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Hookworms hit the headlines in the New Millennium
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News & Comment
Hookworms hit the headlines in the New Millennium The year 2000 was a good year for hookworm researchers and possibly a bad year for hookworms. After many years in the parasitological doldrums, these haematophagous nematode parasites of humans (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) have finally attracted some serious attention from the funding organizations, reflecting their importance in causing disease. A major award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Dept of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University will underpin the development of a hookworm vaccine, and the inclusion of hookworms in the Wellcome Trust-funded Beowulf Initiative will significantly enhance our knowledge of the molecular genetics and fundamental biology of these interesting parasites. Does this signal the end of the humble hookworm? Probably not in the short-term. Hookworms are adept immune regulators, and have the capacity to downregulate natural and possibly vaccine-induced immunity. Furthermore, there might be immunological situations where hookworm infections of tolerable intensity could be beneficial. DP
Towards a healthier world for everyone Many Trends in Parasitology readers will receive funding from the Wellcome Trust. The framework under which this support will continue over the next five years is outlined in Planning for the Future: the Wellcome Trust 2000–2005 (http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/). This mission statement explains the four core aims that the charity has set itself to achieve its primary goal of promoting research to improve human and animal health. These aims are: (1) to increase biomedical knowledge through active research; (2) to improve the resources for such research through career and facility development; (3) to enhance the translation of this research into policy, practice and commerce; and (4) to facilitate public engagement in the implications of biomedical research for society. Further background on the governance structure and guiding principles of the Wellcome Trust, its asset base and the overall projected allocation of its anticipated
TRENDS in Parasitology Vol.17 No.4 April 2001
£600 million per annum income are given. Although this ‘five-year plan’ will never be a bestseller, it is interesting coffee-break reading for those considering Wellcome Trust funding past, present and potential. We await with anticipation the next publication that cites the main focus and four supporting criteria for successful grant applications. SIH
Research or re-search? In the past decade, the Internet has proven to be a valuable tool to obtain information. Many scientists keep up with the literature through services such as BioMedNet, which provides access to a number of scientific journals. However, some scientific journals are still only available as printed copies and this creates a threshold to access such journals and interest in these journals is decreasing. Furthermore, unless the institutional library has a subscription to an electronic version of the journal, services are limited to listings of titles and abstracts. This holds the risk that most of the interpretation of data (although peer-reviewed) is left to the authors because it is often too much effort to obtain a copy of the original article. Much of the original work on parasitology was carried out around the turn of the 20th century using natural parasite–host combinations, something that, because of the change in ethical attitude towards in vivo experimentation, would not be possible today. Exemplary is the treatment of neurosyphillis patients with malaria parasites in the period before the Second World War. Because the electronic databases do not go further back than 1966, the risk of missing the basic literature is increasing. Unless this information becomes available as readily as more recent literature, we will enter an era of re-search rather than developing research. TS
domestic cat) can also migrate to the eyes of infected hosts. Migrating larvae induced ophthalmic damage, including retinal and vitreous haemorrhaging, vasculitis and exudative lesions. These findings suggest that T. cati is a potential risk to humans for causing ocular toxocarosis. The development of the gerbil model for ocular toxocarosis may aid in the development of control measures for this zoonosis. TS
Van Hellemond receives Merial Award The Merial Award for Parasitology is given annually to a post-doc researcher from the Benelux countries who has conducted important and innovative research in the field of parasitology. The Merial Award 2000 went to a veterinary parasitologist, Jaap van Hellemond of the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, for his research on the anaerobic metabolism of parasites. Results from these studies revealed that mitochondria of parasites, necessary for generating energy from available substrates, are distinct from those of the host in order to survive in an anaerobic environment. Van Hellemond aims at identifying these unique parasite molecules to be able to develop specific inhibitors for the development of antiparasitics. In addition, his studies have revealed a number of general biochemical and molecular biological processes of the physiology of parasites. Next year’s Merial Award (Dfl 5000 and a convocation) will be awarded to a scientist active in medical parasitology. TS
Keep focused on Toxocara Several parasitic worms produce larvae that have the ability to penetrate the tissues of the host, and migrate to other organs; socalled larvae migrans. As some of these worms are zoonotic, they pose a threat to the human population. The larvae of Toxocara canis have been described to migrate to the eyes of their host, where they cause ocular toxocarosis. It has now been reported (Akao, N. et al. J. Parasitol. 86, 1133–1135, 2000) that, using a gerbil model, the larvae migrans of T. cati (parasitizing the
This month’s In Brief was compiled by Sarah Hudson Keenihan ([email protected]) David Pritchard ([email protected]) Theo Schetters ([email protected]) Simon Iain Hay ([email protected])
