Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and recurrent illness of the gastrointestinal tract. Treatment of IBD traditionally involves the use of aminosalicylic acid and steroids, while these drugs has been associated with untoward effects and refractoriness. The absence of effective treatment regimen against IBD has led to the exploration of new targets. Parasites are promising as an alternative therapy for IBD. Recent studies have highlighted the use of parasite-derived substances, such as excretory secretory products, extracellular vesicles (EVs), and exosomes, for the treatment of IBD. In this report, we examined whether EVs secreted by Giardia lamblia could prevent colitis in a mouse model. G. lamblia EVs (GlEVs) were prepared from in vitro cultures of Giardia trophozoites. Clinical signs, microscopic colon tissue inflammation, and cytokine expression levels were detected to assess the effect of GlEV treatment on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental murine colitis. The administration of GlEVs prior to DSS challenge reduced the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, and interferon gamma. Our results indicate that GlEV can exert preventive effects and possess therapeutic properties against DSS-induced colitis.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Role of parasite extracellular vesicles/exosomes in the interaction between hosts and virus-infected flagellate protozoa: Progress and prospects Lu Li, Xiaocen Wang, Jianhua Li, Xichen Zhang, Xin Li, Nan Zhang, Lili Cao, Pengtao Gong Animals and Zoonoses.2025; 1(4): 375. CrossRef
Microscopic messengers: Extracellular vesicles shaping gastrointestinal health and disease Zhantao Yu, Kevin A. Swift, Madeline A. Hedges, Arianne L. Theiss, Sarah F. Andres Physiological Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Extracellular vesicles in parasitic diseases – from pathogenesis to future diagnostic tools Saulo Almeida Menezes, Tiana Tasca Microbes and Infection.2024; 26(4): 105310. CrossRef
An Improved Method to Enrich Large Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Giardia intestinalis through Differential Centrifugation Abel Sana, Izadora Volpato Rossi, Bruna Sabatke, Letícia Bassani Bonato, Lia Carolina Soares Medeiros, Marcel Ivan Ramirez Life.2023; 13(9): 1799. CrossRef
Lipidome of extracellular vesicles from Giardia lamblia Clarissa Perez Faria, Barbara Ferreira, Ágata Lourenço, Inês Guerra, Tânia Melo, Pedro Domingues, Maria do Rosário Marques Domingues, Maria Teresa Cruz, Maria do Céu Sousa, Maria de Fátima Matos Almeida Henriques de Macedo PLOS ONE.2023; 18(9): e0291292. CrossRef
Efficacy of extracellular vesicles as a cell-free therapy in colitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies Jun-Jie Hou, Wei-Wei Li, Xiao-Li Wang, A-Huo Ma, Yue-Hua Qin Frontiers in Pharmacology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Protozoa-Derived Extracellular Vesicles on Intercellular Communication with Special Emphasis on Giardia lamblia Bárbara Ferreira, Ágata Lourenço, Maria do Céu Sousa Microorganisms.2022; 10(12): 2422. CrossRef
First
Prev
