Jianping Cao

National Institute of Parasitic Diseases，Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research) · Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Health Commission of People’s Republic of China

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species in humans and can affect over 200 animal species. Considering possible increasing risk of human E. bieneusi infection due to close contact with pet dogs and identification of zoonotic E. bieneusi genotypes, 589 fresh fecal specimens of pet dogs were collected from Yunnan Province, Ch...

In the published publication [...]

We established a mouse model of Schistosoma japonicum infection in order to study the effects of the infection on hepatocyte autophagy and apoptosis. We also stimulated HepG2 cells with soluble egg antigens (SEA) in vitro. At two, four, and six weeks post-infection, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot (WB) were used to detect liver expressi...

Ligula intestinalis is a cestode parasite that affects freshwater fish in different countries of the world. The current study aims to reveal the phylogenetic analysis, genetic and haplotype diversity of mt-CO1 gene sequences sent to the NCBI database from different countries by using in-silico analysis. The 105 mt-CO1 (371 bp) gene sequences of L....

Taeniasis is a neglected zoonotic disease responsible for serious health disorders, such as seizures, and may even cause death. Humans are the definitive host for the three species Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), T. saginata (beef tapeworm), and T. asiatica, harboring the adult tapeworm in the small intestine. In this study, a structured questionnai...

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a well-known zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The main causes of the disease range from eating undercooked or contaminated meat and shellfish to cleaning litter trays into which cats that excreted toxoplasma via faeces. This pathogen can live for a very long time, possibly a lifetime, within the bodies o...

Background: Blastocystis is one of the important zoonotic parasites which can infect humans and various animals worldwide and has become a growing global public health concern. The study aims to obtain the data of Blastocystis infection and the information of the genetic characteristic. Methods: In the present study, 489 fecal samples were colle...

Babesia spp. are intraerythrocytic apicomplexans that digest and utilize red blood cells in a similar way to intraerythrocytic Plasmodium spp., but unlike the latter, are not sensitive to artemisinin. A comparison of Babesia and Plasmodium genomes revealed that Babesia genomes, which are smaller than those of Plasmodium, lack numerous genes, and es...

Przhevalskiana silenus (warble fly) grubs cause myiasis in goats, in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas and different regions in Pakistan, and cause substantial losses to live-stock. The palpation method for detecting warble flies generally neglects the infestation inten-sity; therefore, the development of a reliable and efficient diagnostic te...

As a zoonotic parasitic disease, echinococcosis is a severe global public health issue caused by the larvae of Echinococcus spp. Not only does echinococcosis threaten human health, but echinococcosis also causes enormous economic losses. China ranks first in the range of echinococcosis endemic areas, the number of infected patients, and the number...

The involvement of Echinococcus multilocularis, and other parasitic helminths, in regulating host physiology is well recognized, but molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by helminths play important roles in regulating parasite-host interactions by transferring materials to the host. Analysis of protein cargo of...

Abstract Background Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic intestinal infectious disease caused by Cryptosporidium spp., and its transmission is highly influenced by climate factors. In the present study, the potential spatial distribution of Cryptosporidium in China was predicted based on ecological niche models for cryptosporidiosis epidemic risk warnin...

Schistosomiasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease. Schistosoma japonicum eggs deposited in the liver tissue induce egg granuloma formation and liver fibrosis, seriously threatening human health. Natural killer (NK) cells kill activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) or induce HSC apoptosis and inhibit the progression of liver fibrosis. However, the fu...

Environmental factors significantly influence the transmission of intestinal protozoan diseases. Cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are important zoonotic diseases characterized by diarrhea, and are mainly water or foodborne diseases caused by fecal-borne oocysts. The One Health approach effectively addresses environmentally influenced zoonotic disea...

Background Snails play an important role as an intermediate host in various parasitic diseases, which are referred to as snail-borne parasitic diseases (SBPDs). The prevalence of the SBPDs, schistosomiasis and fascioliasis is low in Pakistan compared to other countries. The present study investigated knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to t...

Schistosomiasis japonica is a zoonotic parasitic disease causing liver fibrosis. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) exhibit fenestrations, which promote hepatocyte regeneration and reverses the process of liver fibrosis. To investigate the pathological changes of LSECs in schistosomiasis, we established a Schistosomiasis model. The populati...

Background Opportunistic infections are a ubiquitous complication in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common opportunistic intestinal pathogens in humans. In China, despite the number of HIV/AIDS patients being extremely l...

A wide range of novelties and significant developments in the field of veterinary science to treat helminth parasites by using natural plant products have been assessed in recent years. To the best of our knowledge, to date, there has been no comprehensive review of the anthelmintic potential of plants against various helminth species in different...

Ticks are ectoparasites that act as vectors for transmission of various pathogens to wild and domesticated animals and pose a serious threat to human health. Because of the hot and humid conditions in different agro-ecological zones of Pakistan, ticks are abundant and parasitize a variety of animals. The aim of this study was to identify different...

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected zoonotic disease of worldwide geographical distribution. CE is most common in underdeveloped and herding communities where people survive on animal husbandry and agricultural activities. The prevalence of CE in livestock and its risk factors are widely underreported, because of inefficient surveillance syst...

Introduction Hydatid cysts and angiogenesis are the key characteristics of cystic echinococcosis, with immune cells and endothelial cells mediating essential roles in disease progression. Recent single-cell analysis studies demonstrated immune cell infiltration after Echinococcus granulosus infection, highlighting the diagnostic and therapeutic pot...

Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Cryptosporidium spp. and Cyclospora cayetanensis are three important zoonotic pathogens which were a major cause of foodborne or waterborne intestinal diseases in humans and animals. However, very little data about occurrence and genotypes of the three parasites in Ningbo in the south wing of the Yangtze River Delta, China,...

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus). CE seriously threatens human health and the development of animal husbandry. The Ngari region is one of the world's highest endemic regions for CE, while genetic polymorphisms of E. granulosus were unclear. Paraffin slices of liv...

Background Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a neglected zoonotic disease. Prevalence of AE in humans is reported in Pakistan as a result of poor economic and sanitary conditions, close proximity to wildlife and limited knowledge of AE. Studies on the prevalence and transmission of AE have been limited, especially for rural Pakistan. The study...

Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato is the causative agent of cystic echinococcosis (CE), which is a neglected zoonotic disease with an important role in human morbidity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the haplotype diversity, genetic variation, population structure and phylogeny of human E. granulosus sensu stricto (G1 genotype) isolates su...

Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, results in congenital disorders and miscarriages among livestock and humans worldwide. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in sheep and goats in Pakistan from 2000 to 2020. We searched the PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, an...

: Fasciolosis is a highly prevalent helminthic infection caused by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica. With the aim of identifying hybrid Fasciola flukes, multiplex PCR was performed to amplify the pepck gene. Furthermore, to determine Fasciola haplotypes, mitochondrial nad1 was amplified and sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were performed. Adu...

Cystic echinococcosis, a major parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus, seriously threatens human health. The excretory–secretory (ES) products of E. granulosus can induce immune tolerance in dendritic cells (DCs) to downregulate the host’s immune response; however, the effect of exosomes in the ES products on the DCs has remained uncle...

Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by the metacestodes of Echinococcus spp. The disease has a long latent period and is largely underdiagnosed, partially because of the lack of effective early diagnostic approaches. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we profiled the serum-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) of E . multilocula...

Fasciolosis is a parasitic disease caused by Fasciola spp. It is a prevalent helminth infection globally. Clostridial hepatitis is a general name refer to disorders caused by a few clostridial agents that most severely affect the liver. Migration of young parasite forms (mostly Fasciola hepatica) in the parenchymal tissue of the liver causes necros...

Babesia spp. are intraerythrocytic apicomplexan organisms digesting hemoglobin similar to intraerythrocytic Plasmodium spp. However, unlike Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp. are not sensitive to artemisinin, The difference between Babesia genomes and Plasmodium genomes revealed that smaller Babesia genomes lack numerous genes, especially haem synthesis...

RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) is a versatile, high-throughput technology that is being widely employed for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in various diseases. Echinococcosis, a globally distributed zoonosis, has been reported to impose a heavy disease burden in pastoral areas of China. Herein we aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms...

Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are commonly detected intestinal protozoa species in humans and animals, contributing to global gastroenteritis spread. The present study examined the prevalence and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis in Himalayan marmots and Alashan ground squirrels in China's Qinghai-Tibetan Pl...

