Malaria in Angola: recent progress, challenges and future opportunities using parasite demography studies (Publications)
Over the past two decades, a considerable expansion of malaria interventions has occurred at the national level in Angola, together with cross-border initiatives and regional efforts in southern Afric
Correction: Truncated S-MGBs: towards a parasite-specific and low aggregation chemotype (Publications)
The authors regret that they omitted to include the following statement at the end of the Acknowledgements section: this workis based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Prevalence of <em>Schistosoma </em>mono- and co-infections with multiple common parasites and associated risk factors and morbidity profile among... (Publications)
BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis remains an important public health problem, also among adults, and infected individuals not treated serve as a reservoir for continued transmission. Despite this fact, evid
Revisiting the effect of pharmaceuticals on transmission stage formation in the malaria parasite <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> (Publications)
Malaria parasites rely on specialized stages, called gametocytes, to ensure human-to-human transmission. The formation of these sexual precursor cells is initiated by commitment of blood stage parasites to [...] observed at drug concentrations that inhibit parasite survival and only rarely result in a net increase of gametocyte production. Using a drug-resistant parasite reporter line, we further show that the g [...] to the sexual differentiation pathway. Plasmodium falciparum, the most...
<em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> parasite prevalence in East Africa: updating data for malaria stratification (Publications)
vulnerabilities to malaria risk, including parasite prevalence. Here, a modelled estimate of Plasmodium falciparum from an updated assembly of community parasite survey data in Kenya, mainland Tanzania, [...] where parasite prevalence was predicted ≥ 30%, including 6.4%, 12.1% and 6.3% of Kenya, mainland Tanzania and Uganda populations, respectively. Conversely, areas that supported very low parasite prevalence [...] 170 (74.8%) were identified after 2017. The estimated national...
Association between allergic sensitization and intestinal parasite infection in schoolchildren in Gqeberha, South Africa (Publications)
BACKGROUND: Inconsistent data exist regarding the influence of parasitic infection on the prevalence of allergic sensitization and disorders. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of geohelminth and protozoan [...] recruited in June 2016 and screened for reactivity to common allergens by skin prick tests and for parasitic infections by stool tests. Additionally, questionnaires were completed to record allergic symptoms [...] of study participants. Mixed logistic regression analyses revealed...
The 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 is an essential upstream activator of protein kinase A in malaria parasites (Publications)
that overexpression of PfPKAc is lethal and kills parasites at the early phase of schizogony. Strikingly, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of parasite mutants selected to tolerate increased PfPKAc expression [...] (PKA) signalling is essential for the proliferation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria blood stage parasites. The mechanisms regulating the activity of the catalytic subunit PfPKAc, however, are only partially [...] expression levels identified missense mutations exclusively in the gene...
Malnutrition, anemia, micronutrient deficiency and parasitic infections among schoolchildren in rural Tanzania (Publications)
and parasitic infection status. We employed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression to determine the association between nutritional statuses, anemia, micronutrient deficiency and parasitic infections [...] BACKGROUND: Malnutrition, anemia, micronutrient deficiency and parasitic infections continue to impact the nutritional status and health of children in lower-income countries, however not enough data
G-quadruplexes in helminth parasites (Publications)
Parasitic helminths infecting humans are highly prevalent infecting approximately 2 billion people worldwide, causing inflammatory responses, malnutrition and anemia that are the primary cause of morbidity [...] most other species. We experimentally confirmed G4 formation for sequences found in four different parasitic helminths. Small molecules able to selectively recognize G4 were found to bind to Schistosoma mansoni [...] Two of these ligands demonstrated potent activity both against larval...
