A trap for nematodes

Filariae, sometimes up to 70 centimeters long nematodes, can set up residence in their host quite tenaciously and cause serious infectious diseases such as river blindness or elephantiasis, which belong to the so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and are found in about 80 million peoplein the tropics. Researchers led by the University of Bonn have now investigated a mechanism by which the immune system attacks the filariae. Certain immune cells, the eosinophil granulocytes, release DNA that forms a kind of web around the larvae and traps them. The researchers also identified which protein „turns on“ the mechanism, known as the Dectin-1 receptor.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft