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Parasitic helminths and the host microbiome - a missing 'extracellular vesicle-sized' link?

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Type

Article

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Authors

Rooney, James 
Northcote, Holly M 
Williams, Tim L 
Cortés, Alba 

Abstract

Infections by gastrointestinal (GI) helminths have been associated with significant alterations of the structure of microbial communities inhabiting the host gut. However, current understanding of the biological mechanisms that regulate these relationships is still lacking. We propose that helminth-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) likely represent key players in helminth-microbiota crosstalk. Here, we explore knowledge of helminth EVs with an emphasis on their putative antimicrobial properties, and we argue that (i) an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms governing such interactions might assist the discovery and development of novel strategies of parasite control, and that (ii) the identification and characterisation of helminth molecules with antimicrobial properties might pave the way towards the discovery of novel antibiotics, thus aiding the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Description

Keywords

antimicrobial peptides, excretory/secretory products, extracellular vesicles, helminth–microbiota crosstalk, host–helminth communication, Animals, Extracellular Vesicles, Helminths, Microbiota

Journal Title

Trends Parasitol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1471-4922
1471-5007

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier BV