The esophageal gland mediates host immune evasion by the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni.

ABSTRACT: Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease affecting over 200 million people. Schistosomes develop multiple body plans while navigating their complex life cycle, which involves two different hosts: a mammalian definitive host and a molluscan intermediate host. Their survival and propagation depend upon proliferation and differentiation of stem cells necessary for parasite homeostasis and reproduction. Infective larvae released from snails carry a handful of stem cells that serve as the likely source of new tissues as the parasite adapts to life inside the mammalian host; however, the role of these stem cells during this critical life cycle stage remains unclear. Here, we characterize stem cell fates during early intramammalian development.

SUBMITTER: Lee J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7431036 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature