Host Immunity and Inflammation to Pulmonary Helminth Infections

Helminth infections and host immune regulation.

Helminth parasites infect almost one-third of the world's population, primarily in tropical regions. However, regions where helminth parasites are endemic record much lower prevalences of allergies and autoimmune diseases, suggesting that parasites may protect against immunopathological syndromes. Most helminth diseases are spectral in nature, with a large proportion of relatively asymptomatic ...

Susceptibility to Immune-Mediated Diseases Helminth Infections Decrease Host

Regulation of pathogenesis and immunity in helminth infections

Helminths are multicellular eukaryotic parasites that infect over one quarter of the world's population. Through coevolution with the human immune system, these organisms have learned to exploit immunoregulatory pathways, resulting in asymptomatic tolerance of infections in many individuals. When infections and the resulting immune responses become dysregulated, however, acute and chronic patho...

HLA-KIR Interactions and Immunity to Viral Infections

Host genetic factors play a central role in determining the clinical phenotype of human diseases. Association between two polymorphic loci in human genome, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), and genetically complex infectious disease, particularly those of viral etiology, have been historically elusive. Hence, defining the influence of genetic di...

The Mannose Receptor in Regulation of Helminth-Mediated Host Immunity

Infection with parasitic helminths affects humanity and animal welfare. Parasitic helminths have the capacity to modulate host immune responses to promote their survival in infected hosts, often for a long time leading to chronic infections. In contrast to many infectious microbes, however, the helminths are able to induce immune responses that show positive bystander effects such as the protec...