#whipworm

Catching the Worm

Caused by the whipworm parasite, the disease Trichuriasis is prevalent in tropical areas and affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, yet it’s often overlooked. A few treatments are available, but none are effective at complete eradication, so finding other treatment options is essential. One major obstacle to preventing this disease is that we don’t know what happens in the early stages of infection by this parasitic worm. Using their new organoid ‘mini gut’ model, researchers have discovered that whipworms degrade the mucus layers within our gut and create tunnels to access our cells. These tunnels are thought to provide shelter and a continuous source of nutrients so that the worm can persist in the gut. In this video, the worm, the host cells and the tunnels can finally be visualised. Finding ways to stop these worms tunnelling may pave the way to preventing this disease.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Video from work by María A. Duque-Correa and colleagues

Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambs, UK

Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, April 2022

Working Out Whipworm

Right now there are about one billion infections worldwide with the parasitic worm, Trichuris trichiura or whipworm. It tunnels into the cells of human intestines and is thought to interact with its unwilling host using projections called cuticular inflations. The structure and function of these cuticular inflations are not well understood. Researchers now investigate by imaging these projections in another closely related whipworm, Trichuris muris, using a special type of scanning electron microscopy (pictured). They pinpointed when these projections develop and revealed a previously unknown web-like structure within them. What’s more, they found cells underneath the projections contained lots of energy-producing units called mitochondria. This hints at a role for these outgrowths in a high-energy task such as adapting the fluid environment surrounding the worm to support its survival in its host’s cells. These insights build a clearer picture of how whipworms function, which could help develop better treatments.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Image from work by James D. B. O’Sullivan and colleagues

The Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, The University of Manchester, UK

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Scientific Reports, April 2020

Whip Cracked

Human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) is a parasite living in the guts of around 500 million people worldwide – a Trichuriasis infection can cause serious gastrointestinal problems or even disabilities. As it grows, one end of the worm burrows into the intestines, while the other mates with other worms nearby – each female worm produces thousands of eggs per day. Although there's currently no vaccine, there is hope – chemicals called dihydrobenzoxazepinones are able to kill whipworms in infected mice. But this is only solving half the problem. The eggs themselves can survive dramatic changes in temperature, meaning affected areas of the world are endangered throughout the year. Good news, then, that dihydrobenzoxazepinones may also work as a chemical spray that destroys the eggs before they hatch. Targeting places the worm might be lurking in parts of Asia and the United States will help to control this sprawling parasite.

Written by John Ankers

Image from the University of Manchester

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester; Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford and Centre for Respiratory Biology, University College London, UK

Image copyright held by original authors

Research published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, February 2017