Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Apr 29;12(1):190. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3355-5.
African trypanosomes cause human African trypanosomiasis and animal African trypanosomiasis. They are transmitted by tsetse flies in sub-Saharan Africa. Although most famous for their mechanisms of immune evasion by antigenic variation, there have been recent important studies that illuminate important aspects of the biology of these parasites both in their mammalian host and during passage through their tsetse fly vector. This Primer overviews current research themes focused on these parasites and discusses how these biological insights and the development of new technologies to interrogate gene function are being used in the search for new approaches to control the parasite. The new insights into the biology of trypanosomes in their host and vector highlight that we are in a 'golden age' of discovery for these fascinating parasites.
非洲锥虫引起人类非洲锥虫病和动物非洲锥虫病。它们通过撒哈拉以南非洲的采采蝇传播。尽管它们以通过抗原变异逃避免疫的机制而闻名，但最近的重要研究阐明了这些寄生虫在哺乳动物宿主和通过其采采蝇媒介传播过程中的生物学的重要方面。本基础读物概述了目前专注于这些寄生虫的研究主题，并讨论了如何利用这些生物学见解和开发新技术来研究基因功能，以寻找控制寄生虫的新方法。在宿主和媒介中对锥虫生物学的新见解表明，我们正处于这些迷人寄生虫的“发现黄金时代”。
