20 posts · 7,157 views
I am fascinated by parasitic organisms and the way they interact with their hosts. I enjoy reading about exciting research that is being done in the world of parasites and discussing them in this blog. Contributions from other parasite fans are more than welcome.
Kasra Hassani
20 posts
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- May 15, 2013
- 04:29 AM
- 33 views
A systematic review in non-clinical research: a case of pathogen metabolites
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Doctors and scientists in the field of clinical research are well acquainted to systematic reviews and their importance in clinical research. The important difference between a normal review and a systematic review is that in the latter the authors make sure (or at least try very hard) to include and cover all the […]... Read more »
Bos, L., Sterk, P., & Schultz, M. (2013) Volatile Metabolites of Pathogens: A Systematic Review. PLoS Pathogens, 9(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003311
- May 7, 2013
- 10:41 AM
- 29 views
Detecting picograms of protein in the secretome
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra When designing experiments in the lab, we usually say we cannot check for everything. Well, what if we could?! Meissner et al. used only 150,000 macrophages per sample to analyze their secretome. They have been able to detect and quantify protein abundances at the picogram level in a label-free system. Picogram detection [...]... Read more »
Meissner F, Scheltema RA, Mollenkopf HJ, & Mann M. (2013) Direct proteomic quantification of the secretome of activated immune cells. Science (New York, N.Y.), 340(6131), 475-8. PMID: 23620052
- May 2, 2013
- 10:59 AM
- 50 views
An intracellular receptor for antibodies
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by: Kasra We usually consider exiting the phagolysosome and entering the cell cytoplasm to be a immune evasion mechanism for pathogens. The pathogens inside the phagolysosome can be processed and presented via MHCII to the adaptive immune system, but once free of that compartment, the pathogen could potentially ‘hide’ from the immune system, well [...]... Read more »
McEwan WA, Tam JC, Watkinson RE, Bidgood SR, Mallery DL, & James LC. (2013) Intracellular antibody-bound pathogens stimulate immune signaling via the Fc receptor TRIM21. Nature immunology, 14(4), 327-36. PMID: 23455675
Geijtenbeek TB, & Gringhuis SI. (2013) An inside job for antibodies: tagging pathogens for intracellular sensing. Nature immunology, 14(4), 309-11. PMID: 23507635
- April 18, 2013
- 09:06 AM
- 45 views
Tracking exosomes in vivo
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by: Kasra Application of exosomes for therapeutic, especially as drug delivery agents has been always an interest. However, there is limited knowledge on how these vesicles interact with the variety of the cells inside the body and how does the body react to their presence. Takahashi et al. have used exosomes released by a [...]... Read more »
Takahashi Y, Nishikawa M, Shinotsuka H, Matsui Y, Ohara S, Imai T, & Takakura Y. (2013) Visualization and in vivo tracking of the exosomes of murine melanoma B16-BL6 cells in mice after intravenous injection. Journal of biotechnology. PMID: 23562828
- November 27, 2012
- 01:53 PM
- 236 views
Degradation of the intestinal mucus barrier by whipworm
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by: Kasra I wrote recently about modulation of the host by intestinal worm Trichuris muris. Here is another brilliant study looking at the secreted proteins of this nematode and how they interact with the small intestine mucus. Hasnain et al. published in PLoS NTD that secreted proteins of T. muris contain serine proteases that [...]... Read more »
Hasnain SZ, McGuckin MA, Grencis RK, & Thornton DJ. (2012) Serine Protease(s) Secreted by the Nematode Trichuris muris Degrade the Mucus Barrier. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 6(10). PMID: 23071854
- October 23, 2012
- 04:06 PM
- 233 views
Communication between intestinal commensal bacteria and the host via membrane vesicles
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Releasing outer membrane vesicles or OMVs of by bacteria can be considered one of their protein secretion pathways. This pathway is especially important for carrying messages to longer distances than what other mechanisms such as type III secretion system can do. Although the gut is largely colonized, there is not much of [...]... Read more »
Shen Y, Torchia ML, Lawson GW, Karp CL, Ashwell JD, & Mazmanian SK. (2012) Outer membrane vesicles of a human commensal mediate immune regulation and disease protection. Cell host , 12(4), 509-20. PMID: 22999859
- October 22, 2012
- 09:02 AM
- 246 views
Phosphatases for and against: Trichuris vs. Leishmania
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Trichuris, is an intestinal roundworm, also known as whipworm, that can be transmitted through ingestion of food contaminated with its eggs. The larvae hatch inside the small intestine and complete their life cycle to adults in the cecum. After maturation, which can take about 3 months, the female worm lays thousands of [...]... Read more »
Hadidi S, Antignano F, Hughes MR, Wang SK, Snyder K, Sammis GM, Kerr WG, McNagny KM, & Zaph C. (2012) Myeloid cell-specific expression of Ship1 regulates IL-12 production and immunity to helminth infection. Mucosal immunology, 5(5), 535-43. PMID: 22535180
Abu-Dayyeh I, Shio MT, Sato S, Akira S, Cousineau B, & Olivier M. (2008) Leishmania-induced IRAK-1 inactivation is mediated by SHP-1 interacting with an evolutionarily conserved KTIM motif. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2(12). PMID: 19104650
Gomez MA, Contreras I, Hallé M, Tremblay ML, McMaster RW, & Olivier M. (2009) Leishmania GP63 alters host signaling through cleavage-activated protein tyrosine phosphatases. Science signaling, 2(90). PMID: 19797268
- October 7, 2012
- 05:15 AM
- 197 views
From Ivory Towers to Public Tribunes
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra This is in continuation of a post by my old friend and classmate in his new exciting blog Genophoria. He expressed his rightful concerns about the rise of “Entertainment Science”, where he says scientists are coming out of their Ivory towers and shouting out their impressive and sometimes controversial findings to the [...]... Read more »
Fang FC, Steen RG, & Casadevall A. (2012) Misconduct accounts for the majority of retracted scientific publications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 23027971
- September 26, 2012
- 08:32 AM
- 233 views
Did fungi help mammals dominate Earth?
