What is it about?
Upto a fifth of cancers are linked to infections. The parasite Theileria can infect cow leukocytes and turn them into hyperproliferating, cancer-like cells. But noone knows how. We discovered a parasite protein (the prolyl isomerase Pin1) that is secreted into the host cell and messes around with host cell behavior. We also found a drug that can target this parasite protein and reverse the cancer-like state. This is an exciting example of how parasites hijack the host cell and how these parasite proteins can be targeted by drugs.
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Why is it important?
We found the first example of a parasite-secreted protein that targets host signaling pathways. We also found that this protein is mutated in drug-resistant parasites, an emerging socio-economic problem for treating disease caused by Theileria parasites.
Perspectives
Our results link parasitology and cancer and provide important insights into complex host-parasite interactions and drug strategies. Our study has several novelties: it is the first example of a secreted PIN1 homologue; it mechanistically links a parasite-encoded protein to host oncogenic signalling pathways; and it addresses concerns about drug-resistant parasites.
Prof Jonathan B Weitzman
Universite Paris Diderot
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Theileria parasites secrete a prolyl isomerase to maintain host leukocyte transformation, Nature, January 2015, Nature,
DOI: 10.1038/nature14044.
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