Audio feature: Sebastian Lourido discusses his lab's work on Toxoplasma gondii

Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for several prevalent infectious diseases including malaria. Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified a protein complex that the parasites require for a critical step in invading host cells.

Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified key parts of the pathway that enables apicomplexan parasites to exit one host cell, and travel to infect others, including the important role of a molecule they called HOOK. This finding illuminates how signals can move in cells and could inform drug development against the parasites.

Research from Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido finds an RNA-binding protein that is key to helping the parasite Toxoplasma gondii commit to its dormant stage.