Production and Use of Hymenolepis diminuta Cysticercoids as Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutics

Kendra Smyth,Claire Morton,Chelsea Swanson,Zoie Holzknecht,William Parker,Min Zhang,Amanda Mathew,Shu Lin,Sahil Karuturi,Cliff Haley

doi:10.3390/jcm6100098

Abstract

Helminthic therapy has shown considerable promise as a means of alleviating some inflammatory diseases that have proven resistant to pharmaceutical intervention. However, research in the field has been limited by a lack of availability to clinician scientists of a helminth that is relatively benign, non-communicable, affordable, and effectively treats disease. Previous socio-medical studies have found that some individuals self-treating with helminths to alleviate various diseases are using the rat tapeworm (cysticercoid developmental stage of Hymenolepis diminuta; HDC). In this study, we describe the production and use of HDCs in a manner that is based on reports from individuals self-treating with helminths, individuals producing helminths for self-treatment, and physicians monitoring patients that are self-treating. The helminth may fit the criteria needed by clinical scientists for clinical trials, and the methodology is apparently feasible for any medical center to reproduce. It is hoped that future clinical trials using this organism may shed light on the potential for helminthic therapy to alleviate inflammatory diseases. Further, it is hoped that studies with HDCs may provide a stepping stone toward population-wide restoration of the biota of the human body, potentially reversing the inflammatory consequences of biota depletion that currently affect Western society.

Highlights

Helminthic therapy, the use of helminths to treat disease, offers the best hope of decreasing inflammation via immunomodulation rather than immunosuppression [1,2,3], and probably improves mucosal barrier function [4]
We describe our experience with purification of the therapeutic life stage of the helminth, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids (HDCs)
HDC production has been maintained at Duke University since May of 2013, with laboratory rats hosting adult tapeworms initially maintained in conventional laboratory housing

Summary

Introduction

Helminthic therapy, the use of helminths to treat disease, offers the best hope of decreasing inflammation via immunomodulation rather than immunosuppression [1,2,3], and probably improves mucosal barrier function [4]. Forces driving that coevolution include advantages to both host and helminth in minimizing the impact of helminth colonization on host fitness [6,7]. This evolutionary process has resulted in the existence of helminths, which are benign under conditions of adequate nutrition, but yet modulate host immune function in a manner that decreases inflammation without impairing immune function [1,7,8].

Methods

Results

Conclusion