Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases
University of Georgia
Toxoplasma gondii is a highly successful intracellular mammalian and avian pathogen that must adapt to a wide range of intracellular and extracellular environments. A mechanism that may support this is the modification of hydroxyamino acid rich sequences of nucleocytoplasmic proteins with O-fucose. O-fucosylation of possibly hundreds of proteins is mediated by a single highly …
Influenza virus is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality due to acute lower respiratory infection, even with the widespread use of multiple licensed influenza vaccines. However, antigenic drift during influenza replication can cause vaccine-induced antibodies to poorly neutralize influenza virus, thereby reducing vaccine effectiveness. To help overcome this problem, we leveraged a hydrogel …
We investigated the antiparasitic activity of several antimicrobial drug leads against Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and, in one case, bradyzoites. Carbazole and phenylthiazole aminoguanidine anti-infectives, originally developed as antibacterial and antifungal agents, showed potent activity, with IC50 values as low as 2 μM. This potency was comparable to that observed with the tuberculosis drug candidate SQ109 and a series …
Tetrahydro-β-carboline 1 (MMV008138) controls growth of asexual blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum by inhibiting IspD, an enzyme in the MEP pathway for synthesis of a critical metabolite, isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP). We have previously investigated the structure activity relationship (SAR) of three of its four rings (B, C, and D). In this report we investigate the SAR of …
OSMAC (one strain many compounds) provides a convenient strategy to produce chemically diverse and novel natural products. In the study, the application of an OSMAC approach on a fungus Penicillium citrinum YSC-1 isolated from a medicinal plant Chloranthus japonicus, using different culture media, led to the isolation and identification of seven new spirooxindole alkaloids penicitrimicins …
Parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium have evolved to have a highly compact genome of ∼9.1 Mb. The mechanisms that regulate gene expression in Cryptosporidium spp. remain incompletely understood at all levels, including chromatin accessibility, transcription factor activation and repression and RNA processing. This review discusses possible mechanisms of gene regulation in Cryptosporidium spp., including histone modifications, cis regulatory elements, transcription factors and non-coding …
Cryptosporidium parvum is a significant pathogen causing gastrointestinal infections in humans and animals. It is spread through ingesting contaminated food and water. Despite its global health significance, generating a C. parvum genome sequence has been challenging for many reasons including cloning and challenging subtelomeric regions. A new, gapless, hybrid, telomere-to-telomere genome assembly was created for …
CD8+ T cells are key effectors in immune control of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Within C57BL/6 mice, the T. cruzi-specific CD8+ T cell response is largely comprised of T cells recognizing trans-sialidase (TS)- and mucin-encoded epitopes. Despite their immunodominance, these epitope-specific CD8+ T cells are entirely dispensable for immune control. In a screen for epitopes inducing …
A target specimen profile (TSP) corresponds to the required characteristics of the specimen panels needed to demonstrate that a diagnostic kit meets the target product profile (TPP). TSPs can guide biobanks in the prospective collection of sample panels to support the development and validation of diagnostics. Fay Betsou, Warren Fransman, Patrick Lammie. Diagnostics (Basel). 2025 …
Human infections by Trypanosoma cruzi propagate via its blood-feeding triatomine vector. Investigating parasite-vector interactions depends upon robust techniques to rear insects and analyze infections. Here, we present a protocol for laboratory rearing and infection tracking of Rhodnius prolixus. We describe steps for housing, feeding, and sorting strategies using 3D-printable designs. We also detail procedures for …
