See below for a collection of papers published in Trends in Parasitology over a three year period which are accompanied by a series of specially commissioned animations of parasitic processes. Reproduced here by kind permission of Trends in Parasitology. In order to run the animations please click on the play icon next to each listing and for full details of the original paper click on the doi link which will re-direct you to the full article on ScienceDirect.
Schistosoma cercariae: An animated illustration of cercariae invading the human host can be seen here.
This animation originally appeared in: James H. McKerrow, Jason Salter, Invasion of skin by Schistosoma cercariae, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 18, Issue 5, Pages 193-195. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)02309-7
Egress of Toxoplasma gondii. The intracellular life cycle for Toxoplasma gondii as explored in this article via animation requires careful co-ordination when exiting one cell and entering another. Click here for details.
This animation originally appeared in: Eleanor F. Hoff, Vern B. Carruthers, Is Toxoplasma egress the first step in invasion?, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 251-255. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)02240-7
Clinical manifestations of Leishmaniasis. An animated illustration of some of the parasitic mechanisms can be seen here.
This animation originally appeared in: Emanuela Handman, Denise V. R. Bullen, Interaction of Leishmania with the host macrophage, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 18, Issue 8, Pages 332-334. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)02352-8
Intracellular replication cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi: Investigating Trypanosoma cruzi the protozoan parasite responsible for Chagas disease. This parasite is capable of invading and replicating in different cell types. Click here for an animated exploration.
This animation originally appeared in: Henry Tan, Norma W. Andrews, Don't bother to knock - the cell invasion strategy of Trypanosoma cruzi, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 18, Issue 10, Pages 427-428. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)02368-1
Theileria sporozoite entry: Cell invasion by Theileria an important veterinary protozoan parasite. Click here.
This animation originally appeared in: Michael K. Shaw, Cell invasion by Theileria sporozoites, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 2-6. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)00015-6
Cytoadhesion of Babesia bovis: One of the mechanisms of Babesia bovis to evade the hosts immune response is shown here.
This animation originally appeared in: David R. Allred, Babesiosis: persistence in the face of adversity, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 19, Issue 2, Pages 51-55. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(02)00065-X
Microsporidian invasion mechanisms: Microsporidia are obligate intracellular eukaryote parasites that have a distinctive mechanism for infecting host cells which is illustrated here.
This animation originally appeared in: Caspar Franzen, Microsporidia: how can they invade other cells?, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 20, Issue 6, Pages 275-279. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2004.04.009
Cryptosporidium excystation and invasion: This animation explores Cryptosporidium excystation and the events leading to cell invasion. Click here.
This animation originally appeared in, Huw V. Smith, Rosely A.B. Nichols, Anthony M. Grimason, Cryptosporidium excystation and invasion: getting to the guts of the matter, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 21, Issue 3, Pages 133-142. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2005.01.007
MALARIA ANIMATIONS
Plasmodium is one of the most important parasites causing morbidity and mortality in humans. Much research has been done to elucidate the organisms life cycle. Here are three articles with animations exploring the mosquito, liver and blood stages in the life cycle of this important protozoan parasite.
The mosquito stages of the Plasmodium life cycle:Plasmodium spp. undergo a complex obligate developmental cycle within their invertebrate vectors that enables transmission between vertebrate hosts as examined here.
This animation originally appeared in: Luke A. Baton, Lisa C. Ranford-Cartwright, Spreading the seeds of million-murdering death: metamorphoses of malaria in the mosquito, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 21, Issue 12, Pages 573-580. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2005.09.012
The liver phase of the Plasmodium life cycle: After inoculation of sporozoites by the mosquito the parasites invade hepatocytes and differentiate into thousands of merozoites. This process is examined here.
This animation originally appeared in: Ute Frevert, Sneaking in through the back entrance: the biology of malaria liver stages, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 20, Issue 9, Pages 417-424. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2004.07.007
The blood stage of Plasmodium: The malaria parasite exploits different habitats in human and mosquito hosts. The parasite grows within human red blood cess as explored here.
This animation originally appeared in: Lawrence Bannister, Graham Mitchell, The ins, outs and roundabouts of malaria, Trends in Parasitology, Volume 19, Issue 5, Pages 209-213. doi:10.1016/S1471-4922(03)00086-2
