mSphere of Influence: an Army Marching on Its Stomach-Malaria Parasites Sense and Subvert Host Nutrition

Clare R Harding

doi:10.1128/mSphere.00210-21

mSphere of Influence: an Army Marching on Its Stomach-Malaria Parasites Sense and Subvert Host Nutrition

mSphere. 2021 Apr 14;6(2):e00210-21. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00210-21.

Author

Clare R Harding¹

Affiliation

¹ Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom clare.harding@glasgow.ac.uk.

Abstract

Clare Harding works on the metal biology of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how two papers from the laboratory of Maria Mota, "Host-mediated regulation of superinfection in malaria" by Portugal et al. (S. Portugal, C. Carret, M. Recker, A. E. Armitage, et al., Nat Med 17:732-737, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2368) and "Nutrient sensing modulates malaria parasite virulence" by Mancio-Silva et al. (L. Mancio-Silva, K. Slavic, M. T. Grilo Ruivo, A. R. Grosso, et al., Nature 547:213-216, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23009), made an impact on her understanding of host-pathogen interactions by examining the complex interplay between parasites and their hosts' nutritional status.

Keywords: apicomplexan parasites; immunity; malaria; nutrition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Host-Pathogen Interactions*
Humans
Malaria / parasitology*
Nutritional Status
Plasmodium / pathogenicity*
Virulence

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding