Host-mediated regulation of superinfection in malaria

Transmission Dynamics of Malaria in Human Host: a Neuro-Fuzzy Approach

Superinfection in malaria: Plasmodium shows its iron will.

After the bite of a malaria-infected mosquito, the Plasmodium sporozoite infects liver cells and produces thousands of merozoites, which then infect red blood cells, causing malaria. In malaria-endemic areas, several hundred infected mosquitoes can bite an individual each year, increasing the risk of superinfection. However, in infants that are yet to acquire immunity, superinfections are infre...

The Mannose Receptor in Regulation of Helminth-Mediated Host Immunity

Infection with parasitic helminths affects humanity and animal welfare. Parasitic helminths have the capacity to modulate host immune responses to promote their survival in infected hosts, often for a long time leading to chronic infections. In contrast to many infectious microbes, however, the helminths are able to induce immune responses that show positive bystander effects such as the protec...

The evolution of parasite virulence, superinfection, and host resistance.

We analyze the evolutionary consequences of host resistance (the ability to decrease the probability of being infected by parasites) for the evolution of parasite virulence (the deleterious effect of a parasite on its host). When only single infections occur, host resistance does not affect the evolution of parasite virulence. However, when superinfections occur, resistance tends to decrease th...

Small RNA-mediated regulation of host–pathogen interactions

The rise in antimicrobial drug resistance, alongside the failure of conventional research to discover new antibiotics, will inevitably lead to a public health crisis that can drastically curtail our ability to combat infectious disease. Thus, there is a great global health need for development of antimicrobial countermeasures that target novel cell molecules or processes. RNA represents a large...