Questions, Feedback & Help
Send us an email and we'll get back to you ASAP. Or you can read our Frequently Asked Questions.
  • page settings
  • hide sidebar
  • show empty fields
  • layout
  • (too narrow)
  • open all
  • close all
Resources » Paper

Sloan, Megan. A et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "C. elegans as an expression system for drug targets from parasitic nematodes."

  • History

  • Referenced

  • Tree Display

  • My Favorites

  • My Library

  • Comments on Sloan, Megan. A et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "C. elegans as an expression system for drug targets from parasitic nematodes." (0)

  • Overview

    Status:
    Publication type:
    Meeting_abstract
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00042915

    Sloan, Megan. A, Reaves, Barbara. J, & Wolstenholme, Adrian. J (2013). C. elegans as an expression system for drug targets from parasitic nematodes presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    Many important neglected tropical diseases are caused by parasitic nematodes. Current control programs rely on very few effective anthelmintic drugs and resistance to these may develop. There is therefore a pressing need to find new drugs, which requires a better understanding of parasite genetics and physiology. However studies of parasitic nematodes are complicated and expensive, even when technically feasible, due to the need for passage though infected animals. The development of a system for expressing important parasite genes in C. elegans could make the study of parasitic nematodes much easier and cheaper and would allow us to utilize the powerful genetic resources already available. We have shown that we can express ivermectin target genes, such as avr-14, from the parasite Haemonchus contortus in drug-resistant strains and cause them to revert to drug susceptibility, and also rescue behavioral phenotypes. We have also used this system to demonstrate that novel parasite genes can also act as drug targets. We are now extending these studies to genes encoding subunits of the neuromuscular junction dwelling levamisole-sensitive nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) which are well conserved in parasitic nematodes - unc-29 and unc-38. We have cloned unc-29 and unc-38 orthologs from the clade V parasite, H. contortus, and the clade III species, Ascaris suum, downstream of the C. elegans promoters. These constructs are being expressed in unc-29 (ok2450) and unc-38(ok2896) mutants co-transformed with a pmyo-2::GFP marker plasmid to aid detection of transformed worms. The transgenic strains are assessed for levamisole sensitivity and uncoordinated phenotypes.

    Affiliations:
    - Deptarement of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
    - Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kindgom


    Tip: Seeing your name marked red? Please help us identify you.