Mechanisms of cellular invasion by intracellular parasites.
Numerous disease-causing parasites must invade host cells in order to prosper. Collectively, such pathogens are responsible for a staggering amount of human sickness and death throughout the world. Leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, toxoplasmosis, and malaria are neglected diseases and therefore are linked to socio-economical and geographical factors, affecting well-over half the world's population. Such obligate intracellular parasites have co-evolved with humans to establish a complexity of specific molecular parasite-host cell interactions, forming the basis of the parasite's cellular tropism. They make use of such interactions to invade host cells as a means to migrate through various tissues, to evade the host immune system, and to undergo intracellular replication. These cellular migration and invasion events are absolutely essential for the completion of the lifecycles of these parasites and lead to their for disease pathogenesis. This review is an overview of the molecular mechanisms of protozoan parasite invasion of host cells and discussion of therapeutic strategies, which could be developed by targeting these invasion pathways. Specifically, we focus on four species of protozoan parasites Leishmania, Trypanosoma cruzi, Plasmodium, and Toxoplasma, which are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality.
Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Dawn M
DM
Walker
Steve
S
Oghumu
Gaurav
G
Gupta
Bradford S
BS
McGwire
Mark E
ME
Drew
Abhay R
AR
Satoskar
D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D010271:Parasites / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology