Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(11): 2814-2821 2814 Review Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.711.324 Theileria-Induced Leukocyte Transformation: A Parasite Model for the Study of Lympho Proliferation Aquil Mohmad 1* , Bilal Ahmad Malla 2 , Ishfaq Maqbool 3 , Zahoor Ahmad War 4 , Irshad Ahmad Para 5 and Sheikh Firdous Ahmad 6 1 Division of Parasitology, 2 Division of Veterinary Public Health, 4 Division of Veterinary Pathology, 5 Division of Physiology and climatology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243122, UP, India 3 Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary Science, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India 6 Division of Animal Genetics, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar Bareilly 243122 UP India. *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Tropical theileriosis and East Coast Fever are tick-borne diseases of cattle caused by the protozoan parasites Theileria annulata and Theileria parva, respectively. They cause lymphoproliferative disorders of cattle (Irvin and Morrison, 1987). Exotic (taurine) breeds of cattle and their crosses are more susceptible to the disease and its clinical course may International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 11 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The genus Theileria includes tick-transmitted Apicomplexan parasites of ruminants with substantial economic impact in endemic countries. Amongst the Apicomplexa phylum, Theileria is the only genus which transforms its mammalian host cells. Theileria parva and Theileria annulata infect leukocytes where they induce phenotypes that are shared with some cancers such as immortalization, dissemination and hyper proliferation. Transformation of lymphocytes is induced during the schizont stage. The mechanism of host cell transformation induces constitutive activation of bovine transcription factors (NF- kB) and associated signal transduction pathways. P53 plays an important role in proliferation and apoptosis and thus represents a key molecule in tumor formation. Moreover T. annulata schizonts induce a Warburg effect in host cells by a shift in ATP generation from predominantly oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis and Theileria parasites avoids autophagic clearance by directly blocking autophagy. Theileria parasites secrete a protein, prolyl isomerase for maintaining the transformation of host cells. The host cell transformation by Theileria parasites and the comparison between cancer biology and host-Theileria interactions can help in revealing chemotherapeutic targets. This review is about host cell manipulation induced by Theileria parasites and the phenotypes, Theileria infected cells share with many cancers. Keywords Theileria parva and Theileria annulata, Exotic (taurine), P 53, immortalization, NF-kB Accepted: 22 October 2018 Available Online: 10 November 2018 Article Info