Development of preventive, therapeutic and diagnostic methods for arthropod-borne infections in Bangladesh.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H04649
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Parasitology (including sanitary zoology)
• Research Institution: Oita University
• Principal Investigator: Kobayashi Takashi 大分大学, 医学部, 教授 (30380520)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 濱野 真二郎 長崎大学, 熱帯医学研究所, 教授 (70294915)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: バングラデシュ / PKDL / 診断技術 / 節足動物媒介感染症 / チクングニア熱 / ジカ熱

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The development of preventive, therapeutic and diagnostic methods for arthropod-borne infectious diseases such as PKDL, chikungunya fever and Zika fever in Bangladesh has been carried out. (i) MicroRNAs were successfully extracted as risk factors for the development of PKDL in patients with visceral leishmaniasis, which are suggested to be related to immune response, metabolism and intracellular signal transduction. (ii) Primers of Dry LAMP for L. donovani detection were optimized. In addition, (iii) Dry RT-LAMP for rapid diagnosis of chikungunya fever was developed and its usefulness was verified in the field with good results. Furthermore, (iv) we searched for exacerbating factors of Zika fever and identified an amino acid of envelope protein responsible for cell invasion.

Free Research Field

感染免疫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

バングラデシュにおけるリーシュマニア症、チクングニア熱およびジカ熱などの節足動物が媒介する感染症について、国際下痢症研究センター (icddr,b.) の Mondal 博士とHaque 部長と国際共同研究を推進し、新たな診断法の開発や病原性因子の解析が進んだ。本研究期間中にCOVID-19の世界的な大流行に見舞われ、改めて感染症研究の重要性が認識されるとともに、感染症に国境はなく国際協力が重要であることも再認識された。本研究により、節足動物媒介感染症に対する洞察を深める重要な知見が得られ、その学術的および社会的意義は大きいといえる。