Abstract
Parasites are the cause of major diseases affecting billions of people. As the inflictions caused by these parasites affect mainly developing countries, they are considered as neglected diseases. These parasitic infections are often chronic and lead to significant immunomodulation of the host immune response by the parasite, which could benefit both the parasite and the host and are the result of millions of years of co-evolution. The description of parasite extracellular vesicles (EVs) in protozoa and helminths suggests that they may play an important role in host–parasite communication. In this review, recent studies on parasitic (protozoa and helminths) EVs are presented and their potential use as novel therapeutical approaches is discussed.
Highlights
PARASITIC DISEASES AND EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES Evidence of parasite infections has been found very early in human evolution
Most of the studies on extracellular vesicles (EVs) composition have been focused on intracellular stages of Leishmania spp., and it has been shown that changes in the environment seem to affect vesicle release and cargo [6, 42]
Confocal analyses showed the fusion of these EVs with C. parvum sporozoites causing cargo release within the parasite. These results suggest that all extracellular stages of C. parvum may be vulnerable to EVs binding/targeting, contributing to gastrointestinal mucosal anti-C. parvum defense [52]
Summary
PARASITIC DISEASES AND EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES Evidence of parasite infections has been found very early in human evolution. With respect to EVs composition, studies in Leishmania spp. parasites, the protozoan causing different forms of leishmaniases2, have shown the presence of protein homologs to known proteins that regulate exosome biogenesis and release in mammalian cells [42, 43]. Most of the studies on EVs composition have been focused on intracellular stages of Leishmania spp., and it has been shown that changes in the environment seem to affect vesicle release and cargo [6, 42].
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