Worm's Weakness

Microscopic parasitic worms infiltrate billions of people’s bodies worldwide and cause everything from blindness to anaemia, and can be fatal. Parasitic nematodes, such as the roundworm species Ascaris suum, have a weakness though: their intestinal cells don’t regenerate, so may not heal when injured. Encouraged by the hope that any interference with the worm intestine might be a killing blow, researchers analysed the genes and molecules associated with its essential functions. They discovered 10 molecules inhibited the organ, seven of which caused severe damage (right, with cell arrangement disrupted after addition of the inhibitor compared to the intestine of an unaltered worm, left). Some of these molecular weapons worked against several different species, suggesting they may be useful for a broad range of infections, and that focusing further research on the intestine – the nematode’s Achilles heel – could lead to new treatments.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image adapted from work by Douglas P. Jasmer and Makedonka Mitreva, and colleagues
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, May 2020