title: The role of extracellular vesicles in Plasmodium and other protozoan parasites.
abstract: Protozoan parasites and other microorganisms use various pathways to communicate within their own populations and to manipulate their outside environments, with the ultimate goal of balancing the rate of growth and transmission. In higher eukaryotes, including humans, circulating extracellular vesicles are increasingly recognized as key mediators of physiological and pathological processes. Recent evidence suggests that protozoan parasites, including those responsible for major human diseases such as malaria and Chagas disease, use similar machinery. Indeed, intracellular and extracellular protozoan parasites secrete extracellular vesicles to promote growth and induce transmission, to evade the host immune system, and to manipulate the microenvironment. In this review we will discuss the general pathways of extracellular vesicle biogenesis and their functions in protozoan infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Pierre-Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Mantel
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D055354:Exosomes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005110:Extracellular Space; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000502:physiology; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000469:parasitology*; D014244:Trichomonas / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014245:Trichomonas Infections / Q000473:pathology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology