Investigation of the threonine metabolism of Echinococcus multilocularis: The threonine dehydrogenase as a potential drug target in alveolar echinococcosis.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a severe zoonotic disease caused by the metacestode stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. We recently showed that E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles scavenge large amounts of L-threonine from the culture medium.

In Vitro Activities of Dithiocarbamate Derivatives against Metacestode Vesicles.

The metacestode stage of the fox tapeworm causes the severe zoonotic disease alveolar echinococcosis. New treatment options are urgently needed. Disulfiram and dithiocarbamates were previously shown to exhibit activity against the trematode As both parasites belong to the platyhelminths, here we investigated whether these compounds were also active against metacestode vesicles in vitro.

The Anthelmintic Activity of Praziquantel Analogs Correlates with Structure-Activity Relationships at TRPM Orthologs.

The anthelmintic drug praziquantel remains a key clinical therapy for treating various diseases caused by parasitic flatworms. The parasite target of praziquantel has remained undefined despite longstanding usage in the clinic, although a candidate ion channel target, named TRPM, has recently been identified. Intriguingly, certain praziquantel derivatives show different activities against different parasites: for example, some praziquantel analogs are considerably more active against cestodes than against schistosomes.

Establishment and application of unbiased in vitro drug screening assays for the identification of compounds against Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto.

Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus s.l.

Targeted and non-targeted proteomics to characterize the parasite proteins of metacestodes.

The larval stage of the cestode is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis. To investigate the biology of these stages and to test novel compounds, metacestode cultures represent a suitable model system. These metacestodes are vesicles surrounded by an envelope formed by the vesicle tissue (VT), which is formed by the laminated and germinal layer, and filled with vesicle fluid (VF).