Interactions between the intestinal microbiome and helminth parasites

Zaiss, Mario M.; Harris, Nicola L.

doi:10.1111/pim.12274

Cited by 147 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Intestinal helminths and those that occupy other mucosal sites, such as the lung, cohabit with a spectrum of microbial organisms 120, 121, 122. The entry of helminth parasites, such as H polygyrus , Trichinella spiralis , or Trichuris muris , into the intestinal tracts of mice significantly perturbs the commensal bacterial populations, with important immunologic and metabolic consequences 123, 124, 125, 126.…”

Section: Interactions Between Helminths and Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of the host immune system by helminth parasites

Maizels

McSorley

2016

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

441

398

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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.

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Section: Interactions Between Helminths and Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of the host immune system by helminth parasites

Maizels

McSorley

2016

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

441

398

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“…Also, helminths may have different effects on male versus female hosts. How helminths interact with bacterial and fungal microbiomes is also relatively unexplored but could have important consequences on host immunity [191]. …”

Section: Future Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in evolutionary perspective: A critical role for helminths?

Gurven

Trumble

Stieglitz

et al. 2016

EMPH

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Heart disease and type 2 diabetes are commonly believed to be rare among contemporary subsistence-level human populations, and by extension prehistoric populations. Although some caveats remain, evidence shows these diseases to be unusual among well-studied hunter-gatherers and other subsistence populations with minimal access to healthcare. Here we expand on a relatively new proposal for why these and other populations may not show major signs of these diseases. Chronic infections, especially helminths, may offer protection against heart disease and diabetes through direct and indirect pathways. As part of a strategy to insure their own survival and reproduction, helminths exert multiple cardio-protective effects on their host through their effects on immune function and blood lipid metabolism. Helminths consume blood lipids and glucose, alter lipid metabolism, and modulate immune function towards Th-2 polarization—which combined can lower blood cholesterol, reduce obesity, increase insulin sensitivity, decrease atheroma progression, and reduce likelihood of atherosclerotic plaque rupture. Traditional cardiometabolic risk factors, coupled with the mismatch between our evolved immune systems and modern, hygienic environments may interact in complex ways. In this review, we survey existing studies in the non-human animal and human literature, highlight unresolved questions and suggest future directions to explore the role of helminths in the etiology of cardio-metabolic disease.

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“…Indeed, over the past few years, investigations of the relationships between the gut microbiota and parasitic nematodes have attracted growing interest by the scientific community, mainly driven by the need to better understand the contribution of parasite-associated changes in the composition of microbial populations to host malnutrition [4]. In addition, a number of studies have focused on the immune-modulatory properties shared by both commensal bacteria and GI parasitic nematodes, in a bid to address questions on the possible role/s of helminth-induced fluctuations in gut microbiota in parasite-driven suppression of inflammation [3, 5, 6]. However, these studies have been carried out in a limited range of vertebrate hosts and for a few species of GI nematodes; these include humans experimentally infected with hookworms (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helminth infections and gut microbiota – a feline perspective

et al. 2016

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BackgroundInvestigations of the relationships between the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes are attracting growing interest by the scientific community, driven by the need to better understand the contribution of parasite-associated changes in the composition of the gut flora to both host malnutrition and immune modulation. These studies have however been carried out mainly in humans and experimental animals, while knowledge of the make-up of the gut commensal flora in presence or absence of infection by parasitic nematodes in domestic animals is limited. In this study, we investigate the qualitative and quantitative impact that infections by a widespread parasite of cats (i.e. Toxocara cati) exert on the gut microbiota of feline hosts.MethodsThe faecal microbiota of cats with patent infection by T. cati (= Tc+), as well as that of negative controls (= Tc-) was examined via high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, followed by bioinformatics and biostatistical analyses of sequence data.ResultsA total of 2,325,366 useable high-quality sequences were generated from the faecal samples analysed in this study and subjected to further bioinformatics analyses, which led to the identification of 128 OTUs and nine bacterial phyla, respectively. The phylum Firmicutes was predominant in all samples analysed (mean of 53.0%), followed by the phyla Proteobacteria (13.8%), Actinobacteria (13.7%) and Bacteroidetes (10.1%). Among others, bacteria of the order Lactobacillales, the family Enterococcaceae and genera Enterococcus and Dorea showed a trend towards increased abundance in Tc+ compared with Tc- samples, while no significant differences in OTU richness and diversity were recorded between Tc+ and Tc- samples (P = 0.485 and P = 0.581, respectively). However, Canonical Correlation and Redundancy Analyses were able to separate samples by infection status (P = 0.030 and P = 0.015, respectively), which suggests a correlation between the latter and the composition of the feline faecal microbiota.ConclusionsIn spite of the relatively small number of samples analysed, subtle differences in the composition of the gut microbiota of Tc+ vs Tc- cats could be identified, some of which in accordance with current data from humans and laboratory animal hosts. Nevertheless, the findings from this study contribute valuable knowledge to the yet little explored area of parasite-microbiota interactions in domestic animals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1908-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Interactions between the intestinal microbiome and helminth parasites

Cited by 147 publications

References 59 publications

Regulation of the host immune system by helminth parasites

Regulation of the host immune system by helminth parasites

Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in evolutionary perspective: A critical role for helminths?

Helminth infections and gut microbiota – a feline perspective

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