Locomotion of parasitic nematodes in the gut: movement in viscoelastic mucus intertwined with the metabolic activity of the nematodes

胃肠道线虫在全球分布，在人类和动物中高度流行。关于线虫与其宿主免疫系统的争论，存在着相当多的知识。但是，关于成虫在宿主肠道中的运动、与肠道粘液的相互联系以及寄生虫的能量储存和防御代谢，人们所知甚少。因此，在拟议的项目中，我们的目标是关注i)成虫如何在肠道中对抗小肠的流动而移动，以及它们为什么移动到肠道的近端？ii)黏液粘度和流动特性在寄生虫运动中起什么作用？黏液特性在感染过程中是否发生改变？黏液对线虫成分是否可渗透？最后，iii)线虫的运动与蠕虫的能量家庭代谢有何联系？线虫的运动是否与寄生虫的代谢防御机制有关？这种防御活动针对的是哪个生态位成分？总之，本项目旨在阐明线虫在宿主肠道中的运动机制，并了解其与肠道粘液粘弹性特性和线虫代谢活动的联系。

Gastrointestinal nematodes are globally distributed and highly prevalent in humans and animals. Considerable knowledge exists on the dispute of nematodes with their host’s immune system. But only marginal knowledge is available on the locomotion of adult worms in the host gut, the interlink with the gut mucus as well as the energy household and defense metabolism of the parasites. Therefore, in the proposed project we aim to focus on i) how do adult worms locomote in the gut against the flow of the small intestine and why do they locomote to the proximal part of the gut? ii) Which roles do mucus viscosity and flowing properties play for parasite locomotion and do mucus properties change during infection? Is mucus permeable for nematode components? And finally, iii) how is nematode locomotion linked to the energy household metabolism of the worms? Is nematode motility correlated to metabolic defense mechanisms of the parasite and against which niche component is this defense activity directed? In conclusion, with the proposed project we aim to elucidate mechanisms of nematode locomotion in the host gut and to understand the linkage to the viscoelastic properties of the gut mucus and metabolic activities of the worms.