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra The Cretaceous mass extinction is one of the most exciting topics in evolutionary biology. There are always discussions on what caused the mass extinction, what happened during the extinction, what happened to all the dinosaurs, why did the mammals and birds survive, and so on. A recent article in PLoS [...]... Read more »
Casadevall A. (2012) Fungi and the rise of mammals. PLoS pathogens, 8(8). PMID: 22916007
- June 26, 2012
- 10:02 PM
- 273 views
The Manipulator and the Opportunist: Leishmania and HIV infection of monocytes
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by: Maryam Ehteshami and Kasra Hassani It has been documented that HIV infection can render leishmaniasis harsher and reduce the chances of treatment response. On the other hand, Leishmania infection also accelerates HIV infection and disease progression. In this blog post, we summarize a recent article published in PLoS Pathogens, that explores the mechanism through which [...]... Read more »
Mock DJ, Hollenbaugh JA, Daddacha W, Overstreet MG, Lazarski CA, Fowell DJ, & Kim B. (2012) Leishmania induces survival, proliferation and elevated cellular dNTP levels in human monocytes promoting acceleration of HIV co-infection. PLoS pathogens, 8(4). PMID: 22496656
Kennedy EM, Gavegnano C, Nguyen L, Slater R, Lucas A, Fromentin E, Schinazi RF, & Kim B. (2010) Ribonucleoside triphosphates as substrate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase in human macrophages. The Journal of biological chemistry, 285(50), 39380-91. PMID: 20924117
Heussler VT, Küenzi P, & Rottenberg S. (2001) Inhibition of apoptosis by intracellular protozoan parasites. International journal for parasitology, 31(11), 1166-76. PMID: 11563357
- May 4, 2012
- 12:59 PM
- 367 views
Wanted Dead (But also Alive): The Hepatitis C Virus Polymerase
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by: Maryam Ehteshami I want to dedicate today’s blog post to a little virus known as Hepatitis C virus. Having worked on HIV before, and now moving onto work with HCV, I am tempted to compare the history of these two viruses and I find a lot of parallels. Both viruses were discovered in [...]... Read more »
Jin Z, Leveque V, Ma H, Johnson KA, & Klumpp K. (2012) Assembly, purification, and pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of active RNA-dependent RNA polymerase elongation complex. The Journal of biological chemistry, 287(13), 10674-83. PMID: 22303022
Mosley RT, Edwards TE, Murakami E, Lam AM, Grice RL, Du J, Sofia MJ, Furman PA, & Otto MJ. (2012) Structure of HCV Polymerase in Complex with Primer-Template RNA. Journal of virology. PMID: 22496223
- March 7, 2012
- 02:53 PM
- 382 views
Exploitation of host microvesicles by Trypanosoma cruzi
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Studying mechanisms of parasitism teaches us a lot about the host physiology as well as parasite pathogenicity. Millions of years of co-evolution have adapted the parasites to exploit various homeostatic and pathologic processes of the host for their benefit. A nice example is recent study on the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and [...]... Read more »
Cestari I, Ansa-Addo E, Deolindo P, Inal JM, & Ramirez MI. (2012) Trypanosoma cruzi Immune Evasion Mediated by Host Cell-Derived Microvesicles. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950), 188(4), 1942-52. PMID: 22262654
- February 20, 2012
- 06:14 PM
- 390 views
Finding new vaccine and diagnostic targets using Immunoproteomics
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra One of the complexities in studying eukaryotic parasites is the multiplicity of their life stages. Even the simplest life cycles of eukaryotic parasites can consist of two very different stages, with different morphologies, gene expression, proteome profiles, and surface antigens. These variations often result in confusion of the immune system and disease [...]... Read more »
Coelho VT, Oliveira JS, Valadares DG, Chávez-Fumagalli MA, Duarte MC, Lage PS, Soto M, Santoro MM, Tavares CA, Fernandes AP.... (2012) Identification of Proteins in Promastigote and Amastigote-like Leishmania Using an Immunoproteomic Approach. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 6(1). PMID: 22272364
Costa MM, Andrade HM, Bartholomeu DC, Freitas LM, Pires SF, Chapeaurouge AD, Perales J, Ferreira AT, Giusta MS, Melo MN.... (2011) Analysis of Leishmania chagasi by 2-D difference gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE) and immunoproteomic: identification of novel candidate antigens for diagnostic tests and vaccine. Journal of proteome research, 10(5), 2172-84. PMID: 21355625
- February 5, 2012
- 08:28 PM
- 382 views
Science answers WHY questions: programmed cell death in unicellular parasites