http://parasites.trends.com 1471-4922/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
News & Comment
Hookworms hit the headlines in the New Millennium The year 2000 was a good year for hookworm researchers and possibly a bad year for hookworms. After many years in the parasitological doldrums, these haematophagous nematode parasites of humans (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) have finally attracted some serious attention from the funding organizations, reflecting their importance in causing disease. A major award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Dept of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University will underpin the development of a hookworm vaccine, and the inclusion of hookworms in the Wellcome Trust-funded Beowulf Initiative will significantly enhance our knowledge of the molecular genetics and fundamental biology of these interesting parasites. Does this signal the end of the humble hookworm? Probably not in the short-term. Hookworms are adept immune regulators, and have the capacity to downregulate natural and possibly vaccine-induced immunity. Furthermore, there might be immunological situations where hookworm infections of tolerable intensity could be beneficial. DP
Towards a healthier world for everyone Many Trends in Parasitology readers will receive funding from the Wellcome Trust. The framework under which this support will continue over the next five years is outlined in Planning for the Future: the Wellcome Trust 2000–2005 (http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/). This mission statement explains the four core aims that the charity has set itself to achieve its primary goal of promoting research to improve human and animal health. These aims are: (1) to increase biomedical knowledge through active research; (2) to improve the resources for such research through career and facility development; (3) to enhance the translation of this research into policy, practice and commerce; and (4) to facilitate public engagement in the implications of biomedical research for society. Further background on the governance structure and guiding principles of the Wellcome Trust, its asset base and the overall projected allocation of its anticipated
TRENDS in Parasitology Vol.17 No.4 April 2001
£600 million per annum income are given. Although this ‘five-year plan’ will never be a bestseller, it is interesting coffee-break reading for those considering Wellcome Trust funding past, present and potential. We await with anticipation the next publication that cites the main focus and four supporting criteria for successful grant applications. SIH
Research or re-search? In the past decade, the Internet has proven to be a valuable tool to obtain information. Many scientists keep up with the literature through services such as BioMedNet, which provides access to a number of scientific journals. However, some scientific journals are still only available as printed copies and this creates a threshold to access such journals and interest in these journals is decreasing. Furthermore, unless the institutional library has a subscription to an electronic version of the journal, services are limited to listings of titles and abstracts. This holds the risk that most of the interpretation of data (although peer-reviewed) is left to the authors because it is often too much effort to obtain a copy of the original article. Much of the original work on parasitology was carried out around the turn of the 20th century using natural parasite–host combinations, something that, because of the change in ethical attitude towards in vivo experimentation, would not be possible today. Exemplary is the treatment of neurosyphillis patients with malaria parasites in the period before the Second World War. Because the electronic databases do not go further back than 1966, the risk of missing the basic literature is increasing. Unless this information becomes available as readily as more recent literature, we will enter an era of re-search rather than developing research. TS
domestic cat) can also migrate to the eyes of infected hosts. Migrating larvae induced ophthalmic damage, including retinal and vitreous haemorrhaging, vasculitis and exudative lesions. These findings suggest that T. cati is a potential risk to humans for causing ocular toxocarosis. The development of the gerbil model for ocular toxocarosis may aid in the development of control measures for this zoonosis. TS
Van Hellemond receives Merial Award The Merial Award for Parasitology is given annually to a post-doc researcher from the Benelux countries who has conducted important and innovative research in the field of parasitology. The Merial Award 2000 went to a veterinary parasitologist, Jaap van Hellemond of the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, for his research on the anaerobic metabolism of parasites. Results from these studies revealed that mitochondria of parasites, necessary for generating energy from available substrates, are distinct from those of the host in order to survive in an anaerobic environment. Van Hellemond aims at identifying these unique parasite molecules to be able to develop specific inhibitors for the development of antiparasitics. In addition, his studies have revealed a number of general biochemical and molecular biological processes of the physiology of parasites. Next year’s Merial Award (Dfl 5000 and a convocation) will be awarded to a scientist active in medical parasitology. TS
Keep focused on Toxocara Several parasitic worms produce larvae that have the ability to penetrate the tissues of the host, and migrate to other organs; socalled larvae migrans. As some of these worms are zoonotic, they pose a threat to the human population. The larvae of Toxocara canis have been described to migrate to the eyes of their host, where they cause ocular toxocarosis. It has now been reported (Akao, N. et al. J. Parasitol. 86, 1133–1135, 2000) that, using a gerbil model, the larvae migrans of T. cati (parasitizing the
This month’s In Brief was compiled by Sarah Hudson Keenihan ([email protected]) David Pritchard ([email protected]) Theo Schetters ([email protected]) Simon Iain Hay ([email protected])
http://parasites.trends.com 1471-4922/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.