TY - JOUR
T1 - Parasitic helminths and the host microbiome
T2 - A missing ‘extracellular vesicle-sized’ link?
AU - Rooney, James
AU - Northcote, Holly Marie
AU - Williams, Tim
AU - Cortes, Alba
AU - Cantacessi, Cinzia
AU - Morphew, Russ
N1 - J.R. is the grateful recipient of a PhD Doctoral Training Partnership scholarship by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). H.M.N. is the grateful recipient of an Eleanor & David James PhD Scholarship. T.L.W. is funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences, PetPlan Charitable Trust, European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, BSAVA Petsavers and University of Cambridge. The C.C. laboratory is funded by grants by the Isaac Newton Trust, the Cambridge-Africa Research Fund and the University of Cambridge. The R.M. laboratory is funded by grants by the BBSRC, the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS 2) scheme and Aberystwyth University.
PY - 2022/9/1
Y1 - 2022/9/1
N2 - Infections by gastrointestinal (GI) helminths have been associated with significant alterations of the structure of microbial communities inhabiting the host gut. However, current understanding of the biological mechanisms that regulate these relationships is still lacking. We propose that helminth-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) likely represent key players in helminth–microbiota crosstalk. Here, we explore knowledge of helminth EVs with an emphasis on their putative antimicrobial properties, and we argue that (i) an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms governing such interactions might assist the discovery and development of novel strategies of parasite control, and that (ii) the identification and characterisation of helminth molecules with antimicrobial properties might pave the way towards the discovery of novel antibiotics, thus aiding the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
AB - Infections by gastrointestinal (GI) helminths have been associated with significant alterations of the structure of microbial communities inhabiting the host gut. However, current understanding of the biological mechanisms that regulate these relationships is still lacking. We propose that helminth-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) likely represent key players in helminth–microbiota crosstalk. Here, we explore knowledge of helminth EVs with an emphasis on their putative antimicrobial properties, and we argue that (i) an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms governing such interactions might assist the discovery and development of novel strategies of parasite control, and that (ii) the identification and characterisation of helminth molecules with antimicrobial properties might pave the way towards the discovery of novel antibiotics, thus aiding the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
KW - antimicrobial peptides
KW - excretory/secretory products
KW - extracellular vesicles
KW - helminth–microbiota crosstalk
KW - host–helminth communication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133760049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pt.2022.06.003
DO - 10.1016/j.pt.2022.06.003
M3 - Comment/Debate
C2 - 35820945
AN - SCOPUS:85133760049
SN - 1471-4922
VL - 38
SP - 737
EP - 747
JO - Trends in Parasitology
JF - Trends in Parasitology
IS - 9
ER -
