Kurzbeschreibung
(Englisch)
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Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a deadly disease and represents the most dangerous of all known helminth infections. The number of human cases is on the rise, in Switzerland and in overall Europe, and AE has spread in recent years to formerly unaffected regions. The metacestodes (larval stage) undergo asexual proliferation in the liver, and similar to tumors they form cancer-like lumps of parasite and necrotic tissue, which cannot be eliminated by the immune system. The disease is fatal if not treated appropriately. Although the currently used benzimidazoles have clearly improved the quality of life and the survival rate of AE patients, there are several setbacks, including adverse effects, only parasitostatic and not parasitcidal action, and treatment that has to go on lifelong, which is phychologically and economically problematic. Here we will use a multifacetted aproach to identifiy anti-malarial compounds that kill E. multilocularis metacestodes to provide a novel curative treatment for AE. In parallel, we will identify the corresponding drug targets, and/or proteins that interact with these compounds, to shed light on the mechanism(s) of action. These results will also have a broader impact, such as on the chemotherapeutical treatment of E. granulosus infections, and will also be highly interesting in relation to other neglected helminth diseases, such as cysticercosis caused by Taenia solium, and also schistosomiasis, caused by Schistosoma sp.
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