How Leishmania's flagellum helps the parasite survive and cause leishmaniasis
Mechanistic and Structural Insights into Intraflagellar Transport in Leishmania
Researchers will map how the moving parts of Leishmania's flagellum work to reveal weak spots that could help people with leishmaniasis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Medical School NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11208112 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's point of view, scientists will take very detailed 3D pictures of the parasite's tail (flagellum) and watch it move inside living cells. They will use a lab-friendly Leishmania species and combine cryo-electron tomography, live-cell imaging, protein analyses, and computer-based searches to find the proteins that carry cargo along the flagellum. The team aims to identify adaptor proteins and structural features unique to trypanosomatid parasites that keep the flagellum working. Those findings could point to parts of the parasite that new treatments might target.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Although this is a lab-based project, people with leishmaniasis or related trypanosomatid infections could be future candidates for therapies that arise from these findings.
Not a fit: Patients with skin conditions not caused by Leishmania or those whose disease is driven mainly by immune response rather than parasite motility are unlikely to directly benefit from this basic lab research in the near term.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new drug targets that disable the parasite's flagellum and reduce its ability to infect people.
How similar studies have performed: Related structural work has mapped intraflagellar transport complexes in algae and trypanosomes, but applying high-resolution cryo-ET plus proteomics and bioinformatics to Leishmania is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Harvard Medical School — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Brown, Alan — Harvard Medical School
- Study coordinator: Brown, Alan
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.