The physics of adhesion of Giardia duodenalis and it’s structural basis: Understanding the key process for colonization of the small intestine by a globally prevalent human protozoan parasite and etiologic agent of Giardiasis

附着和粘附是贾第虫寄生于小肠上皮并引起贾第虫病的关键过程和特性，贾第虫病是世界范围内最流行的肠道疾病之一。该项目结合了传染病专家和物理学家的专业知识，其目标是了解这一过程的物理学和应用的力量，并将其分配给负责其生成的相应分子结构。原子力显微镜的尖端应用将用于确定力，布里渊显微镜和变形细胞荧光测定法将用于描述寄生虫的机械特性，并且这些将与人类类器官来源的初级小肠上皮细胞和定制的合成表面相结合，以研究代表人类致病人群的全球独特的寄生虫组的附着和粘附。最终的目标是将新知识综合成一个全面的物理模型Giardia附着与团体合作的优先计划的框架内。

Attachment and adhesion are the key process and property of Giardia parasites to colonize the small intestinal epithelium and cause Giardiasis, one of the worldwide most prevalent diarrheal diseases. The goal of this project that combines the expertise of infectious disease specialists with physicists is to understand the physics of this process and of the forces that apply, and to assign these to respective molecular structures responsible for their generation. Cutting edge applications of atomic force microscopy will be used to determine forces, of Brillouin microscopy and deformation cytofluorimetry to describe the parasites’ mechanical properties, and these will be combined with human organoid derived primary small intestinal epithelia and custom-built synthetic surfaces to study attachment and adhesion of a worldwide unique set of parasites representative of the human-pathogenic population. The ultimate goal is to synthetize the new knowledge into a comprehensive physical model of Giardia-attachment in concert with groups collaborating within the framework of the priority program.