Schistosomiasis protects against multiple sclerosis

Flamme, Anne Camille La; Canagasabey, Kanishka; Harvie, Marina; Bäckström, B. Thomas

doi:10.1590/s0074-02762004000900006

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The ameliorating effect of nematode coinfection on the severity of schistosomiasis is similar to that exerted on a variety of autoimmune diseases (17,22,34,37,51,58,59,76), thus offering a collective explanation for the lower incidence of these T-cell-mediated conditions in areas where helminths are endemic. Such an effect of nematodes with relatively little intrinsic pathogenicity appears to be beneficial for the host and is currently being explored as a therapeutic means to control inflammatory bowel disease in humans (63) and possibly other autoimmune diseases (37).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Such an effect of nematodes with relatively little intrinsic pathogenicity appears to be beneficial for the host and is currently being explored as a therapeutic means to control inflammatory bowel disease in humans (63) and possibly other autoimmune diseases (37). On the other hand, the helminths may be detrimental under conditions in which a strong proinflammatory response is necessary to control other infectious agents (20,29,33,39,66).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This observation has prompted the formulation of the "hygiene hypothesis," which states that living in an exceedingly clean environment predisposes humans to such conditions and that helminth infections can prevent and protect against the development of aberrant adaptive immune responses to normally nonimmunogenic foreign or self antigens (12,19,41,74,75). This idea has been greatly strengthened by supporting evidence obtained using experimental models of asthma (34), type 1 diabetes (17,58,76), experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (37,59), Graves' thyroiditis (51), and inflammatory bowel disease (22). Predictably, coinfections with helminths also lessen proinflammatory responses against other pathogens, usually resulting in reduced overall immunopathology, albeit sometimes at the risk of diminished protection (21,50,52,62,66,68,73).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Coinfection with the Intestinal NematodeHeligmosomoides polygyrusMarkedly Reduces Hepatic Egg-Induced Immunopathology and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Mouse Models of Severe Schistosomiasis

et al. 2008

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Infection with the trematode helminth Schistosoma mansoni results in a parasite egg-induced, CD4 T-cellmediated, hepatointestinal granulomatous and fibrosing inflammation that varies greatly in severity, with a higher frequency of milder forms typically occurring in regions where the disease is endemic. One possible explanation for this is that in these regions the degree of inflammation is lessened by widespread concurrent infection with gastrointestinal nematodes. We tested this hypothesis by establishing a murine coinfection model in which mice were infected with the intestinal nematode parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus prior to infection with S. mansoni. In CBA mice that naturally display a severe form of schistosomiasis, preinfection with H. polygyrus resulted in a marked reduction in schistosome egg-induced hepatic immunopathology, which was associated with significant decreases in the levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17), gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-23, IL-6, and IL-1␤ and with increases in the levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and transforming growth factor ␤ in mesenteric lymph node cells, purified CD4 T cells, and isolated liver granuloma cells. There also were increases in liver Ym1 and forkhead box P3 transcription factor expression. In another model of high-pathology schistosomiasis induced in C57BL/6 mice by immunization with schistosome egg antigens in complete Freund's adjuvant, coinfection with the nematodes also resulted in a marked inhibition of hepatic immunopathology accompanied by similar shifts in cytokine production. These findings demonstrate that intestinal nematodes prevent Th1-and Th17-cell-mediated inflammation by promoting a strong Th2-polarized environment associated with increases in the levels of alternatively activated macrophages and T regulatory cells, which result in significant amelioration of schistosome-induced immunopathology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coinfection with the Intestinal NematodeHeligmosomoides polygyrusMarkedly Reduces Hepatic Egg-Induced Immunopathology and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Mouse Models of Severe Schistosomiasis

et al. 2008

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“…Studies conducted in this experimental model have demonstrated a marked inverse correlation between the occurrence of helminthic infection and the development of this type of autoimmune disease [30, 31]. Sewell and colleagues [30] in 2003 showed that mice, immunized with S. mansoni eggs, had reduced severity of EAE.…”

Section: Inflammatory and Autoimmune Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Schistosome-Derived Molecules as Modulating Actors of the Immune System and Promising Candidates to Treat Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Janssen

Santos

Muller

et al. 2016

Journal of Immunology Research

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It is long known that some parasite infections are able to modulate specific pathways of host's metabolism and immune responses. This modulation is not only important in order to understand the host-pathogen interactions and to develop treatments against the parasites themselves but also important in the development of treatments against autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Throughout the life cycle of schistosomes the mammalian hosts are exposed to several biomolecules that are excreted/secreted from the parasite infective stage, named cercariae, from their tegument, present in adult and larval stages, and finally from their eggs. These molecules can induce the activation and modulation of innate and adaptive responses as well as enabling the evasion of the parasite from host defense mechanisms. Immunomodulatory effects of helminth infections and egg molecules are clear, as well as their ability to downregulate proinflammatory cytokines, upregulate anti-inflammatory cytokines, and drive a Th2 type of immune response. We believe that schistosomes can be used as a model to understand the potential applications of helminths and helminth-derived molecules against autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

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“…Parasite molecules involved in skewing toward a Th2 environment and down-regulation of the immune response could be potential treatments for autoimmune or inflammatory conditions. There has already been success in treating animal models of type-1 diabetes, colitis, and multiple sclerosis with therapeutic helminthic infection (Zaccone et al, 2003; La Flamme et al, 2004; Smith et al, 2007). …”

Section: Importance Of Schistosome Glycoconjugatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering the glycogenome of schistosomes

et al. 2014

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Schistosoma mansoni and other Schistosoma sp. are multicellular parasitic helminths (worms) that infect humans and mammals worldwide. Infection by these parasites, which results in developmental maturation and sexual differentiation of the worms over a period of 5–6 weeks, induces antibodies to glycan antigens expressed in surface and secreted glycoproteins and glycolipids. There is growing interest in defining these unusual parasite-synthesized glycan antigens and using them to understand immune responses, their roles in immunomodulation, and in using glycan antigens as potential vaccine targets. A key problem in this area, however, has been the lack of information about the enzymes involved in elaborating the complex repertoire of glycans represented by the schistosome glycome. Recent availability of the nuclear genome sequences for Schistosoma sp. has created the opportunity to define the glycogenome, which represents the specific genes and cognate enzymes that generate the glycome. Here we describe the current state of information in regard to the schistosome glycogenome and glycome and highlight the important classes of glycans and glycogenes that may be important in their generation.

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Schistosomiasis protects against multiple sclerosis

Abstract: The incidences of schistosomiasis and multiple sclerosis (MS)

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

Coinfection with the Intestinal NematodeHeligmosomoides polygyrusMarkedly Reduces Hepatic Egg-Induced Immunopathology and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Mouse Models of Severe Schistosomiasis

Coinfection with the Intestinal NematodeHeligmosomoides polygyrusMarkedly Reduces Hepatic Egg-Induced Immunopathology and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Mouse Models of Severe Schistosomiasis

Schistosome-Derived Molecules as Modulating Actors of the Immune System and Promising Candidates to Treat Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Deciphering the glycogenome of schistosomes

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