RNA-seq of Ancylostoma ceylanicum adults in normal and immunosuppressed hamster hosts
Hookworms are parasitic blood-feeding nematodes that chronically infect 170-440 million people. Two hookworm species infecting humans, Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale, are naturally able to productively infect only humans or closely related primates. However, the versatile zoonotic hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum can infect not only humans but dogs and Syrian golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), making it both the third human-infecting hookworm and a tractable laboratory model for human hookworm infection. To improve our understanding of hookworm proteins that either digest host tissues or suppress the host's immune system, we have transcriptionally analyzed young adults (12 days post infection), mature adult intestines (19 d.p.i., and mature adult non-intestinal tissues (19 d.p.i.) of A. ceylanicum, from infections of both normal and immunosuppressed hamster hosts.