the presence of structures in Kato-Katz slides that could initially be misinterpreted as hookworm eggs. Method: 497 faecal sa...

Echinostoma caproni is an intestinal trematode extensively used as experimental model for the study of factors that determine the course of intestinal helminth infections, since this markedly depends on the host species. Although the host-dependent mechanisms for either chronic establishment or early parasite rejection have been broadly studied, li...

Significance: Intestinal helminthiases are highly prevalent parasitic infections with about 1 billion people infected worldwide. In this scenario, better understanding of host-parasite relationships is needed to elucidate the factors that determine intestinal helminth rejection. The intestinal trematode Echinostoma caproni has been broadly employe...

Echinostomiasis, caused by trematodes belonging to the family Echinostomatidae, is an important intestinal foodborne parasitic disease. Humans become infected after ingestion of raw or insufficiently cooked molluscs, fish, crustaceans and amphibians, thus, understanding eating habits is essential to determine the distribution of the disease. Despit...

Enhanced mucus production and release appears to be a common mechanism for the clearance of intestinal helminths and this expulsion is normally mediated by Th2-type immune responses. In order to investigate the factors determining the expulsion of intestinal helminths, we have analyzed in vivo expression of mucin genes at the site of infection in t...

Background: Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode that has been extensively used as experimental model to investigate the factors determining the expulsion of intestinal helminths or, in contrast, the development of chronic infections. Herein, we analyze the changes in protein expression induced by E. caproni...

Background: The intestinal epithelium plays a multifactorial role in mucosal defense. In this sense, augmented epithelial cell turnover appears as a potential effector mechanism for the rejection of intestinal-dwelling helminths. Methods: A BrdU pulse-chase experiment was conducted to investigate the infection-induced alterations on epithelial cell...

The intestinal epithelium plays a multifactorial role in mucosal defense. In this sense, augmented epithelial cell turnover appears as a potential effector mechanism for the rejection of intestinal-dwelling helminths. A BrdU pulse-chase experiment was conducted to investigate the infection-induced alterations on epithelial cell kinetics in hosts of...

Enhanced mucus production and release appears to be a common mechanism for the clearance of intestinal helm-inths, and this expulsion is normally mediated by Th2-type immune responses. To investigate the factors determining the expulsion of intestinal helminths, we have analysed in vivo expression of mucin genes at the site of infection in two host...

Strongyloidiasis (caused by Strongyloides stercoralis, and to a lesser extent by Strongyloides fuelleborni) is one of the most neglected tropical diseases with endemic areas and affecting more than 100 million people worldwide. Chronic infections in endemic areas can be maintained for decades through the autoinfective cycle with the L3 filariform l...

In the present paper, we analyse the effect of a primary infection of ICR mice with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) on the generation of resistance against homologous challenge infections. In ICR mice, E. caproni induces chronic infections concomitantly with strong responses characterized by the development of T-helper 1 (Th1)-typ...

The term, echinostomes, includes those digeneans belonging to the family Echinostomatidae. Echinostomes are a rather heterogeneous group of cosmopolitan hermaphroditic digeneans that inhabit, as adults, the intestine of a great spectrum of vertebrate hosts, such as birds, mammals and, occasionally, reptiles and fishes. They can also parasitize huma...