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Antimicrobial peptide killing of African trypanosomes
Author(s) -
HARRINGTON J. M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3024.2011.01294.x
Subject(s) - biology , antimicrobial peptides , immune system , immunology , tsetse fly , african trypanosomiasis , antimicrobial , trypanosomiasis , innate immune system , population , trypanosoma , virology , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , medicine , environmental health
Summary The diseases caused by trypanosomes are medically and economically devastating to the population of Sub‐Saharan Africa. Parasites of the genus Trypanosoma infect both humans, causing African sleeping sickness, and livestock, causing Nagana. The development of effective treatment strategies has suffered from severe side effects of approved drugs, resistance and major difficulties in delivering drugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are ubiquitous components of immune defence and are being rigorously pursued as novel sources of new therapeutics for a variety of pathogens. Here, we review the role of AMPs in the innate immune response of the tsetse fly to African trypanosomes, catalogue trypanocidal AMPs from diverse organisms and highlight the susceptibility of bloodstream form African trypanosomes to killing by unconventional toxic peptides.