Microsporidia are opportunistic obligate intracellular pathogens which infect many vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. This study aimed at investigating all evidence about microsporidia infection in human and other vertebrate hosts in Turkey. This study covered all prevalence studies, related to microsporidiosis in Turkey until April 2020, that were found in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and ULAKBIM databases were considered in this meta-analysis. A total of 168 studies were identified in the systematic literature research. After the initial assessment, only 15 articles (12 humans and three other vertebrates) were included for meta-analysis. Data analysis was carried out using the Revman 5.3 (Review Manage 5.3) software. With the evaluation of these studies, it was found that the prevalence of microsporidia in humans (n=6.707) and other vertebrate hosts (n=506) was 13.4% and 15.2%, respectively. The risk ratio in the patient groups was 2.87 compared to the control group [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-6.87, I2=87%, p<0.00001]. There was no difference between genders and parasite prevalence (95% CI: 1.00-1.39, I2=18%, p=0.29). The prevalence of microsporidia was also found to be high in patients with diarrhea (95% CI: 1.09-1.58, I2=86%, p=0.0001) and in immunosuppressed individuals (95% CI: 1.86-3.70, I2=16%, p=0.31). Although there are few studies on the prevalence of these parasites, the results of this meta-analysis provides extensive information about the current situation in Turkey.

Objectives: Mesenteric ischemia is a surgical emergency caused by poor blood supply to the intestines. In ischemia, the decrease in blood flow to the tissue causes acidosis and cell death through anaerobic metabolism. Clinoptilolite is one of the most abundant natural zeolites, and it is used for its ion exchange and adsorbent properties. Clinoptilolite has been reported to have an immune-enhancing, anti-carcinogenic, and antioxidant effect in-vitro / in-vivo studies. Clinoptilolite’s histological and biochemical effects on ischemic small intestines. Methods: The experimental animals were randomly divided into sham, control, and clinoptilolite treatment group. Clinoptilolite was administered intraperitoneally after ischemia/reperfusion. Cardiac blood was stored for biochemical analysis. Total antioxidant levels and total oxidant levels were analyzed from the sera taken from groups. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expressions in blood samples were determined by RT-qPCR. At the end of the reperfusion, terminal ileum tissues were taken for histological tests. Results: The mean TNF-α expression level was 3.89 in the control group and 2.91 in the clinoptilolite treatment group. The mean IL-6 expression levels were 2.32 in the control group and 1.49 in the clinoptilolite treatment group. Conclusions: clinoptilolite administration provided healing in the rat ischemia-reperfusion injury model.

Encephalitozoon intestinalis (E. intestinalis) is a parasite that causes opportunistic infections that can cause death in immune compromised patients. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of parasite on genes involved in host cell apoptosis. The CaCo cells were infected with E. intestinalis 50506 (ATCC) strain. Apoptosis was induced in both control and parasite-infected groups after infection. RNA isolation and cDNA extraction were then performed. Changes in the expression of genes involved in apoptotic pathways were evaluated quantitatively (qPCR) by Real-Time PCR. The obtained data were analyzed by 2^-ΔΔCt method. E. intestinalis inhibits the CASP6, DR4, DR5, DCR2 genes that regulate the transcription of the genes known as the death gene of cells in CaCo cells. TP53 regulates the transcription of certain genes involved in cell death. DR4, DR5 and DCR2 are inhibited by the introduction of E. intestinalis into the cell. Caspase 6 is one of the caspases that induces apoptosis. As can be seen from the activation of these genes, E. intestinalis inhibits transcription genes in the pro-apoptotic pathway of the cell. We think that this parasite, which is commonly found in cancer patients, should be investigated for the effect of drug resistance in cancer treatment. This study was supported by Erciyes University. Project ID: TCD-2016-7042.