A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies.
BACKGROUND: Scabies is a parasitic skin infestation caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It is common worldwide and spreads rapidly under crowded conditions, such as those found in socially disadvantaged communities of Indigenous populations and in developing countries. Pruritic scabies l...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fca99db9c0aa4237b73682d3326023a0 2023-05-15T15:13:34+02:00 A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. Kate Mounsey Mei-Fong Ho Andrew Kelly Charlene Willis Cielo Pasay David J Kemp James S McCarthy Katja Fischer 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 https://doaj.org/article/fca99db9c0aa4237b73682d3326023a0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2907415?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 https://doaj.org/article/fca99db9c0aa4237b73682d3326023a0 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 4, Iss 7, p e756 (2010) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 2022-12-31T16:02:53Z BACKGROUND: Scabies is a parasitic skin infestation caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It is common worldwide and spreads rapidly under crowded conditions, such as those found in socially disadvantaged communities of Indigenous populations and in developing countries. Pruritic scabies lesions facilitate opportunistic bacterial infections, particularly Group A streptococci. Streptococcal infections cause significant sequelae and the increased community streptococcal burden has led to extreme levels of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia's Indigenous communities. In addition, emerging resistance to currently available therapeutics emphasizes the need to identify potential targets for novel chemotherapeutic and/or immunological intervention. Scabies research has been severely limited by the availability of parasites, and scabies remains a truly neglected infectious disease. We report development of a tractable model for scabies in the pig, Sus domestica. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Over five years and involving ten independent cohorts, we have developed a protocol for continuous passage of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis. To increase intensity and duration of infestation without generating animal welfare issues we have optimised an immunosuppression regimen utilising daily oral treatment with 0.2 mg/kg dexamethasone. Only mild, controlled side effects are observed, and mange infection can be maintained indefinitely providing large mite numbers (> 6000 mites/g skin) for molecular-based research on scabies. In pilot experiments we explore whether any adaptation of the mite population is reflected in genetic changes. Phylogenetic analysis was performed comparing sets of genetic data obtained from pig mites collected from naturally infected pigs with data from pig mites collected from the most recent cohort. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A reliable pig/scabies animal model will facilitate in vivo studies on host immune responses to scabies including the relations to the associated ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Mite Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 4 7 e756 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Kate Mounsey Mei-Fong Ho Andrew Kelly Charlene Willis Cielo Pasay David J Kemp James S McCarthy Katja Fischer A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Scabies is a parasitic skin infestation caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It is common worldwide and spreads rapidly under crowded conditions, such as those found in socially disadvantaged communities of Indigenous populations and in developing countries. Pruritic scabies lesions facilitate opportunistic bacterial infections, particularly Group A streptococci. Streptococcal infections cause significant sequelae and the increased community streptococcal burden has led to extreme levels of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia's Indigenous communities. In addition, emerging resistance to currently available therapeutics emphasizes the need to identify potential targets for novel chemotherapeutic and/or immunological intervention. Scabies research has been severely limited by the availability of parasites, and scabies remains a truly neglected infectious disease. We report development of a tractable model for scabies in the pig, Sus domestica. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Over five years and involving ten independent cohorts, we have developed a protocol for continuous passage of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis. To increase intensity and duration of infestation without generating animal welfare issues we have optimised an immunosuppression regimen utilising daily oral treatment with 0.2 mg/kg dexamethasone. Only mild, controlled side effects are observed, and mange infection can be maintained indefinitely providing large mite numbers (> 6000 mites/g skin) for molecular-based research on scabies. In pilot experiments we explore whether any adaptation of the mite population is reflected in genetic changes. Phylogenetic analysis was performed comparing sets of genetic data obtained from pig mites collected from naturally infected pigs with data from pig mites collected from the most recent cohort. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A reliable pig/scabies animal model will facilitate in vivo studies on host immune responses to scabies including the relations to the associated ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kate Mounsey Mei-Fong Ho Andrew Kelly Charlene Willis Cielo Pasay David J Kemp James S McCarthy Katja Fischer |
author_facet |
Kate Mounsey Mei-Fong Ho Andrew Kelly Charlene Willis Cielo Pasay David J Kemp James S McCarthy Katja Fischer |
author_sort |
Kate Mounsey |
title |
A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
title_short |
A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
title_full |
A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
title_fullStr |
A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
title_full_unstemmed |
A tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
title_sort |
tractable experimental model for study of human and animal scabies. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 https://doaj.org/article/fca99db9c0aa4237b73682d3326023a0 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Mite |
genre_facet |
Arctic Mite |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 4, Iss 7, p e756 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2907415?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 https://doaj.org/article/fca99db9c0aa4237b73682d3326023a0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000756 |
container_title |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
e756 |
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1766344108012470272 |