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Nelder MP, Schats R, Poinar HN, Cooke A, Brickley MB. Pathogen prospecting of museums: Reconstructing malaria epidemiology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2310859121. [PMID: 38527214 PMCID: PMC11009618 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310859121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a disease of global significance. Ongoing changes to the earth's climate, antimalarial resistance, insecticide resistance, and socioeconomic decline test the resilience of malaria prevention programs. Museum insect specimens present an untapped resource for studying vector-borne pathogens, spurring the question: Do historical mosquito collections contain Plasmodium DNA, and, if so, can museum specimens be used to reconstruct the historical epidemiology of malaria? In this Perspective, we explore molecular techniques practical to pathogen prospecting, which, more broadly, we define as the science of screening entomological museum specimens for human, animal, or plant pathogens. Historical DNA and pathogen prospecting provide a means of describing the coevolution of human, vector, and parasite, informing the development of insecticides, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P. Nelder
- Enteric, Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Health Protection, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, ONM5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Rachel Schats
- Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, 2333 CCLeiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hendrik N. Poinar
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ONL8S 4L9, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ONL8S 4L9, Canada
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ONL8S 4L9, Canada
| | - Amanda Cooke
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ONL8S 4L9, Canada
| | - Megan B. Brickley
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ONL8S 4L9, Canada
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Mitchell PD. Parasites in ancient Egypt and Nubia: Malaria, schistosomiasis and the pharaohs. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2023; 123:23-49. [PMID: 38448147 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2023.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
The civilizations of ancient Egypt and Nubia played a key role in the cultural development of Africa, the Near East, and the Mediterranean world. This study explores how their location along the River Nile, agricultural practices, the climate, endemic insects and aquatic snails impacted the type of parasites that were most successful in their populations. A meta-analysis approach finds that up to 65% of mummies were positive for schistosomiasis, 40% for headlice, 22% for falciparum malaria, and 10% for visceral leishmaniasis. Such a disease burden must have had major consequences upon the physical stamina and productivity of a large proportion of the workforce. In contrast, the virtual absence of evidence for whipworm and roundworm (so common in adjacent civilizations in the Near East and Europe) may have been a result of the yearly Nile floods fertilising the agricultural land, so that farmers did not have to fertilise their crops with human faeces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piers D Mitchell
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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Boualam MA, Corbara AG, Aboudharam G, Istria D, Signoli M, Costedoat C, Drancourt M, Pradines B. The millennial dynamics of malaria in the mediterranean basin: documenting Plasmodium spp. on the medieval island of Corsica. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1265964. [PMID: 38143446 PMCID: PMC10739463 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1265964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The lack of well-preserved material upon which to base the paleo-microbiological detection of Plasmodium parasites has prevented extensive documentation of past outbreaks of malaria in Europe. By trapping intact erythrocytes at the time of death, dental pulp has been shown to be a suitable tissue for documenting ancient intraerythrocytic pathogens such as Plasmodium parasites. Methods Total DNA and proteins extracted from 23 dental pulp specimens collected from individuals exhumed from the 9th to 13th century archaeological site in Mariana, Corsica, were analyzed using open-mind paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry and direct metagenomics, Plasmodium-targeting immunochromatography assays. All experiments incorporated appropriate negative controls. Results Paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of parasites Plasmodium spp. in the dental pulp of nine teeth. A further immunochromatography assay identified the presence of at least one Plasmodium antigen in nine individuals. The nine teeth, for which the PfHRP-2 antigen specific of P. falciparum was detected, were also positive using paleo-autoimmunohistochemistry and metagenomics. Conclusion Dental pulp erythrocytes proved to be suitable for the direct paleomicrobiology documentation of malaria in nine individuals buried in medieval Corsica, in agreement with historical data. This provides additional information on the millennial dynamics of Plasmodium spp. in the Mediterranean basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Abdelwadoud Boualam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Anne-Gaëlle Corbara
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Gérard Aboudharam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Daniel Istria
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Michel Signoli
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Caroline Costedoat
