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TropicalMed
Special Issues
Interspecific Interactions between Protozoan Parasites and their Hosts and Neighbors
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Interspecific Interactions between Protozoan Parasites and their Hosts and Neighbors

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 October 2023) | Viewed by 2601

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rafael Mariante Meyer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Biologia Estrutural, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Interests: cell biology; protozoology; immunology; neutrophil biology; toxoplasmosis; Toxoplasma gondii; host–pathogen interaction
Dr. Victor Do Valle Pereira Midlej

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Biologia Estrutural, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Interests: structural biology; cell biology; protozoan parasites; Giardia; Trichomonas; chemotherapy; cannabinoids ; microbiota

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Protozoan parasites include pathogens of medical and veterinary importance that, although largely neglected, lead to important human and animal health problems. Together, parasites such as Giardia, Entamoeba, Trichomonas, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma and Leishmania affect billions of people worldwide, leading to thousands of deaths annually. In addition, they can infect domestic animals, including companion animals and livestock, and lead to various diseases and reproductive complications, causing psychological trauma to pet families and great economic losses to the world livestock market.

To be successful in infecting their hosts, these parasites must reach the target tissue and deal with natural barriers such as the host's immune cells and various other microorganisms they encounter during their journey. Interactions with such agents can be beneficial or harmful for the protozoan itself, and the balance between parasite virulence, host resistance and the influence of the local microbiota will determine the fate of the infection and the outcome of the disease.

The host–parasite–microbiota interactions are complex; if, on the one hand, protozoan infections affect the composition of the mucosal microbiota, on the other hand, specific components of the microbiota can affect the parasitic infection and the progression of the diseases caused by them. Therefore, understanding the biology, ultrastructure and dynamics of these host–parasite, parasite–microbiota and host–parasite–microbiota relationships can favor the development of therapeutic strategies to combat these life-threatening pathogenic protozoa.

This Special Issue will cover various aspects of the host–parasite–microbiota interplay under three main topics: (1) the relationship between protozoan parasites and host cells (e.g., cellular and molecular biology of protozoan interactions with target tissues/cells, interactions with the host immune system, and the life cycle during host colonization); (2) parasitic protozoa and their relationship with the microbiological world (fungi, viruses, bacteria and other protozoa); and (3) the relationship between protozoan parasites and the niche where they live within the host (e.g., gut or vaginal microbiota).

Dr. Rafael Mariante Meyer
Dr. Victor Do Valle Pereira Midlej
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • protozoan parasites
  • host–pathogen interaction
  • microbiota
  • intestinal protozoa
  • trichomonads
  • trypanosomatids
  • Apicomplexa

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4416 KiB  
Article
Occurrence of Free-Living Amoebae in Non-Human Primate Gut
by Igor Rodrigues Cardoso, Clezia Siqueira de Lima, Rhagner Bonono dos Reis, Ana Cristina Araujo Pinto, Thalita Pissinatti, Tatiana Kugelmeier, Sócrates Fraga da Costa Neto, Fabio Alves da Silva and Helena Lúcia Carneiro Santos
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2024, 9(5), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9050108 - 8 May 2024
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Abstract
The gut microbiome reflects health and predicts possible disease in hosts. A holistic view of this community is needed, focusing on identifying species and dissecting how species interact with their host and each other, regardless of whether their presence is beneficial, inconsequential, or [...] Read more.
The gut microbiome reflects health and predicts possible disease in hosts. A holistic view of this community is needed, focusing on identifying species and dissecting how species interact with their host and each other, regardless of whether their presence is beneficial, inconsequential, or detrimental. The distribution of gut-associated eukaryotes within and across non-human primates is likely driven by host behavior and ecology. To ascertain the existence of free-living amoebae (FLA) in the gut of wild and captive non-human primates, 101 stool samples were collected and submitted to culture-dependent microscopy examination and DNA sequencing. Free-living amoebae were detected in 45.4% (46/101) of fecal samples analyzed, and their morphological characteristics matched those of Acanthamoeba spp., Vermamoeba spp., heterolobosean amoeboflagellates and fan-shaped amoebae of the family Vannellidae. Sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed that the suspected amoebae are highly homologous (99% identity and 100% query coverage) with Acanthamoeba T4 genotype and Vermamoeba vermiformis amoebae. The results showed a great diversity of amoebae in the non-human primate’s microbiome, which may pose a potential risk to the health of NHPs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of free-living amoebae in non-human primates that are naturally infected. However, it is unknown whether gut-borne amoebae exploit a viable ecological niche or are simply transient residents in the gut. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interspecific Interactions between Protozoan Parasites and their Hosts and Neighbors)
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16 pages, 18689 KiB  
Article
Medicines for Malaria Venture Pandemic Box In Vitro Screening Identifies Compounds Highly Active against the Tachyzoite Stage of Toxoplasma gondii
by Mike dos Santos, Andréia Luiza Oliveira Costa, Guilherme Henrique de Souza Vaz, Gabriela Carolina Alves de Souza, Ricardo Wagner de Almeida Vitor and Érica S. Martins-Duarte
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(12), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8120510 - 29 Nov 2023
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Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is a disease that causes high mortality in immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients, and sequelae in congenitally infected newborns. Despite its great medical importance, there are few treatments available and these are associated with adverse events and resistance. In this work, [...] Read more.
Toxoplasmosis is a disease that causes high mortality in immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients, and sequelae in congenitally infected newborns. Despite its great medical importance, there are few treatments available and these are associated with adverse events and resistance. In this work, after screening the drugs present in the Medicines for Malaria Venture Pandemic Box, we found new hits with anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity. Through our analysis, we selected twenty-three drugs or drug-like compounds that inhibited the proliferation of T. gondii tachyzoites in vitro by more than 50% at a concentration of 1 µM after seven days of treatment. Nineteen of these compounds have never been reported active before against T. gondii. Inhibitory curves showed that most of these drugs were able to inhibit parasite replication with IC50 values on the nanomolar scale. To better understand the unprecedented effect of seven compounds against T. gondii tachyzoites, an ultrastructural analysis was carried out using transmission electron microscopy. Treatment with 0.25 µM verdinexor, 3 nM MMV1580844, and 0.25 µM MMV019724 induced extensive vacuolization, complete ultrastructural disorganization, and lytic effects in the parasite, respectively, and all of them showed alterations in the division process. Treatment with 1 µM Eberconazole, 0.5 µM MMV1593541, 1 µM MMV642550, 1 µM RWJ-67657, and 1 µM URMC-099-C also caused extensive vacuolization in the parasite. The activity of these drugs against intracellular tachyzoites supports the idea that the drugs selected in the Pandemic Box could be potential future drugs for the treatment of acute toxoplasmosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interspecific Interactions between Protozoan Parasites and their Hosts and Neighbors)
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