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Crithidia Luciliae
''Crithidia luciliae'' is a flagellate parasite that uses the housefly, ''Musca domestica'', as a host. As part of the family of Trypanosomatidae, it is characterised by the presence of a kinetoplast, a complex network of interlocking circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules. The presence of the kinetoplast makes this organism important in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythamatosus (SLE). By using ''C. luciliae'' as a substrate for immunofluorescence, the organelle can be used to detect anti-dsDNA antibodies, a common feature of the disease. Taxonomy ''C. luciliae'' is a eukaryotic single-cell protozoan. The family Trypanosomatidae belongs to the order Kinetoplastida and is characterised by the presence of the kinetoplast, a network of interlocking circular DNA in a large mitochondrion. All organisms in Kinetoplastida are parasitic, and the host organism for ''C. luciliae'' is the housefly, ''Musca domestica''. Role in systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosis The kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eukaryota
Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacteria and Archaea (both prokaryotes) make up the other two domains. The eukaryotes are usually now regarded as having emerged in the Archaea or as a sister of the Asgard archaea. This implies that there are only two domains of life, Bacteria and Archaea, with eukaryotes incorporated among archaea. Eukaryotes represent a small minority of the number of organisms, but, due to their generally much larger size, their collective global biomass is estimated to be about equal to that of prokaryotes. Eukaryotes emerged approximately 2.3–1.8 billion years ago, during the Proterozoic eon, likely as flagellated phagotrophs. Their name comes from the Greek εὖ (''eu'', "well" or "good") and κάρυον (''karyon'', "nut" or "kernel"). E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excavata
Excavata is a major supergroup of unicellular organisms belonging to the domain Eukaryota. It was first suggested by Simpson and Patterson in 1999 and introduced by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002 as a formal taxon. It contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic forms, and also includes some important parasites of humans, including ''Giardia'' and ''Trichomonas''. Excavates were formerly considered to be included in the now obsolete Protista kingdom. They are classified based on their flagellar structures, and they are considered to be the most basal flagellate lineage. Phylogenomic analyses split the members of Excavata into three different and not all closely related groups: Discobids, Metamonads and Malawimonads. Except for Euglenozoa, they are all non-photosynthetic. Characteristics Most excavates are unicellular, heterotrophic flagellates. Only the Euglenozoa are photosynthetic. In some (particularly anaerobic intestinal parasites), the mitochondria have been greatly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euglenozoa
Euglenozoa are a large group of flagellate Discoba. They include a variety of common free-living species, as well as a few important parasites, some of which infect humans. Euglenozoa are represented by three major clades, i.e., Kinetoplastea, Diplonema and Symbiontida. Euglenozoa are unicellular, mostly around in size, although some euglenids get up to long. Structure Most euglenozoa have two flagella, which are inserted parallel to one another in an apical or subapical pocket. In some these are associated with a cytostome or mouth, used to ingest bacteria or other small organisms. This is supported by one of three sets of microtubules that arise from the flagellar bases; the other two support the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the cell. Some other euglenozoa feed through absorption, and many euglenids possess chloroplasts, the only eukaryotes outside Diaphoretickes to do so without performing kleptoplasty, and so obtain energy through photosynthesis. These chloroplasts a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinetoplastida
Kinetoplastida (or Kinetoplastea, as a class) is a group of flagellated protists belonging to the phylum Euglenozoa, and characterised by the presence of an organelle with a large massed DNA called kinetoplast (hence the name). The organisms are commonly referred to as "kinetoplastids" or "kinetoplasts" The group includes a number of parasites responsible for serious diseases in humans and other animals, as well as various forms found in soil and aquatic environments. Their distinguishing feature, the presence of a kinetoplast, is an unusual DNA-containing granule located within the single mitochondrion associated with the base of the cell's flagellum (the basal body). The kinetoplast contains many copies of the mitochondrial genome. The kinetoplastids were first defined by Bronislaw M. Honigberg in 1963 as the members of the flagellated protozoans. They are traditionally divided into the biflagellate Bodonidae and uniflagellate Trypanosomatidae; the former appears to be paraph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crithidia
