Sticky Infections

Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis; the top three sexually transmitted infections worldwide. What's at number 4? Trichomoniasis. It's caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, which sticks to cells lining the vagina or the urine-carrying duct in the penis. Different strains can infect the same body. Researchers now investigate how these strains communicate with each other by infecting human cells in a dish. Scanning electron microscopy of parasites (pictured, blue) revealed that different strains — some that stick well to cells (CDC1132) and some that are less sticky (G3) — communicate with each other by sending out tube-like protrusions (orange) of their cell membrane. This is facilitated by membrane packages (extracellular vesicles) released by the parasites. Analysing these vesicles revealed that they contain proteins involved in signalling and communication. Importantly, they found CDC1132 and G3 strains both become stickier in the presence of other strains. This may have implications for how trichomoniasis infection progresses.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Nehuén Salas and colleagues
• Laboratorio de Parásitos Anaerobios, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, May 2023