Abstract
Anthelmintic drugs are the major line of defense against parasitic nematode infections, but the arsenal is limited and resistance threatens sustained efficacy of the available drugs. Discoveries of the modes of action of these drugs and mechanisms of resistance have predominantly come from studies of a related nonparasitic nematode species, Caenorhabditis elegans, and the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus. Here, we discuss how our understanding of anthelmintic resistance and modes of action came from the interplay of results from each of these species. We argue that this 'cycle of discovery', where results from one species inform the design of experiments in the other, can use the complementary strengths of both to understand anthelmintic modes of action and mechanisms of resistance.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 240-250 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Trends in Parasitology |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Funding
The authors thank Samantha Peters for the nematode drawings. We also thank Katie Evans, Dan Lu, and Sam Widmeyer for comments on the manuscript. C.M.D. was supported by the Biotechnology Training Program (NIH T32 GM008449 ). This work was supported by the NIH R01AI53088 grant to E.C.A. E.C.A. is a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts ( 00027327 ).
Keywords
- C. elegans
- anthelmintics
- drug resistance
- natural diversity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Parasitology
- Infectious Diseases