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Unité Parasitologie et Entomologie, Département Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Service de Santé des Armées, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, VITROME, Marseille, France
- Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, Marseille, France
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Colina-Vegas L, da Cruz B Silva M, de Souza Pereira C, Isis Barros A, Araújo Nobrega J, Navarro M, Rottmann M, D'Alessandro S, Basilico N, Azevedo Batista A, Moreira DRM. Antimalarial Agents Derived from Metal-Amodiaquine Complexes with Activity in Multiple Stages of the Plasmodium Life Cycle. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202301642. [PMID: 37427863 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202301642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is the one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Chemically, quinolines are excellent ligands for metal coordination and are deployed as drugs for malaria treatment. There is a growing body of evidence indicating that metal complexes can be conjugated with antimalarial quinolines to be used as chemical tools to overcome the disadvantages of quinolines, improving their bioactive speciation, cellular distribution, and subsequently broadening the spectrum of activity to multiple stages of the complex Plasmodium life cycle. In this study, four novel complexes of ruthenium(II)- and gold(I)-containing amodiaquine (AQ) were synthesized, and a careful chemical characterization revealed the precise coordination site of AQ to the metals. Their speciation in solution was investigated, demonstrating the stability of the quinoline-metal bond. RuII - and AuI -AQ complexes were demonstrated to be potent and efficacious in inhibiting parasite growth in multiple stages of the Plasmodium life cycle as assayed in vitro and in vivo. These properties could be attributed to the ability of the metal-AQ complexes to reproduce the suppression of heme detoxification induced by AQ, while also inhibiting other processes in the parasite life cycle; this can be attributed to the action of the metallic species. Altogether, these findings indicate that metal coordination with antimalarial quinolines is a potential chemical tool for drug design and discovery in malaria and other infectious diseases susceptible to quinoline treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Legna Colina-Vegas
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, CP 91501-970, RS, Brazil
| | | | - Caroline de Souza Pereira
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, CP 36036-900, MG, Brazil
| | - Ariane Isis Barros
- Departamento de Solos e Engenharia Rural, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, CEP 78060-900, MT, Brazil
| | - Joaquim Araújo Nobrega
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, CP 13565-90, SP, Brazil
| | - Maribel Navarro
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, CP 36036-900, MG, Brazil
| | - Matthias Rottmann
- Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, 4001, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sarah D'Alessandro
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Basilico
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Chirurgiche e Odontoiatriche, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Alzir Azevedo Batista
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, CP 13565-90, SP, Brazil
| | - Diogo R M Moreira
- Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, FIOCRUZ, Salvador, CEP 40296-710, BA, Brazil
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Schats R. Developing an archaeology of malaria. A critical review of current approaches and a discussion on ways forward. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2023; 41:32-42. [PMID: 36930997 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This paper presents the current state of the art in the investigation of past malaria by providing an extensive review of previous studies and identifying research possibilities for the future. MATERIALS All previous research on the detection of malaria in human skeletal material using macroscopic and biomolecular approaches is considered. METHODS The approaches and methods used by scholars and the results they obtained are evaluated and the limitations discussed. RESULTS There is a link between malaria and porous lesions with significantly higher prevalence in malaria-endemic areas, however, they are not pathognomonic or specific for malaria. Malaria can be identified using biomolecular techniques, yet, to date there is no completely satisfactory method that is able to consistently diagnose the disease. CONCLUSIONS Using macroscopic and biomolecular techniques, malaria can be investigated in past populations and the impact of the disease studied. Yet, this is not a straightforward process and the use of multiple lines of evidence is necessary to obtain the best results. SIGNIFICANCE The extensive discussion on ways malaria can and cannot be identified in past populations and the suggestions for new approaches provide a steppingstone for future research into this debilitating, global disease. LIMITATIONS Malaria is a difficult disease to study archaeologically and successful identification depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH More large-scale spatial analyses of porous lesions as well as targeting different tissues or molecules for biomolecular identification may improve the archaeological understanding of malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Schats
- Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology, Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology, Einsteinweg 2, 2333CC Leiden, the Netherlands.
