Schistosoma mansoni infection is associated with a reduced course of asthma

Schistosoma mansoni antigen-driven interleukin-10 production in infected asthmatic individuals

“…For instance Lynch et al (1993) demonstrated an inhibition of the skin prick test response to aeroallergens in individuals infected with Ascaris lumbricoides, and that the anti-helminthic treatment resulted in an increase in the prevalence of positive skin tests. These findings were supported by others authors (van den Biggelaar et al 2000) and in the last few years some studies have demonstrated that Schistosoma mansoni infection not only suppresses the skin prick test response, but modulates asthma severity (Araujo et al 2000, van den Biggelaar et al 2000, Medeiros et al 2003.…”

“…mansoni infection seems to be protective against asthma (Medeiros et al 2003, Araujo et al 2004. Using mice models of S. mansoni infection it has been demonstrated that this parasite also protects against the development of auto-immune disease such as diabetes, experimental auto-immune encephalopathy, and Crohn's disease (Cooke et al 1999, Elliott et al 2003, La Flamme et al 2003, Sewell et al 2003, Zaccone et al 2003.…”

“…While some environmental factors precipitate the development of asthma, others seem to be protective. This is the case of helminth infections, particularly S. mansoni, which through the modulation of the inflammatory response prevent asthma (Medeiros et al 2003, Araujo et al 2004. Studying the mechanisms behind the protection against allergy, Araujo et al (2004) found that interleukin (IL-10) seems to play an important role in modulating the Th2 inflammatory response involved in the pathology of allergic diseases.…”

IL-13 receptor α 2 down-modulates granulomatous inflammation and prolongs host survival in schistosomiasis

“…Based on the findings described here, it is now clear that the IL-13R␣2 system should be added to the list of important ''stop signals'' regulating the immune response (22). The fact that serum IL-13R␣2 levels were elevated in infected patients emphasizes the need for detailed studies on its role during human schistosomiasis, as well as in other diseases (23,24) in which sustained Th2 cytokine production is thought to be pathogenic.…”

Schistosoma mansoni infection modulates the immune response against allergic and auto-immune diseases

“…Among the environmental factors, low socio-economic status (Patterson et al 1996, von Mutius et al 1994, Staines et al 1997a, Blanchard et al 2001, and the presence of infections have been implicated in protecting people against allergic (Lynch et al 1993, Araujo et al 2000, Cooper et al 2003, Medeiros et al 2003 and autoimmune diseases (Cooke et al 1999, Kurtzke 2000, La Flamme et al 2003. Recently, there has been growing interest in the hypothesis that infections might play a role in preventing or suppressing auto-immune and allergic disorders as studies have revealed that the prevalence of allergies and auto-immune diseases are increasing in developed countries, in conjunction with improved hygienic conditions.…”