The yin and yang of human soil-transmitted helminth infections
Int J Parasitol. 2021 Nov 10:S0020-7519(21)00304-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.11.001. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe major soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) that infect humans are the roundworms, whipworms and hookworms. STH infections rank among the most important neglected tropical diseases in terms of morbidity, and almost one billion people are still infected with at least one species. While anthelmintic drugs are available, they do not offer long term protection against reinfection, precipitating the need for vaccines that provide long-term immunologic defense. Vaccine discovery and development is in advanced clinical development for hookworm infection, with a bivalent human hookworm vaccine in clinical trials in Brazil and Africa, but is in its infancy for both roundworm (ascariasis) and whipworm (trichuriasis) infections. One of the greatest hurdles to developing STH vaccines is the potent immunoregulatory properties of these helminths, creating a barrier to the induction of meaningful long-term protective immunity. While challenging for vaccinologists, this phenomenon presents unique opportunities to develop an entirely new class of anti-inflammatory drugs that capitalise on these immunomodulatory strategies. Epidemiologic studies and clinical trials employing experimental STH challenge models, when coupled with findings from animal models, show that at least some STH-derived molecules can protect against the onset of autoimmune, allergic and metabolic disorders, ...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Alex Loukas Rick M Maizels Peter J Hotez Source Type: research
More News: African Health | Allergy & Immunology | Ascariasis | Autoimmune Disease | Brazil Health | Clinical Trials | Epidemiology | Parasitic Diseases | Parasitology | Roundworms | Study | Trichuris Trichiura | Vaccines | Veterinary Vaccinations