Desmond Seybold Publishes in International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Byauxergen

Baltimore, MD – December 13, 2025

Auxergen is excited to announce the publication of summer intern Desmond L. Seybold’s first-author paper in International Journal of Molecular Science. Desmond is an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined us through the IMET Undergraduate Summer Internship Program. Culminating in research conducted over the Summer of 2025, this review investigates the host-microbe interactions of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), the third most common sexually transmitted infection in humans.

Pathogenesis of the TV Protozoan Parasite

  • Complicated Pathogenesis: TV utilizes many mechanisms including extracellular vesicles to manipulate their host and establish a colony.
  • Recruitment of Pathogen Partners: TV recruits other endosymbionts including Lactobacillusand Mycoplasma to increase virulence and mortality.
  • Secondary Health Effects: Chronic inflammation may follow in infected individuals and is associated with preterm birth and low birth weight in newborn children, and some cancers in mothers.
  • Resistance Building: Nitroimidazole antibiotics have been facing increased resistance by TV, so understanding the basic mechanisms will facilitate therapeutic benefit.

Figure 1: Cargo of T. vaginalis Extracellular Vesicles (TVEVs). TV secretes EVs through caveolin dependent endocytosis, which increases pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, enhances TV adherence, and degrades epithelial junctions.

Seybold’s paper highlights the “importance of considering TV not as an isolated pathogen but as part of a dynamic microbial consortium that exacerbates reproductive morbidity and susceptibility to HIV and cancers.” We hope this knowledge will help expand the field and further the development of key targets for therapeutic use in the future.

###

Desmond Seybold