Gametocyte proteins of Eimeria spp. are essential components of the oocyst wall, and some of these proteins have been analysed to identify targets of transmission-blocking vaccines against avian coccidiosis. In the present study, a cDNA from E. necatrix gametocytes was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA is 1473 bp in length and encodes a 490-amino-acid protein containing a tyrosine–serine (Tyr/Ser)-rich

A 1332 bp full length cDNA encoding Teladorsagia circumcincta isocitrate lyase (TciICL) and a 1575 bp full length cDNA encoding T. circumcincta malate synthase (TciMS) were cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant proteins purified. The predicted TciICL protein of 444 amino acids was present as a single band of about 52 kDa on SDS-PAGE and the recombinant TciMS of 525 amino acids formed

Morbidity associated with hepatic and urogenital schistosomiasis stems primarily from the host immune response directed against schistosome eggs. When eggs become entrapped in host tissues, the development of fibrotic plaques drives downstream pathology. These events occur due to the antigenic nature of egg excretory/secretory products (ESPs). Both Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum ESPs have been

Opisthorchis viverrini and other foodborne trematode infections are major health concerns in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Currently, the gold-standard diagnostic method for opisthorchiasis is conventional stool examination for the presence of parasite eggs. This method lacks sensitivity and needs an experienced technician. We therefore produced monoclonal antibodies to highly immunogenic O. viverrini

Serpentine receptors (SRs) are transmembrane proteins generally acting as mediators to facilitate the communication between a cell and its environment. At least six putative SR-like proteins are encoded in the genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. For two of them, roles in cell stress control were reported; however, for most of the SR-like proteins the functions are not yet known. In

A 615 bp full length cDNA encoding a Teladorsagia circumcincta glutathione transferase (TcGST) was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein purified and its kinetic properties determined. The predicted protein consisted of 205 amino acids and was present as a single band of about 24 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Multiple alignments of the protein sequence of TcGST with homologues from other

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a major neglected tropical zoonotic disease caused by the tissue-dwelling larval stage of the cestode parasite Echinococcus granulosus. For individuals suspected of CE, the diagnostic standard is imaging using ultrasonography, X rays, or computed tomography. These resource-demanding and expensive procedures are rarely available in endemic rural areas where CE is most prevalent

Misfolded proteins trapped in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are specifically recognized and retrotranslocated to the cytosol by the ER-Associated Degradation (ERAD) system and delivered to the proteasome for destruction. This process was recently described in Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) using the misfolded epitope tagged Transferrin Receptor subunits ESAG7:Ty and HA:ESAG6 (HA:E6). Critical to this

Proper targeting and secretion of lysosomal hydrolases are regulated by transporting receptors. Entamoeba histolytica, the enteric protozoan parasite responsible for human amebiasis, has a unique family of lysosomal hydrolase receptors, cysteine protease binding protein family, CPBF. CPBFs, consisting of 11 members with conserved domain organization, bind to a wide range of cargos including cysteine

Altering amounts of a protein in a cell has become a crucial tool for understanding its function. In many organisms, including the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, protein overexpression has been achieved by inserting a protein-coding sequence into an overexpression vector. Here, we have adapted the PCR only based system for tagging trypanosome proteins at their endogenous loci such that it in

The number of fully sequenced genomes increases steadily but the function of many genes remains unstudied. To accelerate dissection of gene function in Leishmania spp. and other kinetoplastids we previously developed a streamlined pipeline for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, which we termed LeishGEdit. To facilitate high-throughput mutant screens we have adapted this pipeline by barcoding mutants with unique

Eggs, schistosomula and adult Schistosoma worms are known to release extracellular vesicles (EV) during in vitro incubations and these EVs are postulated to affect the host responses. So far only those EVs released during in vitro incubations of schistosomes have been studied and it is unknown whether in blood of infected hosts the schistosomal EVs can be detected amidst all the circulating EVs of

Codon usage bias (CUB) is the nonrandom usage of synonymous codons in which some codons are more preferred to others.CUB can be determined by mutation pressure and selection. Various approaches have been used to understand the pattern of CUB in the mitochondrial ND (MT-ND or ND) genes involved in complex I of respiratory chain in five different classes of Platyhelminthes as no work was reported yet

The lysine and glutamic acid rich protein KERP1 is a cell surface-expressed virulence factor in the human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica. It was originally suggested that the gene was absent from the related, avirulent human commensal Entamoeba dispar, an absence which would be relevant to the differential virulence of these species. Here, the gene is shown to be present in E. dispar, and its sequence

Defining protein-protein interactions is fundamental to the understanding of gene function. Protein-fragment complementation assays have been used for the analysis of protein-protein interactions in various organisms. The split-dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein-fragment complementation assay utilises two complementary fragments of the enzyme fused to a pair of potentially interacting proteins

In free-living and parasitic nematodes, the methylation of phosphoethanolamine to phosphocholine provides a key metabolite to sustain phospholipid biosynthesis for growth and development. Because the phosphoethanolamine methyltransferases (PMT) of nematodes are essential for normal growth and development, these enzymes are potential targets of inhibitor design. The pine wilt nematode (Bursaphelenchus

The objective of this study was to analyze the mRNA transcription levels of ten functional genes of P-glycoproteins (P-gp) in free life stages, eggs and infective larvae (L3) and in endoparasitic stages, fourth larval stage (L4) and adult males of two native isolates of Haemonchus contortus: resistant and susceptible to IVM. The IVM resistant isolate was obtained from sheep naturally infected with

