Imaging African trypanosomes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Imaging African trypanosomes

AU - MacLean, L.

AU - Myburgh, E.

AU - Rodgers, J.

AU - Price, H. P.

N1 - © 2013 The Authors. Parasite Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Trypanosoma brucei are extracellular kinetoplastid parasites transmitted by the blood-sucking tsetse fly. They are responsible for the fatal disease human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. In late-stage infection, trypanosomes cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and invade the central nervous system (CNS) invariably leading to coma and death if untreated. There is no available vaccine and current late-stage HAT chemotherapy consists of either melarsoprol, which is highly toxic causing up to 8% of deaths, or nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT), which is costly and difficult to administer. There is therefore an urgent need to identify new late-stage HAT drug candidates. Here, we review how current imaging tools, ranging from fluorescent confocal microscopy of live immobilized cells in culture to whole-animal imaging, are providing insight into T. brucei biology, parasite-host interplay, trypanosome CNS invasion and disease progression. We also consider how imaging tools can be used for candidate drug screening purposes that could lead to new chemotherapies.

AB - Trypanosoma brucei are extracellular kinetoplastid parasites transmitted by the blood-sucking tsetse fly. They are responsible for the fatal disease human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. In late-stage infection, trypanosomes cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and invade the central nervous system (CNS) invariably leading to coma and death if untreated. There is no available vaccine and current late-stage HAT chemotherapy consists of either melarsoprol, which is highly toxic causing up to 8% of deaths, or nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT), which is costly and difficult to administer. There is therefore an urgent need to identify new late-stage HAT drug candidates. Here, we review how current imaging tools, ranging from fluorescent confocal microscopy of live immobilized cells in culture to whole-animal imaging, are providing insight into T. brucei biology, parasite-host interplay, trypanosome CNS invasion and disease progression. We also consider how imaging tools can be used for candidate drug screening purposes that could lead to new chemotherapies.

KW - Animals

KW - Cell Survival

KW - Host-Parasite Interactions

KW - Humans

KW - Microscopy, Confocal

KW - Trypanosoma brucei brucei

KW - Trypanosomiasis, African

U2 - 10.1111/pim.12046

DO - 10.1111/pim.12046

M3 - Article

C2 - 23790101

SN - 0141-9838

VL - 35

SP - 283

EP - 294

JO - Parasite Immunology

JF - Parasite Immunology

IS - 9-10

ER -