title: The Critical Role of the Cytoskeleton in the Pathogenesis ofGiardia.
abstract: Giardia lambliais a flagellated parasite of the gut and causes significant morbidity worldwide. Novel druggable targets are sorely needed due to Giardia's prevalence and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.Giardia's conserved and unique cytoskeletal features, such as its eight flagella and ventral disc, are required for host colonization by facilitating motility, attachment, and cell division. Therapies that target these processes could interfere with trophozoite colonization, reduce the time or severity of the infection, and reduce the number of infectious cysts shed into the environment. This requires vetting and prioritizing critical cellular processes and identifying specificGiardiaproteins in those processes as targets. It is time to leverage the wealth of data gathered through genome sequencing and proteomic studies, and new insights on the cytoskeleton ofGiardiato design effective new drugs to treat giardiasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nosala
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Dawson
keywords: Attachment; Drug targets; Giardia; Gut pathogen; Microtubule; Motility