Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-06DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.005
Narcisa Leal da Cunha-E-Silva, Carolina de Lima Alcantara, Miria Gomes Pereira, Wanderley De Souza
{"title":"Three Hungry Tryps: the efficient endocytic pathway of pathogenic trypanosomatids.","authors":"Narcisa Leal da Cunha-E-Silva, Carolina de Lima Alcantara, Miria Gomes Pereira, Wanderley De Souza","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Eukaryotic cells incorporate various molecules through a process known as endocytosis, which is crucial for the cell's survival and reproduction. While this process has been extensively studied in mammalian and yeast cells, significant contributions have also been made by researchers studying pathogenic protists. This review aims to present the most relevant information about the endocytic process in three important trypanosomatids: Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, and Leishmania. Many protozoa exhibit strong endocytic activity across their entire surface. However, in trypanosomatids, this activity is highly polarized and occurs exclusively in the flagellar pocket. In the case of T. cruzi, endocytosis primarily takes place through the cytostome-cytopharynx complex. This process involves an entry site organization of the cytoskeleton, including the participation of specialized microtubules.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"560-571"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144249754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-02DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.009
Png Loke, Oyebola Oyesola
{"title":"Is IFN-γ good or bad for the host during helminth infections?","authors":"Png Loke, Oyebola Oyesola","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>IFN-γ function during a type-2 helminth infection remains enigmatic. Westfall et al. found an unexpected role for IFN-γ in limiting tissue damage during intestinal infection by Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri (Hpb). IFN-γ produced by CD8+ T cells stimulates stromal cells directly to recruit neutrophils, where they prevent tissue damage caused by the worms.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"514-515"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144217046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-05DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.011
Om P Singh, Rajnikant Dixit, David Weetman
{"title":"Novel knockdown resistance mutations in human lice: artifacts or emerging resistance?","authors":"Om P Singh, Rajnikant Dixit, David Weetman","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An exceptionally high number of novel mutations within domain II of the voltage-gated sodium channel have been reported in human lice from Iran and Saudi Arabia. We critically evaluate these reports, highlighting that many of them may be methodological artifacts, and urge rigorous confirmation before assigning biological significance.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"521-524"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144249752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-02DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.006
Chen-Hua Li, Yuanzhe R Wang, Kyle Lesack, Xiao Xiao, Stephen M J Pollo, Thorey K Jonsdottir, Eleonore Charrier, Robert Poulin
{"title":"Perceptions of parasites: reflections from a new parasitology outreach initiative.","authors":"Chen-Hua Li, Yuanzhe R Wang, Kyle Lesack, Xiao Xiao, Stephen M J Pollo, Thorey K Jonsdottir, Eleonore Charrier, Robert Poulin","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parasites often have a bad reputation, yet they play vital roles in ecosystems. The Global Parasitologist Coalition has created novel interactive outreach materials blending science and art, using them in diverse events to foster understanding. Here, we summarize these efforts and the lessons learnt to support future outreach initiatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"509-513"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144217047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-21DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.002
Ian Drobish, Hans Ackerman
{"title":"Elevating uric acid as an antimalarial target.","authors":"Ian Drobish, Hans Ackerman","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Malaria causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in children, and many survivors are left with lasting neurological injury. While we have effective parasite-killing drugs, we need treatments that target disease mechanisms to improve outcomes. Bond et al. recently reported uric acid as a potential target for anti-disease therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"518-520"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12226212/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144128929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-05DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.010
Fran Prenen, Philippe E Van den Steen
{"title":"Malaria-associated liver dysfunction: a forgotten challenge.","authors":"Fran Prenen, Philippe E Van den Steen","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Malaria-associated liver dysfunction (MALID) is a frequent yet understudied complication of severe malaria, characterized by increased liver enzyme levels, hyperbilirubinemia, and distinctive histopathological changes. Notably, MALID can persist despite antimalarial treatment and is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality. Given the central role of the liver in metabolism, immunity, and detoxification, MALID may profoundly impact the functionality of other organs and exacerbate overall disease severity. This review consolidates the current knowledge on MALID, emphasizing the need for further research to elucidate its underlying mechanisms and its interplay with other malaria-related complications. A deeper understanding of MALID could pave the way for improved treatment strategies and management of severe malaria cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"547-559"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144249751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-29DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.004
Craig Montell
{"title":"The sensory arsenal mosquitoes use to find us.","authors":"Craig Montell","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Female mosquitoes that home in on people for blood meals are exquisitely effective at finding us. This is because they are endowed with an uncanny ability to sense virtually every cue people provide. These include exhaled CO<sub>2</sub>, the image of the host, and volatile body odors, which can be detected at distances of multiple meters. When they traverse to under 1 m, they sense thermal infrared (IR). Within a few centimeters of a human, they detect convection heat and humidity emanating from skin. Upon landing, mosquitoes taste nonvolatile chemicals and sense conduction heat before electing to engorge on blood or fly away. This review focuses on the cellular and receptor mechanisms underlying the sensory detection mechanisms that mosquitoes use to home in on us.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"591-602"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12352024/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144188000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pthirus pubis (pubic louse).","authors":"Jan Votýpka, Jana Bulantová, Julius Lukeš","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.05.012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in parasitologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.04.010
Karen P Day, Mun Hua Tan, Qixin He, Shazia Ruybal-Pesántez, Qi Zhan, Kathryn E Tiedje, Mercedes Pascual
{"title":"Var genes, strain hyperdiversity, and malaria transmission dynamics.","authors":"Karen P Day, Mun Hua Tan, Qixin He, Shazia Ruybal-Pesántez, Qi Zhan, Kathryn E Tiedje, Mercedes Pascual","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.04.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.04.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The microbiological paradigm for surveillance of diverse pathogens requires knowledge of the variation of the major surface antigen under the most intense immune selection as immune responses to these antigens drive transmission dynamics. This creates a pathway for population genetics/genomics to be combined with mathematical modelling to describe transmission dynamics to inform public health policy. Here we consider how we can bring population genetics and population dynamics together for a highly recombining pathogen like Plasmodium falciparum. We do this through the lens of what has been recently learnt about the population genetics of the var multigene family encoding the major surface antigen of the blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum, known as PfEMP1.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"471-485"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12416208/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}