Differential drivers of intraspecific and interspecific competition during malaria-helminth co-infection.

ABSTRACT: Various host and parasite factors interact to determine the outcome of infection. We investigated the effects of two factors on the within-host dynamics of malaria in mice: initial infectious dose and co-infection with a helminth that limits the availability of red blood cells (RBCs). Using a statistical, time-series approach to model the within-host ‘epidemiology’ of malaria, we found that increasing initial dose reduced the time to peak cell-to-cell parasite propagation, but also reduced its magnitude, while helminth co-infection delayed peak cell-to-cell propagation, except at the highest malaria doses. Using a mechanistic model of within-host infection dynamics, we identified dose-dependence in parameters describing host responses to malaria infection and uncovered a plausible explanat

SUBMITTER: Wait LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11010048 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature