IMIB - Institute for Molecular Infection Biology

Serotonin signaling and mobile genetic elements in E. multiloculari

The small fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis - one of the most dangerous parasitosis in Europe. Treatment of alveolar echinococcosis is limited to surgical removal or parasitostatic therapy with benzimidazoles. Unfortunately, treatment with benzimidazoles does not affect the parasite stem cells. We know that the only proliferating cells in E. multilocularis are undifferentiated stem cells (so called “germinative cells”). To gain more information about the germinative cells and to identify possible future drug targets, I study the transcriptome of germinative cells.

In my PhD project, I analyse genes that are specifically expressed in germinative cells. To identify these genes, I use three approaches. With differential expression analysis I compare two sets of parasite samples depleted of germinative cells with their untreated controls. As the treatment for depletion of germinative cells might also affect other cell types, I also compare early primary cells cultures, which are highly enriched in germinative cells, with metacestode cultures, which contain less germinative cells. Only genes that can be identified by all three approaches are considered to be germinative cell specific. The knowledge of genes that are specifically expressed in germinative cells will facilitate future research on the E. multilocularis germinative cells