A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae
Parasitic diseases affect millions of people worldwide, causing debilitating illnesses and death. Rapid and cost-effective approaches to detect parasites are needed, especially in resource-limited settings. A common signature of parasitic diseases is the release of specific proteases by the parasite...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34689/ |
| _version_ | 1848794912593543168 |
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| author | Webb, A.J. Kelwick, R. Doenhoff, M.J. Kylilis, N. MacDonald, J.T. Wen, K.Y. McKeown, C. Baldwin, G. Ellis, T. Jensen, K. Freemont, P.S. |
| author_facet | Webb, A.J. Kelwick, R. Doenhoff, M.J. Kylilis, N. MacDonald, J.T. Wen, K.Y. McKeown, C. Baldwin, G. Ellis, T. Jensen, K. Freemont, P.S. |
| author_sort | Webb, A.J. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Parasitic diseases affect millions of people worldwide, causing debilitating illnesses and death. Rapid and cost-effective approaches to detect parasites are needed, especially in resource-limited settings. A common signature of parasitic diseases is the release of specific proteases by the parasites at multiple stages during their life cycles. To this end, we engineered several modular Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis whole-cell-based biosensors which incorporate an interchangeable protease recognition motif into their designs. Herein, we describe how several of our engineered biosensors have been applied to detect the presence and activity of elastase, an enzyme released by the cercarial larvae stage of Schistosoma mansoni. Collectively, S. mansoni and several other schistosomes are responsible for the infection of an estimated 200 million people worldwide. Since our biosensors are maintained in lyophilised cells, they could be applied for the detection of S. mansoni and other parasites in settings without reliable cold chain access. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:23:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-34689 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:23:44Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-346892020-05-04T17:46:03Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34689/ A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae Webb, A.J. Kelwick, R. Doenhoff, M.J. Kylilis, N. MacDonald, J.T. Wen, K.Y. McKeown, C. Baldwin, G. Ellis, T. Jensen, K. Freemont, P.S. Parasitic diseases affect millions of people worldwide, causing debilitating illnesses and death. Rapid and cost-effective approaches to detect parasites are needed, especially in resource-limited settings. A common signature of parasitic diseases is the release of specific proteases by the parasites at multiple stages during their life cycles. To this end, we engineered several modular Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis whole-cell-based biosensors which incorporate an interchangeable protease recognition motif into their designs. Herein, we describe how several of our engineered biosensors have been applied to detect the presence and activity of elastase, an enzyme released by the cercarial larvae stage of Schistosoma mansoni. Collectively, S. mansoni and several other schistosomes are responsible for the infection of an estimated 200 million people worldwide. Since our biosensors are maintained in lyophilised cells, they could be applied for the detection of S. mansoni and other parasites in settings without reliable cold chain access. Nature Publishing Group 2016-04-19 Article PeerReviewed Webb, A.J., Kelwick, R., Doenhoff, M.J., Kylilis, N., MacDonald, J.T., Wen, K.Y., McKeown, C., Baldwin, G., Ellis, T., Jensen, K. and Freemont, P.S. (2016) A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae. Scientific Reports, 6 . p. 24725. ISSN 2045-2322 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep24725 doi:10.1038/srep24725 doi:10.1038/srep24725 |
| spellingShingle | Webb, A.J. Kelwick, R. Doenhoff, M.J. Kylilis, N. MacDonald, J.T. Wen, K.Y. McKeown, C. Baldwin, G. Ellis, T. Jensen, K. Freemont, P.S. A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title | A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title_full | A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title_fullStr | A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title_full_unstemmed | A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title_short | A protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| title_sort | protease-based biosensor for the detection of schistosome cercariae |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34689/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34689/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34689/ |