title: Adipose Tissue: A Safe Haven for Parasites?
abstract: Adipose tissue (AT) is no longer regarded as an inert lipid storage, but as an important central regulator in energy homeostasis and immunity. Three parasite species are uniquely associated with AT during part of their life cycle: Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease; Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness; and Plasmodium spp., the causative agents of malaria. In AT, T. cruzi resides inside adipocytes, T. brucei is found in the interstitial spaces between adipocytes, while Plasmodium spp. infect red blood cells, which may adhere to the blood vessels supplying AT. Here, we discuss how each parasite species adapts to this tissue environment and what the implications are for pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Herbert B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Tanowitz
authors.affiliation: Touchstone Diabetes Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-8549, USA; Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Philipp E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Scherer
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. Electronic address: lmf@medicina.ulisboa.pt.
authors.forename: Luisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000469:parasitology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000502:physiology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000469:parasitology
keywords: Trypanosoma; adipocyte; adipose tissue; fat; lipid; malaria; pathogen