Matthews Keith R
Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Ashworth Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, United Kingdom; email:
Annu Rev Microbiol. 2021 Oct 8;75:495-514. doi: 10.1146/annurev-micro-020321-115246. Epub 2021 Aug 4.
African trypanosomes are responsible for important diseases of humans and animals in sub-Saharan Africa. The best-studied species is , which is characterized by development in the mammalian host between morphologically slender and stumpy forms. The latter are adapted for transmission by the parasite's vector, the tsetse fly. The development of stumpy forms is driven by density-dependent quorum sensing (QS), the molecular basis for which is now coming to light. In this review, I discuss the historical context and biological features of trypanosome QS and how it contributes to the parasite's infection dynamics within its mammalian host. Also, I discuss how QS can be lost in different trypanosome species, such as and , or modulated when parasites find themselves competing with others of different genotypes or of different trypanosome species in the same host. Finally, I consider the potential to exploit trypanosome QS therapeutically.
非洲锥虫是撒哈拉以南非洲地区人类和动物重要疾病的病原体。研究最深入的物种是[具体物种名称未给出]，其特点是在哺乳动物宿主体内由形态上细长型向粗短型发育。后者适合由寄生虫的传播媒介采采蝇进行传播。粗短型的发育由密度依赖性群体感应（QS）驱动，其分子基础现已逐渐明晰。在这篇综述中，我讨论锥虫群体感应的历史背景和生物学特征，以及它如何影响寄生虫在其哺乳动物宿主体内的感染动态。此外，我还讨论了群体感应在不同锥虫物种（如[具体物种名称未给出]和[具体物种名称未给出]）中是如何丧失的，或者当寄生虫在同一宿主体内与不同基因型或不同锥虫物种的其他寄生虫竞争时，群体感应是如何被调节的。最后，我考虑了利用锥虫群体感应进行治疗的潜力。
