Host cell response analysis during Giardia duodenalis Infection

This thesis examined the cellular gene responses in the intestinal epithelial cells infected with different isolates of Giardia duodenalis parasite during a short-term infection. A hallmark of Giardia infection includes diarrhoea and abdominal pain associated with pathological changes to the surface of the gastrointestinal digestive tract. The results identified and described a significant number of genes that have an important role in several cellular mechanisms in response Giardia, such as immune responses, dysfunction of epithelial cell-cell junctions and host cell death. This work provided a comprehensive insight into G. duodenalis-induced early host gene responses.