Parasite extracellular vesicles: mediators of intercellular communication

[...]EVs from parasite-infected host cells might be useful as either biomarkers for diagnosis or as vaccines. Vesicles are easily isolated from blood, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids [4]. [...]as secreted EVs contain the protein or RNA signatures of pathological or physiological states of their source cell, analyses of these vesicles could enable non-invasive monitoring of pathogen response to newly developed drugs in animal models or typing of parasite infections. In the case of Plasmodium yoelli [23] and Toxoplasma gondii [31], parasite EVs or EVs from infected host cells can protect naïve animals from infection. [...]EVs may serve as both biomarkers for infection as well as vaccine candidates.