Fasciola hepatica, TGF- β and host mimicry: the enemy within.

Fasciola hepatica, TGF-β and host mimicry: the enemy within. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2018 Oct 11;46:80-85 Authors: Musah-Eroje M, Flynn RJ Abstract Helminths parasites undergo developmental changes and migration within their definitive host, in addition to establishing chronic infection. Essential to this is the evasion of host immune responses; the canonical Th2 response is effective at removing parasites resident in the intestine. Conversely, helminths also promote the development of antigen-specific anergy and regulation. This often limits pathology but allows parasite survival, parasite effectors mediating this are the subject of intense study. They may be useful as future vaccine targets or xenogenic therapeutics. Fasciola hepatica possesses a family of TGF-like molecules of which one member, FhTLM, is capable of promoting intrinsic and extrinsic effects. Here we review the extrinsic effects of FhTLM on the host macrophage and its consequences for protective immunity. This review also discusses the specificities of FhTLM in light a very recent description of a nematode TGF-β mimic and the effects of endogenous TGF-β. PMID: 30317150 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research