Fascioliasis is a parasitic infection that affects both livestock and humans. Understanding the distribution of Fasciola spp. can help the development of preventive measures to control fascio-liasis. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the status of fascioliasis among livestock and humans in Pakistan between 2000 and 2020. Ba...

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular obligate parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic infection that affects warm-blooded animals and humans worldwide. To comprehensively characterize the disease condition in Pakistan for future reference, we ascertained the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection and predisposing factors in the Pakistani popula...

Recent discoveries of reversible N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation on messenger RNA (mRNA) and mapping of m6A methylomes in many species have revealed potential regulatory functions of this RNA modification by m6A players—writers, readers, and erasers. Here, we first profile transcriptome-wide m6A in female and male Anopheles sinensis and reveal...

(1) Background: In endemic areas of Pakistan, local community knowledge and attitudes towards cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are critical elements in the effective control and management of the disease. A cross-sectional epidemiologic design was used to assess the disease concern, preparedness, practices, and preventive behavior of the households and...

Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) causes cystic echinococcosis in ungulates and humans. This study was designed to find the genetic diversity and haplotypic profiles of hydatid cysts from lungs of cattle in three provinces in eastern Turkey. Individual cyst isolates (n = 60) were collected from infected cattle lungs after slaughter and then...

Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma japonicum is a serious public health problem in China. Granuloma and hepatic fibrosis are the main pathological features of schistosomiasis japonica. The role and mechanism of egg-derived exosomes of S. japonicum in liver fibrosis remain unclear. In this study, we found that egg-derived exosomes of S. japonicum...

What is already known about this topic?: Intestinal protozoa are common pathogens of diarrhea globally. However, the etiology of diarrhea due to intestinal protozoan infections in China is not known. What is added by this report?: Based on active syndromic surveillance in Shanghai, Zhenjiang, and Danyang during 2011-2015 and 2019-2021, 89 (1.67%...

Cryptosporidiosis is a leading cause of diarrheal disease in some populations, including young children and people with compromised immune systems. The epidemiology of Cryptosporidium, which is transmitted mainly through waterborne routes, has been a serious public health concern. Cryptosporidiosis is closely associated with animals and the shared...

Schistosomiasis, which is caused by infection with Schistosoma spp., is characterized by granuloma and fibrosis in response to egg deposition. Pattern recognition receptors are important to sense invading Schistosoma, triggering an innate immune response, and subsequently shaping adaptive immunity. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) was identified as a...

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are highly heterogeneous tissue-resident lymphocytes that regulate inflammation and tissue homeostasis in health and disease. However, how these cells integrate into the tissue microenvironment to perform tissue-specific functions is unclear. Here, we show neuropilin-1 (Nrp1), which is induced postnatally and s...

Methylation at the N6-position of adenosine (N6mA) on mRNA (m6A) is one of the most widespread, highly selective and dynamically regulated RNA modifications and plays an important role in transcription and translation. In the present study, a comprehensive analysis of phylogenetic relationships, conserved domain sequence characteristics and protein...

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato that causes economic losses by affecting livestock and also poses a public health threat worldwide. The present study is the first retrospective report on the seroprevalence of anti-E. granulosus antibodies in humans in Pakistan....

Ectoparasites, including lice, ticks, and mites, inhabit the host skin and depend on their host for sustenance, maturation, and multiplication. Among these, ticks are more prevalent in various regions of Pakistan because of favorable climatic conditions, lack of awareness of livestock keepers' regarding ectoparasite infestation rate, insufficient v...

Microsporidia are considered to be highly diverged and specialized parasites, and can infect a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most prevalent species in humans and various livestock, wildlife, and companion mammals. Dogs being the most popular companion animals of humans become more and more regarde...

China is one of the countries with the richest wildlife population. The large variety of widely distributed species act as natural or susceptible hosts for numerous infectious diseases. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million unknown virus species in China, and there might be 10,000–30,000 unknown bacteria in wild mammals on the Qingha...

Cryptosporidium is a life-threating protozoan parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, which mainly causes gastroenteritis in a variety of vertebrate hosts. Currently, there is a re-emergence of Cryptosporidium infection; however, no fully effective drug or vaccine is available to treat Cryptosporidiosis. In the present study, to better unders...