''Crithidia'' is a genus of trypanosomatid Euglenozoa. They are parasites that exclusively parasitise arthropods, mainly insects. They pass from host to host as cysts in infective faeces and typically, the parasites develop in the digestive tracts of insects and interact with the intestinal epithelium using their flagellum. They display very low host-specificity and a single parasite can infect a large range of invertebrate hosts. At different points in its life-cycle, it passes through amastigote, promastigote, and epimastigote phases; the last is particularly characteristic, and similar stages in other trypanosomes are often called crithidial. The etymology of the genus name ''Crithidia'' derives from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "small grain of barley". Species * '' Crithidia bombi'' is perhaps the most well documented species and is the most prevalent parasite of bumblebees, including common species like ''Bombus terrestris'', '' Bombus muscorum'', and ''Bombus ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musca Domestica
The housefly (''Musca domestica'') is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic Era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly species found in houses. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female. The female housefly usually mates only once and stores the sperm for later use. She lays batches of about 100 eggs on decaying organic matter such as food waste, carrion, or feces. These soon hatch into legless white larvae, known as maggots. After two to five days of development, these metamorphose into reddish-brown pupae, about long. Adult flies normally live for two to four weeks, but can hibernate during the winter. The adults feed on a variety of liquid or semi-liquid substances, as well as solid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinetoplast
A kinetoplast is a network of circular DNA (called kDNA) inside a large mitochondrion that contains many copies of the mitochondrial genome. The most common kinetoplast structure is a disk, but they have been observed in other arrangements. Kinetoplasts are only found in Excavata of the class Kinetoplastida. The variation in the structures of kinetoplasts may reflect phylogenic relationships between kinetoplastids. A kinetoplast is usually adjacent to the organism's flagellar basal body, suggesting that it is tightly bound to the cytoskeleton. In '' Trypanosoma brucei'' this cytoskeletal connection is called the tripartite attachment complex and includes the protein p166. ''Trypanosoma'' In trypanosomes, a group of flagellated protozoans, the kinetoplast exists as a dense granule of DNA within the large mitochondrion. '' Trypanosoma brucei'', the parasite which causes African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), is an example of a trypanosome with a kinetoplast. Its ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systemic Lupus Erythamatosus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common symptoms include painful and swollen joints, fever, chest pain, hair loss, mouth ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, feeling tired, and a red rash which is most commonly on the face. Often there are periods of illness, called flares, and periods of remission during which there are few symptoms. The cause of SLE is not clear. It is thought to involve a mixture of genetics combined with environmental factors. Among identical twins, if one is affected there is a 24% chance the other one will also develop the disease. Female sex hormones, sunlight, smoking, vitamin D deficiency, and certain infections are also believed to increase a person's risk. The mechanism involves an immune response by autoantibodies against a person's own tissues. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immunofluorescence
Immunofluorescence is a technique used for light microscopy with a fluorescence microscope and is used primarily on microbiological samples. This technique uses the specificity of antibodies to their antigen to target fluorescent dyes to specific biomolecule targets within a cell, and therefore allows visualization of the distribution of the target molecule through the sample. The specific region an antibody recognizes on an antigen is called an epitope. There have been efforts in epitope mapping since many antibodies can bind the same epitope and levels of binding between antibodies that recognize the same epitope can vary. Additionally, the binding of the fluorophore to the antibody itself cannot interfere with the immunological specificity of the antibody or the binding capacity of its antigen. Immunofluorescence is a widely used example of immunostaining (using antibodies to stain proteins) and is a specific example of immunohistochemistry (the use of the antibody-antige ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-dsDNA Antibodies
Anti-double stranded DNA (Anti-dsDNA) antibodies are a group of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) the target antigen of which is double stranded DNA. Blood tests such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence are routinely performed to detect anti-dsDNA antibodies in diagnostic laboratories. They are highly diagnostic of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis. Discovery The first evidence for antinuclear antibodies arose in 1948 when Hargraves, Richmond and Morton discovered the LE cell. These abnormal cells, which are found in the bone marrow of persons who have SLE are categorised as polymorphonuclear leukocytes with phagocytosed whole nuclei. Subsequently, in 1957, antibodies to dsDNA were the first autoantibodies to be identified in patients with SLE. Antibody production Although the exact mechanism of the generation of dsDNA antibodies is still unknown, it is likely that extracellular DNA is one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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