ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY SUPPORTS SCHISTOSOME DEVELOPMENT

血吸虫属寄生虫感染影响全球2亿人，主要在发展中国家。涉及mansoni的研究表明，寄生虫在哺乳动物宿主内的成功发育和迁移依赖于寄生虫接受适当的宿主源信号以及雄性和雌性寄生虫之间的信号传递。对参与这些相互作用的信号和受体的分子理解可能会揭示新的机会来破坏寄生虫的生命周期，以达到治疗或预防的目的。我们现在已经发现曼氏链球菌在小鼠宿主中的正常发育依赖于宿主在准备过程中安装的适应性免疫反应。本提案的目的是：(i)确定促进寄生虫发育的精确免疫细胞和因子，以及（ii）确定参与介导宿主因子表型可塑性的寄生虫分子。这项工作的最终目标是确定用于治疗和预防目的的破坏寄生虫生命周期的新机制

DESCRIPTION Infections with parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma affect 200 million people worldwide, primarily in developing countries. Studies involving S. mansoni have suggested that successful completion of parasite development and migration within the mammalian host is dependent on the receipt of appropriate host-derived signals by the parasite and on transmission of signals between male and female parasites. A molecular understanding of the signals and receptors involved in these interactions may reveal new opportunities to disrupt the parasite life cycle for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes. We have now found that normal development of S. mansoni in the murine host is dependent on adaptive immune responses mounted by the host during prepatency. The aims of this proposal are to (i) identify the precise immune cells and factors responsible for promoting parasite development, and (ii) identify parasite molecules involved in mediating phenotypic plasticity to host factors. The ultimate goal of this work is to identify novel mechanisms for disrupting the parasite life cycle for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes