%0 Journal Article
%T A novel blood-feeding detoxification pathway in Nippostrongylus brasiliensis L3 reveals a potential checkpoint for arresting hookworm development
%A Adam A. T. Smith
%A Adeline Peignier
%A Alex Loukas
%A Alfonso Schmidt
%A Amy Shepherd
%A Deepa Patel
%A Gavin Painter
%A Graham LeGros
%A Jodie Chandler
%A Kara Filbey
%A Karen Johnston
%A Mali Camberis
%A Maria-Elena Bottazzi
%A Mark Pearson
%A Paul Giacomin
%A Peter Hotez
%A Tiffany Bouchery
%J PLOS Pathogens: A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006931
%X As part of on-going efforts to control hookworm infection, the ˇ°human hookworm vaccine initiativeˇ± has recognised blood feeding as a feasible therapeutic target for inducing immunity against hookworm infection. To this end, molecular approaches have been used to identify candidate targets, such as Necator americanus (Na) haemoglobinase aspartic protease-1 (APR-1), with immunogenicity profiled in canine and hamster models. We sought to accelerate the immune analysis of these identified therapeutic targets by developing an appropriate mouse model. Here we demonstrate that Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb), a phylogenetically distant strongylid nematode of rodents, begins blood feeding early in its development and that immunisation with Na-APR-1 can block its growth and completion of its life cycle. Furthermore, we identify a new haem detoxification pathway in Nb required for blood feeding that can be blocked by drugs of the quinolone family, reducing both infection burden and the associated anaemia in rodents. Collectively, our findings show that haem metabolism has potential as a checkpoint for interrupting hookworm development in early stages of the hookworm life cycle and that the Nippostrongylus brasiliensis rodent model is relevant for identifying novel therapeutic targets against human hookworm.
%U https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006931