Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Nov 26;11(11):904-919.
doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i11.904.

Unexpected encounter of the parasitic kind

Holly Matthews  1 , Florian Noulin  2
Affiliations
Review

Unexpected encounter of the parasitic kind

Holly Matthews et al. World J Stem Cells. .

Abstract

Both parasitology and stem cell research are important disciplines in their own right. Parasites are a real threat to human health causing a broad spectrum of diseases and significant annual rates morbidity and mortality globally. Stem cell research, on the other hand, focuses on the potential for regenerative medicine for a range of diseases including cancer and regenerative therapies. Though these two topics might appear distant, there are some "unexpected encounters". In this review, we summarise the various links between parasites and stem cells. First, we discuss how parasites' own stem cells represent interesting models of regeneration that can be translated to human stem cell regeneration. Second, we explore the interactions between parasites and host stem cells during the course of infection. Third, we investigate from a clinical perspective, how stem cell regeneration can be exploited to help circumvent the damage induced by parasitic infection and its potential to serve as treatment options for parasitic diseases in the future. Finally, we discuss the importance of screening for pathogens during organ transplantation by presenting some clinical cases of parasitic infection following stem cell therapy.

Keywords: Host pathogen interactions; Parasites; Stem cells; Therapeutic; Transplantation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of the three human germ layers and lineage fates. This diagram shows the different organs’ fate according to their original germ layer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagram of parasite classification. Parasite classification is based on their cellular properties. Some species examples are provided.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chart of the yearly number of scientific literature publications including the keywords “stem cells + parasites” over the last 50 years. This diagram shows the numbers corresponding to scientific literature on PubMed found using the inclusive keywords “stem cells” and “parasites”.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Gene expression and localisation of the different S mansoni stem cell populations in the two main hosts. This diagram explains the different subpopulations of S. mansoni stem cells based on specific gene expression and localisation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Parasitic infections and stem cell therapies targeting different organs. This diagram shows the different stem cell therapies used for different parasite infections and the targeted organs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. He S, Nakada D, Morrison SJ. Mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2009;25:377–406. - PubMed
    1. Ulloa-Montoya F, Verfaillie CM, Hu WS. Culture systems for pluripotent stem cells. J Biosci Bioeng. 2005;100:12–27. - PubMed
    1. Costamagna D, Berardi E, Ceccarelli G, Sampaolesi M. Adult Stem Cells and Skeletal Muscle Regeneration. Curr Gene Ther. 2015;15:348–363. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Parasites. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/about.html.
    1. Poulin R, Morand S. The diversity of parasites. Q Rev Biol. 2000;75:277–293. - PubMed