COMMENTARY

Epithelial dysfunction in giardiasis

Mechanisms of epithelial dysfunction in giardiasis

Andre G Buret

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor A G Buret
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W. Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4; aburet@ucalgary.ca

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A better understanding of the pathophysiological processes of Giardia may lead to understanding the diseases it causes and to identifying new therapeutic agents

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The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Infection with the ubiquitous intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia (synonymous G duodenalis or G intestinalis) may cause acute or chronic diarrhoea, dehydration, abdominal discomfort and weight loss.^1–4 Despite the prevalence of this disease, the pathophysiological features underlying intestinal disturbances in giardiasis remain incompletely understood. Giardia causes disease without penetrating the epithelium, invading the surrounding tissues or entering the blood stream. Interestingly, the epithelial abnormalities responsible for intestinal malabsorption and diarrhoea in giardiasis seem to share similarities with those observed in other enteric disorders, such as bacterial enteritis, chronic food anaphylaxis, Crohn’s disease and coeliac disease.^5–9 Therefore, a better understanding of these pathophysiological processes may help identify new therapeutic targets for a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. In an attempt to unravel the mechanisms by which Giardia exerts its clinical effects, researchers have relied on a variety of cell systems and animal models. This issue of Gut presents . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Effect of chronic Giardia lamblia infection on epithelial transport and barrier function in human duodenum

Hanno Troeger, Hans-Joerg Epple, Thomas Schneider, Ulrich Wahnschaffe, Reiner Ullrich, Gerd-Dieter Burchard, Tomas Jelinek, Martin Zeitz, Michael Fromm, and Joerg-Dieter Schulzke
Gut 2007 56: 328-335. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Kamda, J. D., Singer, S. M. (2009). Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase-Dependent Inhibition of Dendritic Cell Interleukin-12 Production by Giardia lamblia. Infect. Immun. 77: 685-693 [Abstract] [Full Text]