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Purifying parasites with light
September 15, 2008Researchers have developed a clever method to purify parasitic organisms from their host cells, which will allow for more detailed proteomic studies and a deeper insight into the biology of organisms that cause millions of cases of disease each year.
Many infectious pathogens, like those that cause Toxoplasmosis or Leishmaniases, have a complex life cycle alternating between free-living creature and cell-enclosed parasite. A thorough analysis of the proteins that help these organisms undergo this lifestyle change would be tremendously useful for drug or vaccine development; however, it's extremely difficult to separate the parasites from their host cell for detailed study.
As reported in the September Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, Toni Aebischer and colleagues worked around this problem by designing special fluorescent Leishmania mexicana (one of the many Leishmaniases parasites). They then passed infected cells through a machine that can separate cell components based on how much they glow. Using this approach, the researchers separated the Leishmania parasites with only about 2% contamination, far better than current methods.
They then successfully identified 509 proteins in the parasites, 34 of which were more prominent in parasites than free -living Leishmania. The results yielded many characteristics of these organisms, such as a high presence of fatty acid degrading enzymes, which highlights adaptation to intracellularly available energy sources. The identified proteins should provide a good data set for continued selection of drug targets, and the success of this method should make it a good resource for other cellular parasites like malaria.
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
They then successfully identified 509 proteins in the parasites, 34 of which were more prominent in parasites than free -living Leishmania. The results yielded many characteristics of these organisms, such as a high presence of fatty acid degrading enzymes, which highlights adaptation to intracellularly available energy sources. The identified proteins should provide a good data set for continued selection of drug targets, and the success of this method should make it a good resource for other cellular parasites like malaria.
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Parasites Current Events and Parasites News RSSAnisakiasis hazard varies depending on the origin of the fish, according to a study
A research team of the University of Granada (Spain) has confirmed a higher presence of the parasite Anisakis spp in anchovies of the Atlantic South East coast and the Mediterranean North West coast, and they insist on freezing or cooking fish before consuming it.
DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
Ants are friendly to some trees, but not others
Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative shares strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines
Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Global challenges and opportunities in fighting HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases
Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs.
Media availability: The role of biomedical research in malaria eradication
Although malaria has been controlled in many local and regional populations, the permanent elimination of malaria parasites throughout the world remains an elusive goal, and the disease continues to claim nearly one million lives each year.
New insight in the fight against the Leishmania parasite
Professor Albert Descoteaux's team at Centre INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier has gained a better understanding of how the Leishmania donovani parasite manages to outsmart the human immune system and proliferate with impunity, causing visceral leishmaniasis, a chronic infection that is potentially fatal if left untreated.
UM School of Medicine researchers find extreme genetic variability in malaria parasite
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) have charted the extreme genetic differences that occur over time in the most dangerous malaria parasite in the world.
Major discovery opens door to leishmania treatment
Leishmania is a deadly parasitic disease that affects over 12 million people worldwide, with more than 2 million new cases reported every year.
African cattle to be protected from killer disease
Millions of African families could be saved from destitution thanks to a much-needed vaccine that is being mass-produced in a drive to protect cattle against a deadly parasite.
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