Molecular negotiations at the host-parasite interface

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Parasitism is the commonest life-style for animals, yet hosts resist almost all parasite species; each host has a set of relatively specific parasites. Host defense systems provide inhospitable conditions for the vast majority of parasite species. The molecular negotiations between parasite and host that enable parasite success underlie a fundamental aspect of life: how to prevent parasitism to conserve nutritional resources (on the part of the host) and how to evade host defenses to reproduce (on the part of the parasite). The molecules deployed in this negotiation are poorly understood; our research aims to develop a better understanding of how parasites overcome host defenses and usurp host resources. We used genomic/proteomic approaches to identify proteins secreted by a filarial parasitic nematode, Brugia malayi, and showed that the main drug for filariasis, ivermectin, blocks protein secretion by the parasite.