Question: Could understanding the DNA of the parasites lead to an advancement in treatments available?

Anouk Gouvras answered on 18 Jun 2012:

Good question hollyg, and the answer is yes!

Understanding the DNA of the parasites could go a long way to creating a vaccine against the disease, or finding a new more effective treatment, or a new way to disrupt the parasite life cycle and thereby stop transmission, or a more efficient and sensitive way to detect infections.

For example certain scientists are looking at the genes that code for Tetraspanin proteins which are found on the surface of cells and in particular looking at the ones expressed and found on the schistosome worm surface. They want to use these genes to make a DNA vaccine against schistosomes. DNA vaccines is a relative new technique: injection of the genetic material into a host causes a small number of the host’s cells to produce these proteins, the hosts immune system immediately recognises them as foreign and results in a specific immune activation against these proteins. Therefore when people get infected by schistosomes their body will recognise and destroy the worms immediately.