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Boualam MA, Heitzmann A, Mousset F, Aboudharam G, Drancourt M, Pradines B. Use of rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of ancient malaria infections in dental pulp from the sixth century in Versailles, France. Malar J 2023; 22:151. [PMID: 37161537 PMCID: PMC10169320 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-023-04582-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Paleomicrobiological data have clarified that Plasmodium spp. was circulating in the past in southern European populations, which are now devoid of malaria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of immunodetection and, more particularly, rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), in order to further assess Plasmodium infections in ancient northern European populations. METHODS A commercially available RDT, PALUTOP® + 4 OPTIMA, which is routinely used to detect malaria, was used to detect Plasmodium antigens from proteins recovered from ancient specimens extracted from 39 dental pulp samples. These samples were collected from 39 individuals who were buried in the sixth century, near the site of the current Palace of Versailles in France. Positive and negative controls were also used. Antigens detected were quantified using chemiluminescence imaging system analysis. RESULTS Plasmodium antigens were detected in 14/39 (35.9%) individuals, including Plasmodium vivax antigens in 11 individuals and Plasmodium falciparum antigens co-detected in two individuals, while Pan-Plasmodium antigens were detected in three individuals. Controls all yielded expected results. CONCLUSIONS The data reported here showed that RDTs are a suitable tool for detecting Plasmodium spp. antigens in ancient dental pulp samples, and demonstrated the existence of malaria in Versailles, France, in the sixth century. Plasmodium vivax, which is regarded as being responsible for an attenuated form of malaria and less deadly forms, was the most prevalent species. This illustrates, for the first time in ancient populations, co-infection with P. falciparum, bringing into question the climate-driven ecosystems prevailing at that time in the Versailles area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud A Boualam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Annick Heitzmann
- Direction du Patrimoine et des Jardins, Château de Versailles, Place d'Armes, 78008, Versailles, France
| | - Florence Mousset
- Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Île-de-France, Service Régional de l'archéologie, 311 Rue Le Peletier, 75009, Paris, France
| | - Gérard Aboudharam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Ecole de Médecine Dentaire, Aix-Marseille Univ, Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Unité parasitologie et entomologie, Département microbiologie et maladies infectieuses, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Centre national de référence du paludisme, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
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Paica IC, Rusu I, Popescu O, Brînzan A, Pencea I, Dobrinescu C, Kelemen B. Tentative indicators of malaria in archaeological skeletal samples, a pilot study testing different methods. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2023; 40:109-116. [PMID: 36724549 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study attempts to integrate multiple methods to investigate the presence of malaria in human skeletal samples from an archaeological context. MATERIALS 33 well preserved human remains originating from a 17th-century archaeological site in southeastern Romania. METHODS The human bone samples were analyzed using rapid diagnostic tests for malaria antigens and PCR amplification of Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1. A preliminary test was performed to identify and briefly characterize the presence of hemozoin using a combination of TEM imaging and diffraction. RESULTS The rapid diagnostic tests indicated that more than half of the examined samples were positive for Plasmodium antigens, but no traces of the parasites' genetic material were detected despite repeated attempts. The TEM images indicated that hemozoin might be a promising diagnostic marker of malaria in ancient bones. CONCLUSIONS The indisputable identification of malaria in the analyzed archaeological population was not possible as none of the applied methodological strategies turned out to be straightforward. SIGNIFICANCE This study reinforces the intricacy and limitations of unequivocally identifying malaria in past populations and sets the stage for future studies on such life-threatening infectious disease in a geographical space, which is currently underrepresented in the bioarchaeological literature. LIMITATIONS The low sample size and the lack of consistency across all assays hindered understanding the role of malaria in the studied population. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Further thorough multidisciplinary approaches on malaria detection in ancient settlements would be appropriate to inform our knowledge of its origins, frequency, and pathogen changes over centuries.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ioana Rusu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania; Molecular Biology Centre, Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400271, Romania.
| | - Octavian Popescu
- Institute of Biology Bucharest of Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 060031, Romania; Molecular Biology Centre, Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400271, Romania; Emil G. Racoviță Institute, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania
| | - Alexandru Brînzan
- Institute of Biology Bucharest of Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 060031, Romania
| | - Ion Pencea
- Department of Metallic Material Science and Physical Metallurgy, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, 060042, Romania
| | - Cătălin Dobrinescu
- Department of Research-Development and Projects, Museum of National History and Archaeology, Constanţa, 900745, Romania
| | - Beatrice Kelemen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania; Molecular Biology Centre, Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 400271, Romania
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Perry MA, Gowland RL. Compounding vulnerabilities: Syndemics and the social determinants of disease in the past. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2022; 39:35-49. [PMID: 36215930 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2022.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This article explores the theory and utility of a syndemic approach for the study of disease in the past. Syndemic principles are examined alongside other theoretical developments within bioarchaeology. Two case studies are provided to illustrate the efficacy of this approach: Tuberculosis and vitamin D deficiency in 18th and 19th century England, and malaria and helminth infections in Early Medieval England. MATERIALS Public health studies of present syndemics, in addition to published bioarchaeological, clinical and social information relating to the chosen case studies. METHODS The data from these two historical examples are revisited within a syndemic framework to draw deeper conclusions about disease clustering and heterogeneity in the past. RESULTS A syndemic framework can be applied to past contexts using clinical studies of diseases in a modern context and relevant paleopathological, archaeological, and historical data. CONCLUSIONS This approach provides a means for providing a deeper, contextualised understanding ancient diseases, and integrates well with extant theoretical tools in bioarchaeology SIGNIFICANCE: Syndemics provides scholars a deep-time perspective on diseases that still impact modern populations. LIMITATIONS Many of the variables essential for a truly syndemic approach cannot be obtained from current archaeological, bioarchaeological, or historical methods. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH More detailed and in-depth analysis of specific disease clusters within the past and the present, which draws on a comprehensive analysis of the social determinants of health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan A Perry
- Department of Anthropology MS 568, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.
| | - Rebecca L Gowland
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
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