Authors

Discussion

Rumen fluke, Calicophoron daubneyi, is a gastro-intestinal parasite which infects grazing livestock worldwide, particularly cattle, resulting in paramphistomosis. Recently, rumen fluke prevalence is rapidly increasing across the UK and Ireland, creating a need for further research to understand how this parasite infects its host, and how it affects the hosts immune response to promote its survival. Helminth extracellular vesicles (EVs) are recognised to contain predicted and confirmed immune modulators, allowing them to manipulate their hosts in order to facilitate survival. Rumen fluke have also been demonstrated to produce EVs yet their actions on the host immune system is yet to be investigated. Historically, in vitro models, such as cell cultures and more recently organoids, have been utilised to investigate the effect of infectious diseases on their hosts. However, such approaches cannot account for the multiple cell types present within tissues and thus do not fully represent natural infection interactions. As a result, there is increasing interest in the development of tissue explant models, whereby animal tissues are maintained in vitro. This research project is developing an in vitro explant model of the bovine rumen to allow exploration of the rumen fluke-host interaction. Currently, the rumen explant model is being assessed for its response to liposaccharide (LPS). With an optimised bovine rumen explant model, the role of rumen fluke EVs can be assessed following in vitro stimulation. This work will lead to the establishment of a more representable model of natural infections and will investigate how rumen fluke EVs affect host immune responses.