Table of Contents
- 1 How does tsetse fly feed?
- 2 What is the intermediate host of Trypanosoma?
- 3 How does Trypanosoma avoid immune system?
- 4 What do male tsetse flies feed on?
- 5 How does Trypanosoma brucei obtain food?
- 6 Does Trypanosoma infect blood cells?
- 7 How does the body fight African trypanosomiasis?
- 8 What is VSG switching?
How does tsetse fly feed?
All tsetse flies, males as well as females, feed on blood, but the species differ in their preferences for the source of blood. Most tsetse flies feed preferentially on animals and only accidentally on humans.
What is the intermediate host of Trypanosoma?
The life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi involves two intermediate hosts: the invertebrate vector (triatomine insects) and the vertebrate host (humans) and has three developmental stages namely, trypomastigotes, amastigotes and epimastigotes [8].
How does Trypanosoma infect the body?
It is caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. They are transmitted to humans by tsetse fly (Glossina genus) bites which have acquired their infection from human beings or from animals harbouring human pathogenic parasites.
How does Trypanosoma avoid immune system?
Trypanosoma brucei parasites successfully evade the host immune system by periodically switching the dense coat of variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) at the cell surface. Each parasite expresses VSGs in a monoallelic fashion that is tightly regulated.
What do male tsetse flies feed on?
Tsetse flies are distinguished in part by a forward-projecting piercing proboscis on the head that is capable of puncturing skin. They readily feed on the blood of humans, domestic animals, and wild game.
What are sterile male tsetse flies?
Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) are the main vectors of animal and human trypanosomoses in Africa. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has proven effective in controlling tsetse flies when applied to isolated populations but necessitates the production of large numbers of sterile males.
How does Trypanosoma brucei obtain food?
Trypanosomes feed by absorbing nutrients, through their outer membrane, from the body fluids of the host. The proteins, carbohydrates and fats are digested by enzyme systems within their protoplasm.
Does Trypanosoma infect blood cells?
A team of researchers propose that T. b. brucei actually does infect humans but that the infection triggers release of hemoglobin from red blood cells. Trypanosoma are a nasty class of single-celled parasites that cause serious, even fatal, diseases in human and animals.
What species is Trypanosoma?
It is generally accepted that subgenus Trypanozoon is divided into 3 species: Trypanosoma brucei, T. evansi and T. equiperdum, with T. brucei further subdivided into 3 subspecies defined by pathogenicity, distribution and host range [1].
How does the body fight African trypanosomiasis?
Because of their extracellular life style, B cells play a critical role in clearance of African trypanosomes from the blood of infected hosts by producing parasite-specific antibodies. As a result, they have developed mechanisms to suppress and evade the host specific antibody responses.
What is VSG switching?
VSG expression is ‘switched’ by homologous recombination of a silent basic copy gene from an array (directed by homology) into the active telomerically-located expression site. During this transition, trypanosomes simultaneously display both pre- and post-switch VSGs on their surface.