The Pathologist / Issues / 2017 / Jan / Number One Mystery
Microbiology & Immunology Microbiology and Immunology Infectious Disease

Number One Mystery

Could the solution for diagnostics and treatments for African sleeping sickness lie in camel urine?

By James Strachan 01/30/2017 1 min read

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Objective:

To explore the role of metabolites produced by Trypanosoma brucei in evading the immune response and their potential implications for diagnosis and treatment of sleeping sickness.

Approach:
  • Research Background: The study originated from a discussion between researchers at Trinity College Dublin regarding the metabolites produced by T. brucei and their effects on the immune response.
  • Metabolite Investigation: Researchers tested various metabolites to assess their impact on the innate immune response, leading to the discovery of indolepyruvate.
Key Findings:
  • Indolepyruvate alters the composition of camel urine, affecting its color and odor.
  • The metabolite modulates inflammatory and immune responses, enhancing host survival and facilitating parasite transmission.
  • This is the first evidence of a parasite-produced metabolite interfering with the host immune response.
Interpretation:

Conclusion:

References

  1. AF McGettrick et al., “Trypanosoma brucei metabolite indolepyruvate decreases HIF-1α and glycolysis in macrophages as a mechanism of innate immune evasion”, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 113, 48 (2016).

About the Author(s)

James Strachan

Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.

From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.

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