Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health, Brisbane, Australia.
Bioessays. 2011 Mar;33(3):203-14. doi: 10.1002/bies.201000077. Epub 2011 Feb 2.
A better understanding of how schistosomes exploit host nutrients, neuro-endocrine hormones and signalling pathways for growth, development and maturation may provide new insights for improved interventions in the control of schistosomiasis. This paper describes recent advances in the identification and characterisation of schistosome tyrosine kinase and signalling pathways. It discusses the potential intervention value of insulin signalling, which may play an important role in glucose uptake and carbohydrate metabolism in schistosomes, providing the nutrients essential for parasite growth, development and, notably, female fecundity. Significant progress has also been made in the characterisation of other schistosome growth factor receptors, such as transforming growth factor beta receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor, and in our understanding of their roles in the host-parasite molecular dialogue and parasite development. The use of parasite signal transduction components as novel vaccine or drug targets may prove invaluable in prevention, treatment and control strategies to combat schistosomiasis.
更好地了解血吸虫如何利用宿主营养物质、神经内分泌激素和信号通路来促进生长、发育和成熟，可能为改进血吸虫病控制措施提供新的思路。本文描述了近年来在鉴定和表征血吸虫酪氨酸激酶和信号通路方面的进展。本文讨论了胰岛素信号在血吸虫葡萄糖摄取和碳水化合物代谢中的重要作用，以及其作为一种可能具有重要干预价值的物质，为寄生虫的生长、发育以及特别重要的雌性生殖力提供了必要的营养物质。在表征其他血吸虫生长因子受体（如转化生长因子β受体和表皮生长因子受体）方面，以及在理解它们在宿主-寄生虫分子对话和寄生虫发育中的作用方面，也取得了重大进展。利用寄生虫信号转导成分作为新型疫苗或药物靶点，可能在预防、治疗和控制血吸虫病的策略中具有巨大价值。
