The Cell Biology of Schistosomes: Implications for Diagnostics and Vaccines

Infection with schistosomes remains one of the most important Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) of humans on the World Health Organization’s list; eliminating schistosomiasis within the next decade is a key goal of the WHO. These helminths are flatworms with a solid body plan differentiated into tissues and organs. This presents problems for studies of their basic cell biology, which initially relied on histology and ultrastructure. Keynote publications of transcriptome sequences in 2003, and the first genome assemblies in 2009, stimulated novel investigations of the underlying cellular processes. Tissue disaggregation methods allowed isolation of individual cells for transcriptome analysis and categorization into discrete populations. Confocal microscopy then established sites of gene expression and protein localization in the intact parasite. The contents cover the: -Complexities of asexual multiplication within the snail intermediate host.-Infective processes of the miracidial and cercarial larvae.-Intravascular migration to the sites of parasitization in the vertebrate host.-Intricacies of the nervous system in all life cycle stages.-Definition of the parasite products that represent the parasite/host interface, from which vaccine candidates must derive.-Reproductive processes, and the egg as the agent for transmission and pathology. This book assembles in a single volume the results of decades of global research to provide a clear and succinct description of current knowledge of schistosome cell biology. It is written by a prominent, well-recognized and respected scientist with a long history of outstanding research and publication in the area. Despite decades of research, an effective vaccine is not imminent. The diagnosis of single worm pair infections is also yet to be obtained. It is hoped that the information presented in this monograph will stimulate further work towards the goal of schistosome eradication.