Gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes threaten food security and affect human health and animal welfare globally. Current anthelmintics for use in humans and livestock are challenged by continuous re-infections and the emergence and spread of multidrug resistance, underscoring an urgent need to identify novel control targets for therapeutic exploitation. Recent evidence has highlighted the occurrence of complex interplay between GI parasitic nematodes of humans and livestock and the resident host gut microbiota. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) found within nematode biofluids have emerged as potential effectors of these interactions. Here I will present our recent data on the occurrence, structure, and function of representative nematode AMPs, highlighting their potential as targets for drug discovery and development.

Cinzia Cantacessi is Professor of Parasite Infection Biology at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Cambridge. Her research interests fall within the general area of host-parasite interactions, and specifically the ability of helminth parasites to modify the structure and function of the host gut flora to their advantage. Cinzia has authored or co-authored >140 articles in peer-reviewed international journals within the field of Parasitology and beyond, and serves on the Editorial Boards of several journals in the field of Parasitology and Neglected Diseases.