Trypanosoma brucei is an important human pathogen. In this study, we have focused on the characterization of FtsH protease, ATP-dependent membrane-bound mitochondrial enzyme important for regulation of protein abundance. We have determined localization and orientation of all six putative T.brucei FtsH homologs in the inner mitochondrial membrane by in silico analyses, by immunofluorescence, and with

Studies of Plasmodium sporozoites and liver stages require dissection of Anopheles mosquitoes to obtain sporozoites for experiments. Sporozoites from the rodent parasite P. yoelii are routinely used to infect hepatocytes for liver stage culture, but sometimes these cultures become contaminated. Using standard microbiological techniques, a single colony type of Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria was

Conserved amongst all eukaryotes is a family of mitochondrial carrier proteins (SLC25A) responsible for the import of various solutes across the inner mitochondrial membrane. We previously reported that the human parasite Trypanosoma brucei possesses 26 SLC25A proteins (TbMCPs) amongst which two, TbMCP11 and TbMCP8, were predicted to function as phosphate importers. The transport of inorganic phosphate

The ACC-1 family of cys-loop receptors are ligand-gated chloride channels sensitive to acetylcholine (ACh), and are only present in invertebrates. Studies of this family of inhibitory receptors has provided insight into how they bind and respond to ACh in a manner vastly different from nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and appear to be present in tissues that are relevant to anthelmintic action. Here

Species of Centrorhynchus (Polymorphida: Centrorhynchidae) commonly parasitize various falconiform and strigiform birds worldwide. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences of Centrorhynchus clitorideus was sequenced and annotated for the first time based on specimens collected from the little owl Athene noctua (Scopoli) (Strigiformes: Strigidae) in Pakistan. The complete

Trypanosoma are blood-borne parasites and are the causative agents of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affecting both humans and animals. These parasites mainly rely on glycolysis for their energy production within the mammalian host, which is why trypanosomal glycolytic enzymes have been pursued as interesting targets for the development of trypanocidal drugs. The structure–function relationships

Helminth parasites secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) into their environment that have potential roles in host-parasite communication, and thus represent potentially useful targets for novel control strategies. Here, we carried out a comprehensive proteomic analysis of two different populations of EVs – 15k pellet and 120k pellet EVs – from Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. We characterised the proteins

Plasmodium parasites cause malaria in mammalian hosts and are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Gametocytes, which differentiate from asexual-stage parasites, are activated by environmental changes when ingested into the mosquito midgut, and are rapidly released from erythrocytes prior to fertilization. Secretory proteins localized to osmiophilic bodies (OBs), organelles unique to gametocytes, have

Translation initiation factor eIF4F is essential for cap-dependent translation initiation in eukaryotes. eIF4F is a trimeric complex consisting of a scaffold protein eIF4G, cap-binding protein eIF4E and DEAD-box RNA helicase eIF4A. eIF4F binds to the 5’ cap structure of the mRNA through eIF4E and facilitates the binding of the preinitiation complex (PIC) via protein-protein interactions of eIF4G with

Strongyloides venezuelensis is an important alternative source of antigen for the serologic diagnosis of human strongyloidiasis. Proteomics techniques applied to the analysis of the protein content of infective third stage larvae (iL3) of S. venezuelensis provide a powerful tool for the discovery of new candidates for immunodiagnosis. This study presents an overview of the protein iL3 S. venezuelensis

The gills of the common carp, whose mucosal surface belongs to the key defence mechanisms of piscine immunity, can be infested with both the larval and adult stage of Eudiplozoon nipponicum (Monogenea). Although on their own, monogeneans do not considerably compromise their hosts’ health status, fish with epithelial barriers damaged in parasite feeding and attachment sites are at an increased risk

Gliding motility and cell invasion are essential for the successful transmission of Plasmodium parasites. These processes rely on an acto-myosin motor located underneath the parasite plasma membrane. The Myosin A-tail interacting protein (MTIP) connects the class XIV myosin A (MyoA) to the gliding-associated proteins and is essential for assembly of the motor at the inner membrane complex. Here, we

Copper is an essential component of cuproproteins but can be toxic to cells, therefore copper metabolism is very carefully regulated within cells. To gain insight into trypanosome copper metabolism, Trypanosoma spp. genomic databases were screened for the presence of copper-containing and -transporting proteins. Among other genes encoding copper-binding proteins, a copper-transporting P-type ATPase

The lysosomal cysteine protease activity of Trypanosoma brucei comprises a cathepsin B enzyme (TbCATB) and a cathepsin L enzyme (TbCATL). Inhibition of the cysteine protease activity is lethal to bloodstream-form trypanosomes but it was not entirely clear which of the two enzymes are essential for survival of the parasites. Here we show that the vinyl sulfone compound LU-102 selectively inhibits TbCATL

Galectins are among the most abundant excretory/secretory (ES) products of filarial worms, but their role in filarial biology is poorly understood. Galectin-2 (Lec-2), a major component of Brugia malayi extracellular vesicles, is released by filarial worms, and was recently identified in the serum of persons with loiasis. We therefore sought to clone and characterize Lec-2, and to develop reagents

ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters are proteins that actively mediate the transport of a wide variety of molecules, including drugs. Thus, in parasitology, ABC transporters have gained attention as potential targets for therapeutic drugs. Among the parasitic Platyhelminthes, ABC transporters have been identified and classified in a few species of Trematoda and Cestoda but not in Monogenea. Monogeneans