Trends in parasitology最新文献

Mansonella perstans is the most prevalent human filarial parasite, infecting over 100 million people worldwide. Despite its wide distribution, it remains one of the most neglected parasitic infections, largely due to its asymptomatic clinical presentation and the difficulty in isolating adult worms. These factors have limited our understanding of its biology, including lifespan, reproductive behaviour, and migration patterns. Its strong immunomodulatory capacity can impair host immunity, increase susceptibility to coinfections, and reduce vaccine efficacy. This, combined with the lack of efficacy of single-dose ivermectin, underscores the urgent need for new treatment strategies. Encouragingly, recent advances in drug development, diagnostics, molecular tools, and experimental models are beginning to bridge key knowledge gaps, offering new insights into transmission dynamics, host-parasite interactions, and therapeutic options.

Daily rhythms in the blood-feeding activity of insect vectors determine the time of day that parasites transmit between hosts and vectors. Within the vector, parasites are exposed to myriad physiological rhythms, including in immunity and nutrition, which affect transmission success. Recently discovered rhythmicity in gut microbes, coupled with the knowledge that microbes mediate malaria transmission by modulating vector immunity and metabolism, and via direct interactions with parasites, suggest that microbes have an underappreciated influence on rhythms in parasite-vector interactions. We integrate chronobiology with evolutionary ecology to propose that microbes mediate rhythmicity in mosquito susceptibility and malaria parasite development. Understanding how the time of day transmission occurs influences the spread of malaria transmission is urgently needed, given that rhythmic activities of mosquito microbiota are likely affected by changes in mosquito biting rhythms.

The pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii in humans is largely attributed to its capacity for rapid multiplication via a streamlined division process known as endodyogeny. The assembly of the daughter cell scaffold, occurring through a process termed budding, necessitates strict temporal and spatial regulation. Recent advances have elucidated remarkable details of the early stages of daughter cell formation, underscoring the pivotal role of the apical polar ring during the initial phases. Furthermore, emerging evidence implicates ApiAP2 transcription factors in the regulation of gene expression essential for the synthesis of daughter cell components. This transcriptional control is complemented by post-translational regulatory mechanisms governing both the initiation and maturation of the daughter cell cytoskeleton. Both processes are critical for the successful production of invasive zoites.

Malaria remains a major global health burden. Antibodies targeting the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), the main surface protein of Plasmodium sporozoites, have emerged as a promising prophylactic tool. Antibodies that bind to the CSP central repetitive region are the foundation of protection against sporozoite infection elicited by CSP-based vaccines. These antibodies have been shown to provide protection in both animal models and humans, although how they confer protection is not fully understood. This review explores how anti-CSP antibodies can neutralize sporozoites and how they mediate protection through tissue-specific mechanisms. Understanding these multilayered mechanisms is critical for improving vaccines and antibody-based prophylaxis.

Misaligned sequences derail evolutionary inference. Datasets from GenBank require verification of positional homology and orientation before alignment and phylogenetic analysis. Liver-fluke case studies reveal how overlooked errors skew results, underscoring the need for rigorous checks in parasitology and all molecular research.

A repurposed human kinase inhibitor was developed by Nardella et al. as a highly effective antimalarial with minimal cross resistance. A wide range of analyses implicated a Plasmodium kinase and haemoglobin digestion as potential drug targets, but the true mode of action remains ambiguous, highlighting the hurdles involved in drug target identification.

Mosquito-borne viruses represent an increasing global public health threat, exacerbated by urbanisation and climate change, thus making effective mosquito control essential. RNA interference (RNAi), a sequence-specific gene regulation mechanism, can be a flexible vector control tool. RNAi effectors, such as double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), can target mosquito genes or the viruses they carry, disrupting development or suppressing infection. However, current RNAi delivery methods are ineffective. Engineered bacterial symbionts offer a promising alternative for delivery, as they can produce dsRNA directly within mosquitoes. However, bacterial RNAi delivery in mosquitoes remains underexplored. We review emerging genetic tools, insights from RNAi and bacteria-mosquito interactions to outline priorities for realising bacterial RNAi as an efficient and sustainable vector control strategy.

Global elimination of onchocerciasis is progressing. However, challenges persist in achieving elimination across all endemic regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, due to diagnostic limitations and operational complexity in coendemic, resource-constrained settings. This review synthesizes the historical and programmatic trajectory of onchocerciasis control, outlines the WHO elimination framework and evaluates diagnostic tools across programmatic phases. We examine clinical, molecular, serological, and entomological tools, highlighting the strengths and limitations while emphasizing the urgent need for field-deployable, high-sensitivity and non-invasive diagnostics to detect active Onchocerca volvulus infection. Novel tools show promise but require coordinated validation and integration into elimination programs. Success in the 'last mile' will depend on sensitive and specific diagnostics to detect low-level transmission and confirm elimination.