Food nutrient availability affects epibiont prevalence and richness in natural Daphnia populations
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status: published
A rapid diagnostic multiplex PCR approach for xenomonitoring of human and animal schistosomiasis in a 'One Health' conte...
Studying the epidemiology of schistosomiasis-the most prevalent gastropod-borne human disease and an economic burden for the livestock industry-relies on adequate monitoring tools. Here we describe a molecular assay for detecting human and animal African schistosome species in their planorbid gastropod host (xenomonitoring) using a two-step approac...
Neutrophil extracellular traps drive inflammatory pathogenesis in malaria
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Neutrophils are essential innate immune cells that extrude chromatin in the form of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This form of cell death has potent immunostimulatory activity. We show that heme-induced NETs are essential for malaria pathogenesis. Using patient samples and a mouse model, we define two mechanisms of NET-mediated inflammatio...
Structure-guided identification of resistance breaking antimalarial N-myristoyltransferase inhibitors
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The attachment of myristate to the N-terminal glycine of certain proteins is largely a co-translational modification catalyzed by N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), and involved in protein membrane-localization. Pathogen NMT is a validated therapeutic target in numerous infectious diseases including malaria. In Plasmodium falciparum, NMT substrates are ...
Population-level analysis of Blastocystis subtype prevalence and variation in the human gut microbiota
...Published in Gut
Objective Human gut microbiome studies are mainly bacteria- and archaea-oriented, overlooking the presence of single-cell eukaryotes such as Blastocystis, an enteric stramenopiles with worldwide distribution. Here, we surveyed the prevalence and subtype variation of Blastocystis in faecal samples collected as part of the Flemish Gut Flora Project (...
Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigen-specific cytophilic IgG and control of malaria infection in a Beninese b...
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Background : Substantial evidence indicates that cytophilic IgG responses to Plasmodiumfalciparum merozoite antigens play a role in protection from malaria. The specific targets mediating immunity remain unclear. Evaluating antibody responses in infants naturally-exposed to malaria will allow to better understand the establishment of anti-malarial ...
Human African trypanosomiasis : research along the diagnostic pipline while moving towards elimination
Coinfection With Trypanosoma brucei Confers Protection Against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.
...Published in Frontiers in immunology
Infection with certain bacteria, parasites, and viruses alters the host immune system to Leishmania major influencing disease outcome. Here, we determined the outcome of a chronic infection with Trypanosoma brucei brucei on cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by L. major. C57BL/6 mice infected with T. b. brucei were given a sub-curative treatment w...
The certainty of uncertainty: potential sources of bias and imprecision in disease ecology studies
Wildlife diseases have important implications for wildlife and human health, the preservation of biodiversity and the resilience of ecosystems. However, understanding disease dynamics and the impacts of pathogens in wild populations is challenging because these complex systems can rarely, if ever, be observed without error. Uncertainty in disease e...
Life history determinants of the susceptibility of the blood alga Haematococcus to infection by Paraphysoderma sedeboker...
Haematococcus pluvialis is currently cultivated at large scale for its ability to produce high amounts of the high value keto-carotenoid astaxanthin when encysted. Mass cultivation of this species is threatened by the destructive blastocladialean fungus, Paraphysoderma sedebokerense Boussiba, Zarka and James, responsible for the fast collapse of Ha...
