Parasitic infections remain a significant public health challenge in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries. Despite significant progress in their treatment, these diseases often cause long-term illness, disability, and mortality. Parasites face various challenges within the host, including oxidative and nitrosative stress generated by the host’s immune response. Understanding how parasites respond to these challenges is crucial to our comprehension of parasite–host interactions at both the cellular and molecular levels. This Special Issue includes articles on various protozoan, helminth, and arthropod parasites that highlight recent advances in our understanding of the role of oxidative stress, nitrosative stress, and metabolic pathways in parasitic diseases. These papers cover critical topics, such as the response and adaptation of parasites to oxidative stress induced by drugs [1,2]; their localization in the host during their life cycle [3]; or by nutrition [4], plant-based, and probiotic approaches to modulating parasites’ redox responses [5,6], as well as redox talk between parasites and the host’s immune defense cells [7,8,9]. Additionally, this Special Issue addresses nitric oxide resistance by discussing the role of glucose consumption and GSH-mediated redox capability in the resistance of Leishmania to nitrosative stress [10]. These examples underscore the importance of understanding the mechanisms underlying parasitic diseases, and lay the foundation for the development of innovative treatments targeting parasites’ defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. I hope that this special edition will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, students, and physicians studying parasitic infections. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the authors who contributed to this Special Issue, and to the Antioxidants team for their assistance during the review and editorial process.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Footnotes
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
References
- 1.Shaulov Y., Sarid L., Trebicz-Geffen M., Ankri S. Entamoeba histolytica Adaption to Auranofin: A Phenotypic and Multi-Omics Characterization. Antioxidants. 2021;10:1240. doi: 10.3390/antiox10081240. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Egwu C.O., Augereau J.-M., Reybier K., Benoit-Vical F. Reactive Oxygen Species as the Brainbox in Malaria Treatment. Antioxidants. 2021;10:1872. doi: 10.3390/antiox10121872. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Martínez-González J.d.J., Guevara-Flores A., del Arenal Mena I.P. Evolutionary Adaptations of Parasitic Flatworms to Different Oxygen Tensions. Antioxidants. 2022;11:1102. doi: 10.3390/antiox11061102. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Hernandez E.P., Anisuzzaman, Alim M.A., Kawada H., Kwofie K.D., Ladzekpo D., Koike Y., Inoue T., Sasaki S., Mikami F., et al. Ambivalent Roles of Oxidative Stress in Triangular Relationships among Arthropod Vectors, Pathogens and Hosts. Antioxidants. 2022;11:1254. doi: 10.3390/antiox11071254. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Espinel-Mesa D.X., González Rugeles C.I., Mantilla Hernández J.C., Stashenko E.E., Villegas-Lanau C.A., Quimbaya Ramírez J.J., García Sánchez L.T. Immunomodulation and Antioxidant Activities as Possible Trypanocidal and Cardioprotective Mechanisms of Major Terpenes from Lippia alba Essential Oils in an Experimental Model of Chronic Chagas Disease. Antioxidants. 2021;10:1851. doi: 10.3390/antiox10111851. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Sarid L., Zanditenas E., Ye J., Trebicz-Geffen M., Ankri S. Insights into the Mechanisms of Lactobacillus acidophilus Activity against Entamoeba histolytica by Using Thiol Redox Proteomics. Antioxidants. 2022;11:814. doi: 10.3390/antiox11050814. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Calvani N.E.D., De Marco Verissimo C., Jewhurst H.L., Cwiklinski K., Flaus A., Dalton J.P. Two Distinct Superoxidase Dismutases (SOD) Secreted by the Helminth Parasite Fasciola hepatica Play Roles in Defence against Metabolic and Host Immune Cell-Derived Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) during Growth and Development. Antioxidants. 2022;11:1968. doi: 10.3390/antiox11101968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Díaz-Godínez C., Jorge-Rosas J.F., Néquiz M., Martínez-Calvillo S., Laclette J.P., Rosales C., Carrero J.C. New Insights on NETosis Induced by Entamoeba histolytica: Dependence on ROS from Amoebas and Extracellular MPO Activity. Antioxidants. 2021;10:974. doi: 10.3390/antiox10060974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Dick C.F., Alcantara C.L., Carvalho-Kelly L.F., Lacerda-Abreu M.A., Cunha-e-Silva N.L., Meyer-Fernandes J.R., Vieyra A. Iron Uptake Controls Trypanosoma cruzi Metabolic Shift and Cell Proliferation. Antioxidants. 2023;12:984. doi: 10.3390/antiox12050984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Pinho N., Bombaça A.C., Wiśniewski J.R., Dias-Lopes G., Saboia-Vahia L., Cupolillo E., de Jesus J.B., de Almeida R.P., Padrón G., Menna-Barreto R., et al. Nitric Oxide Resistance in Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Involves Regulation of Glucose Consumption, Glutathione Metabolism and Abundance of Pentose Phosphate Pathway Enzymes. Antioxidants. 2022;11:277. doi: 10.3390/antiox11020277. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]