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Famous geneticist Josh Haldane once famously said “I would lay down my life for two brothers or eight cousins”. Programmed cell death, otherwise known as apoptosis is a well justified procedure in multicellular organisms. All cells within a multicellular organism are originated from a single zygote and are genetically identical (except for [...]... Read more »
Reece SE, Pollitt LC, Colegrave N, & Gardner A. (2011) The meaning of death: evolution and ecology of apoptosis in protozoan parasites. PLoS pathogens, 7(12). PMID: 22174671
- January 3, 2012
- 01:00 PM
- 276 views
Host-pathogen coevolution in a test tube: C. elegans running with the red queen
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra “Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else — if you run very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.” “A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to [...]... Read more »
Morran LT, Schmidt OG, Gelarden IA, Parrish RC 2nd, & Lively CM. (2011) Running with the Red Queen: host-parasite coevolution selects for biparental sex. Science (New York, N.Y.), 333(6039), 216-8. PMID: 21737739
- December 12, 2011
- 06:00 PM
- 2,650 views
Control of cytokine production in vivo
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Last week I attended a talk by Dr. Markus Mohrs where he introduced the idea of a dual-reporter mouse model that they had developed some years ago to measure cytokine production in vivo. It fascinated me so much that I decided to go through his research a bit and read about their exciting findings, especially because they [...]... Read more »
Mohrs K, Wakil AE, Killeen N, Locksley RM, & Mohrs M. (2005) A two-step process for cytokine production revealed by IL-4 dual-reporter mice. Immunity, 23(4), 419-29. PMID: 16226507
- December 7, 2011
- 11:51 PM
- 347 views
Parasites to help fight cancer
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Research on parasites is important, even if most of them are not direct health concerns to the developed world! Millions of years of coevolution of parasites along with their hosts have made them masters in manipulation of the immune system and in coexistence with it. Many parasitic infections such as those with [...]... Read more »
Junqueira C, Santos LI, Galvão-Filho B, Teixeira SM, Rodrigues FG, Darocha WD, Chiari E, Jungbluth AA, Ritter G, Gnjatic S.... (2011) Trypanosoma cruzi as an effective cancer antigen delivery vector. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(49), 19695-700. PMID: 22114198
- December 4, 2011
- 05:26 PM
- 301 views
In silico prediction of the human-malaria parasite interactome
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra In silico prediction of protein-protein interactions within a species is an advancing field. Especially now that relatively large amounts of empirical data are available for training and validation, more and more in silico methods are being presented. However, as a host-parasite interactions enthusiast, I always had the question if the interactions between [...]... Read more »
Wuchty S. (2011) Computational Prediction of Host-Parasite Protein Interactions between P. falciparum and H. sapiens. PloS one, 6(11). PMID: 22114664
- November 27, 2011
- 02:15 PM
- 270 views
Blood invasion of Plasmodium falciparum is dependent on a single receptor on the surface of red blood cells
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Plasmodium falciparum parasites invade different groups of cells during their life cycle. Upon injection into humans, sporozoites pass through the skin and travel in the blood to be picked up by hepatocytes. After completion of the liver phase, merozoites come back to the blood and invade red blood cells. Finally, there is [...]... Read more »
Crosnier C, Bustamante LY, Bartholdson SJ, Bei AK, Theron M, Uchikawa M, Mboup S, Ndir O, Kwiatkowski DP, Duraisingh MT.... (2011) Basigin is a receptor essential for erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum. Nature, 480(7378), 534-7. PMID: 22080952
- October 10, 2010
- 11:47 PM
- 217 views
A review to read and enjoy
by Kasra Hassani in The Parasite Diary
Posted by Kasra Hassani I am appointed to do a review paper for a ‘Reading and Conference’ course on Fungi. I chose the opportunistic pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus as the focus of my review. Having studied only on Trypanosomes and innate immune cells so far, my background in mycology is close to zero. So I decided to start from [...]... Read more »
Bennett JW. (2009) Aspergillus: a primer for the novice. Medical mycology : official publication of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. PMID: 19253144
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