Alteration of host cell phenotype by Theileria annulata and Theileria parva: Mining for manipulators in the parasite genomes

Brian Shiels*, Gordon Langsley, William Weir, Arnab Pain, Sue McKellar, Dirk Dobbelaere

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

The apicomplexan parasites Theileria annulata and Theileria parva cause severe lymphoproliferative disorders in cattle. Disease pathogenesis is linked to the ability of the parasite to transform the infected host cell (leukocyte) and induce uncontrolled proliferation. It is known that transformation involves parasite dependent perturbation of leukocyte signal transduction pathways that regulate apoptosis, division and gene expression, and there is evidence for the translocation of Theileria DNA binding proteins to the host cell nucleus. However, the parasite factors responsible for the inhibition of host cell apoptosis, or induction of host cell proliferation are unknown. The recent derivation of the complete genome sequence for both T. annulata and T. parva has provided a wealth of information that can be searched to identify molecules with the potential to subvert host cell regulatory pathways. This review summarizes current knowledge of the mechanisms used by Theileria parasites to transform the host cell, and highlights recent work that has mined the Theileria genomes to identify candidate manipulators of host cell phenotype.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)9-21
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal for Parasitology
Volume36
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cell transformation
  • Genome sequence
  • Parasite-host cell interaction
  • Theileria parasites

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Infectious Diseases

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