Figures
Blood-fed Lutzomyia longipalpis sandfly.
Sandflies are the vector for the leishmaniases, a complex of disfiguring and potentially fatal neglected tropical parasitic diseases. To facilitate transmission, Leishmania parasites block the sandfly gut by secreting a mucin-like gel that forces the regurgitation of parasites during bloodfeeding. Regurgitated gel dramatically exacerbates infection and disease. Rogers et al. demonstrate that the gel manipulates the wound healing response of the host to the sandfly bite by recruiting host cells and conditions them to supply nutrients for intracellular parasite growth. By understanding the interaction between parasites, vectors, and hosts during infection, we can design more appropriate anti-parasitic drugs and vaccines (see Rogers et al., doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000555).
Image Credit: Ray Wilson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Citation: (2009) PLoS Pathogens Issue Image | Vol. 5(8) August 2009. PLoS Pathog 5(8): ev05.i08. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.ppat.v05.i08
Published: August 28, 2009
Copyright: © 2009 Ray Wilson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Sandflies are the vector for the leishmaniases, a complex of disfiguring and potentially fatal neglected tropical parasitic diseases. To facilitate transmission, Leishmania parasites block the sandfly gut by secreting a mucin-like gel that forces the regurgitation of parasites during bloodfeeding. Regurgitated gel dramatically exacerbates infection and disease. Rogers et al. demonstrate that the gel manipulates the wound healing response of the host to the sandfly bite by recruiting host cells and conditions them to supply nutrients for intracellular parasite growth. By understanding the interaction between parasites, vectors, and hosts during infection, we can design more appropriate anti-parasitic drugs and vaccines (see Rogers et al., doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000555).
Image Credit: Ray Wilson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine