Natalia Gomez-Escobar

TL;DR: It is hypothesized that parasites have evolved specific molecular strategies to induce this conducive landscape, and the foremost candidate immunomodulators released by helminths are reviewed, including cytokine homologs, protease inhibitors, and an intriguing set of novel products implicated in immune suppression.

TL;DR: The first generation of 'immune evasion genes' from parasites such as the filarial nematode Brugia malayi are identified, and the major transcript present in mosquito-borne infective larvae, Bm-ALT, is a credible vaccine candidate for use against lymphatic filariasis, while a second abundantly-expressed gene is similar to a likely vaccine antigen being developed against hookworm parasites.

TL;DR: A novel member of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family has been identified in the filarial nematode parasite B. malayi by searching the recently developed Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) database produced by the Filarial Genome Project.

TL;DR: The association of Bm-VAL-1 with the infective stage and its recognition by humans exposed to filariasis suggests that further evaluation of this antigen as a vaccine candidate should be performed.

TL;DR: The identification of oftgh-1, and its preferential expression in developing parasites, suggests that it may be involved in key developmental events in the complex filarial life cycle.