The project was officially launched at the 11th HUPO meeting in Boston, USA. At the next (12th) HUPO meeting in Yokohama, Japan, HDPP will present first results related to the early deliverables and milestones. This activity of the Swiss-Prot and Vital-IT group is supported in part by the Swiss Federal Government through the Federal Office of Education and Science. learn more The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement
no. 279153 (Beta-JUDO). “
“Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical disease endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly affecting rural communities
[1]. It is a focal disease caused by an extracellular protozoa belonging to the Trypanosoma genus. After infection, parasites proliferate in blood and lymph, giving rise to the first stage (S1) of the disease. In the absence of treatment, it evolves HKI-272 into the second stage (S2) due to parasite invasion of the central nervous system (CNS). Even though the number of newly reported cases of HAT in 2009 was approximately 10,000, the real number is estimated to be three times higher [2]. In most cases, sleeping sickness is fatal if untreated. Transmission of the disease is currently considered to be under control and it may even be heading towards eradication [3], however, due to the lack of vaccines and prophylaxis, great efforts will be needed to maintain the status quo or even improve the current situation. Patient management is still not considered optimal, with numerous cases missed at diagnosis or not correctly staged and treated. This review aims to summarize the most interesting findings in terms of novel biomarkers and tools proposed so far to improve the management of patients affected by human African trypanosomiasis. Sleeping sickness is endemic in 200 known foci in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa [4] and the associated disease burden
was estimated at 1,609,041 DALYs lost in 2004 [5] and [6]. Two sub-species of Trypanosoma brucei parasites are responsible for the disease: T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense. These HA-1077 mouse forms are resistant to the trypanosome lytic factor present in human blood, whereas other species such as T. b. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense, are sensitive to it [7] and [8]. The Serum Resistance Associated (SRA) gene, coding for the SRA protein, has been identified as the resistance factor in T. b. rhodesiense [9] and [10], while T. b. gambiense’s resistance mechanism is still unknown. Both parasites are transmitted to humans by tsetse flies of the Glossina genus, and undergo a cyclic transmission between the vector and the human host [1] and [2]. Importantly, the geographical distribution of the tsetse fly in sub-Saharan Africa determines the location of the disease within the so-called tsetse belt [2]. T. b.