Helminths Flashcards
Sorry gals but I could not come up with better cards, this lecture was MESSY
Why can doxycycline (an antibiotic) be used to treat Filarial infections?
Because filarial worms have a close symbiosis with Wolbachia. If you kill the wolbachia, you kill the worm.
It was long unknown that Nippostrongylus brasiliensis is a blood feeder. How was this shown?
Experiments with labelled RBS showed that Nippo. takes them up (could be seen in the microscope). Also the ratio of white/red blood cells was measured in naive and infected mice, infected mice had lower RBCs.
What is hemozoin (-like pigment) and what role play antimalarials?
Blood feeding and the degradation of hemoglobin lead to the accumulation of toxic haem. This is further metabolized to non toxic hemozoin. Antimalarials such as Quinidine can block this process. By using Antimalarials it was shown that hookworms have 2 pathways to detoxify haem.
Blood feeding induces a unique proteome. How was this shown?
By comparing the proteome of soil living (non-feeding and also not parasitic) worms with the proteomes of parasitic non feeding and parasitic feeding worms.
Hygiene hypothesis
The hypothesis is based on teh observation that in helminth endemic areas there are basically no allergic diseases present. It is believed that the immomodulation/immune response ilicited by helminths balances the immune system in favour of less allergies/inflammations.
Helminths have also been implicated in a protective immunity against COVID 19.
How are hookworms able to evade NETs?
NETs are extracellular DNA traps produced by neutrophils. Hookworms secrete a DNAse I which destroys these nets.