Background: Loose bowels is a clinical sign of gastrointestinal transport channel proteins, channels, and physical and chemical boundaries being harmed, prompting issues of water and electrolyte transport in the intestinal system. It is still considered as a major reason for emergency visits to hospitals in low-middle income countries. Zinc is a su...

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan that infects warm-blooded animals and humans. Approximately one third of the global population is infected by T. gondii. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the risk factors and One Health knowledge of toxoplasmosis in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. From Ju...

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease that is highly endemic to the Qinghai province of China. Limited data are available on the prevalence of the causal pathogen, Echinococcus spp., in definitive hosts in this region. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Echinococcus spp. in wild foxes and stray dogs in Qinghai pr...

Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are common detected intestinal protozoa species in humans and animals, contributing to global gastroenteritis spread. In the present study, we examined the prevalence and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis in two rodent species in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area (QTPA) of China for...

RNA modifications, as one of epigenetic mechanisms, are important and conserved mechanisms for maintaining the homeostasis of organisms. Little is known about RNA modifications in Echinococcus granulosus, an obligate parasite that inhabits mammals and gives rise to a huge public health and economic impact. Here, we focused on the RNA modification c...

Background CD4 ⁺ T helper (Th) cells play critical roles in both host humoral and cellular immunity against parasitic infection and in the immunopathology of schistosomiasis. T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a specialized subset of Th cells involved in immunity against infectious diseases. However, the role of Tfh cells in schistosome infection...

Background Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended for intermittent preventive treatment in Africa against Plasmodium falciparum infection. However, increasing SP resistance (SPR) of P. falciparum affects the therapeutic efficacy of SP, and pfdhfr (encoding dihydrofolate reductase) and pfdhps (encoding dihydropteroate synthase) genes are wide...

Blastocystis hominis and Cystoisospora belli are considered to be common opportunistic intestinal protozoa in HIV/AIDS patients. In order to investigate the prevalence and genetic characteristics of B. hominis and C. belli in HIV/AIDS patients, a total of 285 faecal samples were individually collected from HIV/AIDS patients in Guangxi, China. B. ho...

Giardia duodenalis is a common zoonotic intestinal pathogen. It has been increasingly reported in humans and animals; however, genotyping information for G. duodenalis in captive animals is still limited. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and multilocus genotyping of G. duodenalis in captive animals in zoological gardens in Shanghai...

Background: The parasitic disease, cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a serious health problem in Pakistan. Risk of disease transmission is increased by economic and political instability, poor living conditions, and limited awareness of hygienic practices. The current study aimed to investigate the community perception and awareness regarding the risk...

Gamma-delta (γδ) T cells are the bridge between natural and adaptive immunity. In the present study, peripheral blood was collected from 13 patients with advanced schistosomiasis (schistosomiasis group) and 13 uninfected people (control group) to investigate the γδ T cells and their subtypes in human schistosomiasis. Compared with the control group...

Toxoplasma gondii, a representative model organism belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, can infect almost all warm-blooded organisms, including humans. The invasion of host cells via host–parasite interaction is the key step for T. gondii to complete its life cycle. Herein we performed tandem mass tag analysis to investigate global proteomic change...

Background: Clonorchiasis is a serious food-borne parasitic disease caused by Clonorchis sinensis infection. C. sinensis, a major fish-borne trematode, is a known causative agent of cholangiocarcinoma. The risk factors for C. sinensis infection include individual eating behaviors and environmental factors. In this study, we evaluated the C. sinensi...

Echinococcosis is the most common parasitic disease in the Tibetan Plateau, placing a large disease burden on the local population. Shiqu County, located in western Sichuan Tibetan region, had a particularly high prevalence rate of cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in previous surveys. From 2015 to 2018, a population-based...

Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is a zoonotic parasite that causes cystic echinococcosis (CE) in humans. However, E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) is considered the predominant species in CE infections worldwide. According to the population genetic diversity and structure of E. granulosus s.l., gene flow can explain the parasite drift a...

Cryptosporidium spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common and important enteric parasites that can infect humans and animals, causing diarrhoea and systemic diseases. The objectives of the present study were to examine the prevalence and genetic variations of Cryptosporidium and E. bieneusi in pigs transferred from northeastern China to Ningbo ci...

