Immunology and Cell Biology of Parasitic Diseases 2013
1Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Avenue de Los Barrios No. 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, 54090 Tlalnepantla de Baz, MEX, Mexico
2Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Starling Loving Hall M418, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
3Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 México, DF, Mexico
4Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenue de Los Barrios No. 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, 54090 Tlalnepantla de Baz, MEX, Mexico
Immunology and Cell Biology of Parasitic Diseases 2013
Description
We just passed the first decade of the 21st century and still infections caused by parasitic pathogens are a global health problem, and even worst, we do not have a valuable-confident vaccine against any parasitic disease that could be massively used. Parasitic infections are one of the leading causes of high morbidity and mortality in underdeveloped countries, particularly in children and the elderly. Many of them may compromise both quality of life and life expectancy. We have no choice; just deepest knowledge of the immunobiology of parasitic diseases will pay in the near future with new vaccine strategies, biological control of vectors, or new drug development against protozoan or helminth infections. Thus, we need to know how these parasites subvert the immune response of their hosts, whose genes are more associated with resistance or susceptibility to drugs or immune response; also specific mechanisms involved in genetic responses are necessary to focus on the development of new drugs that just target some molecules of the parasites without affecting the hosts or even better how we can potentiate the immune response of the hosts against specific parasitic diseases. To achieve all the things listed above, we need to improve our knowledge on the immunobiology of parasitic diseases.
This special issue will highlight the use of both molecular and cell biology to understand the mechanism of invasion and reproduction of parasites and the use of immunology and molecular strategies to propose new vaccines or therapies. The understanding of immune modulation by parasites and their molecules will also highlight this special issue. We invite submissions of original research or review articles that describe cutting-edge findings in immunobiology of parasitic diseases. We are particularly interested in contributions that highlight mechanistic aspects of the themes listed above. All types of parasites are within the scope of this special issue. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- miRNAs that regulate parasite growth or differentiation
- miRNAs in the immune response to parasites
- Interaction between parasites and innate immunity
- Vaccine and adjuvant development
- Molecular mechanisms associated with parasite invasion and reproduction
- Novel drugs or novel use of old drugs for therapy against parasitic diseases
- New epidemiologic data
- Immune modulation by parasites and their products and the consequences on the host
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jbb/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: