Abstract
Helminth parasite infections are associated with a battery of immunomodulatory mechanisms that affect all facets of the host immune response to ensure their persistence within the host. This broad-spectrum modulation of host immunity has intended and unintended consequences, both advantageous and disadvantageous. Thus the host can benefit from suppression of collateral damage during parasite infection and from reduced allergic, autoimmune, and inflammatory reactions. However, helminth infection can also be detrimental in reducing vaccine responses, increasing susceptibility to coinfection and potentially reducing tumor immunosurveillance. In this review we will summarize the panoply of immunomodulatory mechanisms used by helminths, their potential utility in human disease, and prospective areas of future research.
Highlights
Regulation of the host immune system by helminth parasitesHelminth parasite infections are associated with a battery of immunomodulatory mechanisms that affect all facets of the host immune response to ensure their persistence within the host
Foxp[3]: Forkhead box protein 3 Treg: Regulatory T nearly one third of the human population.[4]
As we discover more about how productive antiparasite responses are produced, we are discovering new pathways for immunomodulation of these pathways by helminth infections and exploring new possibilities for exploiting parasite molecules as therapies for inflammatory diseases
Summary
Helminth parasite infections are associated with a battery of immunomodulatory mechanisms that affect all facets of the host immune response to ensure their persistence within the host. Helminths establish in a range of tissue and intestinal niches, in most cases they do not multiply within the host but produce eggs or larvae to infect new hosts; they tend to establish stable chronic infections that can endure for surprisingly long (up to 20 years) in an individual host In this setting almost every facet of the immune system is modified or even recalibrated, with infected subjects displaying a state of immune hyporesponsiveness that can be considered a form of immunologic tolerance.[5,6,7].
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