Background Echinococcosis, which is caused by the larvae of cestodes of the genus Echinococcus, is a parasitic zoonosis that poses a serious threat to the health of humans and animals globally. Albendazole is the drug of choice for the treatment of echinococcosis, but it is difficult to meet clinical goals with this chemotherapy due to its low cure...

Schistosoma japonicum infection causes pathological injury to the host. Multiple studies have shown that intestinal helminth infection causes dysbiosis for the gut microbial community and impacts host immunology. However, the effect of acute S. japonicum infection on the gut microbiome structure (abundance and diversity) is still unclear. We collec...

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two important zoonotic intestinal protozoa responsible for diarrheal diseases in humans and animals worldwide. Feces from infected hosts, water and food contaminated by Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts as well as predictors such as poverty have been involved in their transmission. Myanmar is one of the world...

Background: Echinococcosis caused by the larval stage of cestode of the genus Echinococcus is a parasitic zoonosis, imposing serious threat on the health of humans and animals globally. Albendazole is the drug of choice for treatment of echinococcosis, but it is difficult to meet the clinical challenge in chemotherapy due to its low curative rate a...

Background: Echinococcosis caused by the larvae of cestodes of the genus Echinococcus is a parasitic zoonosis that poses a serious threat to the health of humans and animals globally. Albendazole is the drug of choice for the treatment of echinococcosis, but it is difficult to meet clinical goals with this chemotherapy due to its low cure rate and...

Background and Aims Schistosomiasis japonica is a widespread human zoonotic disease, and in China, there are many patients with schistosomiasis suffering from liver fibrosis. Many studies have shown that natural killer (NK) cells could reduce the progression of hepatic fibrosis by directly killing hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). However, NK cells co...

Cryptosporidiosis is a major public health problem in humans and animals. Information on the prevalence and molecular diversity of Cryptosporidium in farmed deer in northeastern China is limited. In this study, the prevalence of these parasites was investigated in four farmed deer species, including 125 reindeer, 109 red deer, 86 sika deer, and 18...

Cystic echinococcosis is a worldwide chronic zoonotic disease that threatens human health and animal husbandry. Exosome-like vesicles (ELVs) have emerged recently as mediators in the parasite–parasite intercommunication and parasite–host interactions. Exosome-like vesicles from parasites can transfer non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) into host cells to regu...

Background: Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently detected microsporidian species in humans and animals. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, no information on E. bieneusi infection in Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana) and Alashan ground squirrels (Spermophilus alashanicus) is available worldwide. The aim of the present study was...

Background: The main symptoms of schistosomiasis are granuloma and fibrosis, caused by Schistosoma eggs. Numerous types of cells and cytokines are involved in the progression of Schistosoma infection. As a class of innate immune cells, γδ T cells play critical roles in the early immune response. However, their role in modulating granuloma and fibr...

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is one of the most common intestinal pathogens in humans and animals. E. bieneusi has been confirmed to be complex microsporidian species. Approximately 500 ITS genotypes of E. bieneusi have been defined. With the establishment and application of multilocus sequencing typing and population genetic tools in E. bieneusi, the s...

Being a zoonotic parasitic disease, schistosomiasis was widely spread in 12 provinces of Southern China in the 1950s, severly harming human health and hindering economic development. The National Institute of Parasitic Diseases at the Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, and Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research (NIPD-CTDR),...

Background: Echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease causing serious health problems in both humans and animals in different endemic regions across the world. There are two different forms of human echinococcosis: Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) and Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE). CE is caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu la...

Background Cryptosporidiosis is an emerging infectious disease of public health significance worldwide. The burden of disease caused by Cryptosporidium varies between and within countries/areas. To have a comprehensive understanding of epidemiological status and characteristics of human Cryptosporidium infection in China since the first report in 1...

Background The development of a schistosome vaccine has proved challenging but we have suggested that characterisation of the self-cure mechanism in rhesus macaques might provide a route to an effective product. The schistosome esophagus is a complex structure where blood processing is initiated by secretions from anterior and posterior glands, ach...

Background: Cystic echinococcosis is a chronic disease caused by infection with the larvae of Echinococcus granulosus. The parasite's ability to establish persistent infection is partly due to its evolving immune evasion strategies. One strategy may involve the protective effect of arginase, which impedes the control of pathogens or tumors, wherea...