Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts
After invading the host organism, a battle occurs between the parasitic protists and the host’s immune system, the result of which determines not only whether and how well the host survives and recovers, but also the fate of the parasite itself. The exact weaponry of this battle depends, among other...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2434 |
| _version_ | 1797502392978112512 |
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| author | Iva Kolářová Andrea Valigurová |
| author_facet | Iva Kolářová Andrea Valigurová |
| author_sort | Iva Kolářová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | After invading the host organism, a battle occurs between the parasitic protists and the host’s immune system, the result of which determines not only whether and how well the host survives and recovers, but also the fate of the parasite itself. The exact weaponry of this battle depends, among others, on the parasite localisation. While some parasitic protists do not invade the host cell at all (extracellular parasites), others have developed successful intracellular lifestyles (intracellular parasites) or attack only the surface of the host cell (epicellular parasites). Epicellular and intracellular protist parasites have developed various mechanisms to hijack host cell functions to escape cellular defences and immune responses, and, finally, to gain access to host nutrients. They use various evasion tactics to secure the tight contact with the host cell and the direct nutrient supply. This review focuses on the adaptations and evasion strategies of parasitic protists on the example of two very successful parasites of medical significance, <i>Cryptosporidium</i> and <i>Leishmania</i>, while discussing different localisation (epicellular vs. intracellular) with respect to the host cell. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:32:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c3f46cefa6e440ab7674a2e4e81ba30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:32:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c3f46cefa6e440ab7674a2e4e81ba302023-11-23T09:37:56ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072021-11-01912243410.3390/microorganisms9122434Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their HostsIva Kolářová0Andrea Valigurová1Laboratory of Vector Biology, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 44 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech RepublicAfter invading the host organism, a battle occurs between the parasitic protists and the host’s immune system, the result of which determines not only whether and how well the host survives and recovers, but also the fate of the parasite itself. The exact weaponry of this battle depends, among others, on the parasite localisation. While some parasitic protists do not invade the host cell at all (extracellular parasites), others have developed successful intracellular lifestyles (intracellular parasites) or attack only the surface of the host cell (epicellular parasites). Epicellular and intracellular protist parasites have developed various mechanisms to hijack host cell functions to escape cellular defences and immune responses, and, finally, to gain access to host nutrients. They use various evasion tactics to secure the tight contact with the host cell and the direct nutrient supply. This review focuses on the adaptations and evasion strategies of parasitic protists on the example of two very successful parasites of medical significance, <i>Cryptosporidium</i> and <i>Leishmania</i>, while discussing different localisation (epicellular vs. intracellular) with respect to the host cell.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2434unicellular parasiteparasitic protist<i>Cryptosporidium</i><i>Leishmania</i>intracellularepicellular |
| spellingShingle | Iva Kolářová Andrea Valigurová Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts Microorganisms unicellular parasite parasitic protist <i>Cryptosporidium</i> <i>Leishmania</i> intracellular epicellular |
| title | Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts |
| title_full | Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts |
| title_fullStr | Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts |
| title_short | Hide-and-Seek: A Game Played between Parasitic Protists and Their Hosts |
| title_sort | hide and seek a game played between parasitic protists and their hosts |
| topic | unicellular parasite parasitic protist <i>Cryptosporidium</i> <i>Leishmania</i> intracellular epicellular |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2434 |
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