A Bioinformatics Analysis to Identify Parasite Proteins that Mimic Host Immune Proteins
Abstract
Parasitic helminths (worms) are major parasites of humans and livestock around the world. These helminths are usually long lived and cause chronic infections, which invoke immune responses in the host leading to pathological changes. These changes are not always considered negative. For example, a helminth infection often leads to a shift in the host immune system away from inflammation. As such, some people with severe auto-immune diseases have experienced remission when infected with helminths. Examples include inflammatory bowel diseases. This `helminth-therapy' is controversial, but motivates a better understanding of helminth-host interactions. Previous work has shown that parasites encode proteins within their genomes which are secreted into their host, which modulate the host immune system. However, proteomic based studies have not identified the proteins involved. Here, we are taking a bioinformatics and genomics approach to discover the key proteins.
Description
Keywords
Bioinformatics, Parasitology, Veterinary Science, Immunology, Public Health
Citation
Srivastava, S. (2016). A Bioinformatics Analysis to Identify Parasite Proteins that Mimic Host Immune Proteins (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24633