Nitric oxide limits parasite development in vectors and in invertebrate intermediate hosts
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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Novel Whole-tissue Quantitative Assay of Nitric Oxide Levels in Drosophila Neuroinflammatory Response
Published on: December 4, 2013
1Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Roma Tre, Italy. ascenzi@bio.uniroma3.it
Abstract:
Nitric oxide (NO) possesses antiparasitic effects on both Protozoa and Metazoa in vertebrate definitive and intermediate hosts. Inducible NO limits parasite development also in Rhodnius prolixus and Anopheles stephensi, the natural vectors of human trypanosomiasis and malaria respectively, and in the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, a natural invertebrate intermediate host of human schistosomiasis. Therefore, NO limits Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, and Schistosoma development at all stages of the parasite life cycle.
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