A5069591893- Parasitic infections in humans and animals
- Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics
- Congenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Parasites and Host Interactions
- Amoebic Infections and Treatments
- Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies
- Urological Disorders and Treatments
- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
- Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
- Cancer Research and Treatments
- Polyamine Metabolism and Applications
- Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Galectins and Cancer Biology
- Insects and Parasite Interactions
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Redox biology and oxidative stress
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- Helminth infection and control
- Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- IL-33, ST2, and ILC Pathways
University of Bern
2016-2025
Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office
2025
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
2024
University of Belgrade
2024
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
2024
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
2024
National Veterinary Research Institute
2024
Statens Serum Institut
2024
Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
2024
Uppsala University
2010-2013
The cestode Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis, a fatal zoonotic parasitic disease northern hemisphere. Red foxes are main reservoir hosts and, likely, drivers geographic spread in Europe. Knowledge genetic relationships among E. isolates at European scale key to understanding dispersal characteristics multilocularis. Hence, present study aimed describe diversity obtained from different host species 19 countries. Based on analysis complete...
In the field of infectious diseases multifaceted amino acid arginine has reached special attention as substrate for host´s production antimicrobial agent nitric oxide (NO). A variety organisms interfere with this part host immune response by reducing availability arginine. This prompted us to further investigate additional roles during pathogen infections. As a model we used intestinal parasite Giardia intestinalis that actively consumes main energy source and secretes an arginine-consuming...
Abstract Background Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid important in growing individuals and under non-homeostatic conditions/disease. Many pathogens interfere with arginine-utilization host cells, especially nitric oxide (NO) production, by changing the expression of enzymes involved arginine metabolism. Here we used human intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) three different isolates protozoan parasite Giardia intestinalis to investigate role arginine-metabolizing during...
The metacestode of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is causative agent alveolar echinococcosis, a lethal zoonosis. Infections are initiated through establishment parasite larvae within intermediate host's liver, where high concentrations insulin present, followed by tumour-like growth in host organs. molecular mechanisms determining organ tropism E. or influences hormones on proliferation poorly understood. Using vitro cultivation systems for we show that physiological (10 nM) human...
Giardiasis is a common diarrheal disease caused by the protozoan parasite Giardia intestinalis. Cysteine proteases (CPs) are acknowledged as virulence factors in but their specific role molecular pathogenesis of not known. Herein, we aimed to characterize three main secreted CPs (CP14019, CP16160 and CP16779), which were identified mass spectrometry medium during interaction with intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) vitro. First, epitope-tagged localized endoplasmic reticulum cytoplasmic...
In vitro treatment of Echinococcus multilocularis and granulosus larval stages with the antimalarials dihydroartemisinin artesunate (10 to 40 microM) exhibited promising results, while 6 weeks in vivo mice infected E. metacestodes (200 mg/kg body weight/day) had no effect. However, combination treatments both drugs albendazole led a substantial but statistically not significant reduction parasite weight compared results alone.
The metacestode stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis causes lethal disease alveolar echinococcosis. Current chemotherapeutic treatment options are based on benzimidazoles (albendazole and mebendazole), which insufficient hence alternative drugs needed. In this study, we screened 400 compounds Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) Pathogen Box against E. metacestodes. For screen, employed phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) assay assesses drug-induced damage metacestodes, identified...
The lethal disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the metacestode stage of fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. Current chemotherapeutical treatment AE relies on albendazole and mebendazole, with caveat that these compounds are not parasiticidal. Drugs have to be taken for a prolonged period time, often life-long, which can cause adverse effects reduces patients' quality life. In some individuals, benzimidazoles inactive or toxicity, leading discontinuation. Alternatives...
ObjectivesThe disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval stage of cestode Echinococcus multilocularis, is fatal if treatment unsuccessful. Current options are, at best, parasitostatic, and involve taking benzimidazoles (albendazole, mebendazole) for whole a patient's life. In conjunction with recent development optimized procedures E. multilocularis metacestode cultivation, we aimed to develop rapid reliable drug screening test, which enables efficient large number compounds...
ABSTRACT Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the metacestode stage of fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis and causes severe disease in human liver, occasionally other organs, that fatal when treatment unsuccessful. The present chemotherapy against AE based on mebendazole albendazole. Albendazole has been found to be ineffective some instances, parasitostatic rather than parasiticidal, usually involves lifelong uptake large doses drugs. Thus, new options are urgently needed. In...
A library of 426 FDA-approved drugs was screened for in vitro activity against E. multilocularis metacestodes employing the phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) assay. Initial screening at 20 µM revealed that 7 induced considerable metacestode damage, and further dose-response studies bortezomib (BTZ), a proteasome inhibitor developed chemotherapy myeloma, displayed high anti-metacestodal with an EC50 0.6 µM. BTZ treatment led to accumulation ubiquinated proteins unequivocally parasite death....
The cestode E. multilocularis causes the disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in humans. continuously proliferating metacestode (larval stage) of parasite infects mostly liver and exhibits tumor-like growth. Current chemotherapeutical treatment options rely on benzimidazoles, which are rarely curative have to be applied daily life-long. This can result considerable hepatotoxicity thus discontinuation. Therefore, novel drugs against AE urgently needed. anti-malarial mefloquine was previously...
The metacestode (larval) stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis causes alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a very severe and in many cases incurable disease. To date, benzimidazoles such as albendazole mebendazole are only approved chemotherapeutical treatment options. Benzimidazoles inhibit proliferation, but do not act parasiticidal. Thus, have to be taken lifelong, can cause adverse side effects hepatotoxicity, ineffective some patients. We here describe newly developed screening...
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic disease that deadly if left untreated. AE caused by the larval metacestode stage of cestode Echinococcus multilocularis. Better knowledge on host-parasite interface could yield novel targets for improvement treatment against AE. We analyzed culture media incubated with in vitro grown E. multilocularis metacestodes 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify unknown metabolic footprint parasite. Moreover, we quantitatively all amino acids,...
The current chemotherapeutical treatment against alveolar echinococcosis relies exclusively on benzimidazoles, which are not parasiticidal and can induce severe toxicity. There no alternative options. To identify novel drugs with activity Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes, researchers have studied potentially interesting drug targets (e.g. the parasite's energy metabolism), and/or adopted repurposing approaches by undertaking whole organism screenings. We here focus screening...
In recent years, proteomics has come of age with the development efficient tools for purification, identification, and characterization gene products predicted by genome projects. The intestinal protozoan Giardia intestinalis can be transfected, but there is only a limited set vectors available, most them are not user friendly. This work delineates construction suite cassette-based expression use in Giardia. Expression provided strong constitutive ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCT)...
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a lethal disease caused by infection with the metacestode stage of helminth Echinococcus multilocularis , which develops into tumorlike mass in susceptible intermediate hosts. The growth potential this parasite directly linked to nature surrounding periparasitic immune-mediated processes.