Parasite Immunology

BACKGROUND: Strongyloidiasis control is associated with a Th2 immune response. However, alcohol ingestion plays an important role in modulating the immune system. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the occurrence of S. stercoralis infection in alcoholic patients, the levels of circulating cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-15 and IL- 17), and its correlation with modulation of parasitic load in alcoholic individuals infected with S. stercoralis. METHODS: 336 alcoholic patients were included in the study and treated at the Alcoholic Care and Treatment Center...

During inflammation, haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow (BM) and periphery rapidly expand and preferentially differentiate into myeloid cells that mediate innate immune responses. HSCs can be directed into quiescence or differentiation by sensing alterations to the haematopoietic niche, including cytokines, chemokines, and pathogen-derived products. Most studies attempting to identify the mechanisms of haematopoiesis have focused on bacterial and viral infections. From intracellular protozoan infections to large multicellular worms, parasites are a global health burden and represent major immunological challenges that remain poorly defined in the context of haematopoiesis...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIMS: The objective of the present study was to investigate the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine response from a broad perspective in cattle with natural T. annulata infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ten cattle naturally infected with T. annulata and eight healthy cattle were included in this study. A total of 11 cytokines, including TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, and IL-17 were evaluated in serum samples using commercially available ELISA kits...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In Central America, infection by L. (L.) infantum chagasi causes visceral leishmaniasis and non-ulcerated cutaneous leishmaniasis (NUCL). This work aimed to evaluate the participation of subpopulations of antigen-presenting cells in skin lesions of patients affected by NUCL through double-staining immunohistochemistry using cellular and intracellular markers. METHODS: Twenty-three skin biopsies from patients affected by NUCL were used. Histological sections stained by HE were used for histopathological study...

The pathophysiology of schistosomiasis is linked to the formation of fibrous granulomas around eggs that become trapped in host tissues, particularly the intestines and liver, during their migration to reach the lumen of the vertebrate gut. While the development of Schistosoma egg-induced granulomas is the result of finely regulated crosstalk between egg-secreted antigens and host immunity, evidence has started to emerge of the likely contribution of an additional player - the host gut microbiota - to pathological processes that culminate with the formation of these tissue lesions...

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) with scabies is a condition rarely encountered in clinical practice, and when it is encountered, it is often due to the use of immunosuppressants. This paper is a report on a patient with bullous pemphigoid (BP) and scabies, who developed scabs after taking dexamethasone. It should be noted that bullous pemphigoid antibody is necessary, which can distinguish bullous pemphigoid with scabies and bullous scabies, and the treatment options for the two diseases are different. This article is protected by copyright...

The parasitic ciliate Cryptocaryon irritans, which infects almost all marine fish species occurring in both tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. The disease, cryptocaryonosis, accounts for significant economic losses to the aquaculture industry. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of the biology of the parasite, host-parasite interactions, and both specific and non-specific host defense mechanisms are responsible for the protection of fish against challenge infections with this ciliate...

AIMS: The aim of this work was to define the population of regulatory T cells (Tregs) which are circulating in the blood of Leishmania infected individuals clinically displaying a lesion (active disease - AD) and sub-clinical (SC) ones. METHODS AND RESULTS: We have individually collected blood samples, processed the PBMC and stained with fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies against CD3, CD4, Foxp3, CD25, CTLA-4, Ki-67, CCR4, CCR5 and CCR7. Cells were analyzed by flow cytometry...

Helminths are large multicellular parasites responsible for widespread chronic disease in humans and animals. Intestinal helminths live in close proximity with the host gut microbiota and mucosal immune network, resulting in reciprocal interactions that closely influence the course of infections. Diet composition may strongly regulate gut microbiota composition and intestinal immune function and therefore may play a key role in modulating anti-helminth immune responses. Characterizing the multitude of interactions that exist between different dietary components (e...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations and involvement of visceral organs. Organ-specific immune response against the Leishmania donovani (Ld) complex is not yet understood due to the unavailability of an appropriate experimental model. In reference to our recent work on comparing the hamster model with VL patients, it is now possible to understand immune profiling in different visceral organs. This may offer an answer to varying parasite loads in different visceral organs in the same host...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIMS: Antibiotic treatment can lead to elimination of both pathogenic bacteria and beneficial commensals, as well as to altered host immune responses. Here, we investigated the influence of prolonged antibiotic treatment (Abx) on effector, memory and recall Th2 immune responses during the primary infection, memory phase and secondary infection with the small intestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. METHODS AND RESULTS: Abx treatment significantly reduced gut bacterial loads, but neither worm burdens, nor worm fecundity in primary infection were affected, only worm burdens in secondary infection were elevated in Abx treated mice...

A plethora of studies, both experimental and epidemiological, have indicated the occurrence of associations between infections by gastrointestinal (GI) helminths and the composition and function of the host gut microbiota. Given the worldwide risk and spread of anthelmintic resistance, particularly for GI parasites of livestock, a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the relationships between GI helminths and the gut microbiome, and between the latter and host health, may assist the development of novel microbiome-targeting and other bacteria-based strategies for parasite control...

AIMS: Viral infection often induce the expression of murine fibrinogen-like protein 2 (mFGL2) triggering immune coagulation, which causes severe liver pathogenesis via increased fibrin deposition and thrombosis in the microvasculature. We aimed to investigate the role of mFGL2 in the liver stage of malaria infections. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reveal that infection with malaria sporozoites also induces increased expression of mFGL2 and that this expression is primarily located within the liver Kupffer and endothelial cells...

BACKGROUND: Haemonchus contortus (Hc) is the most pathogenic parasite for sheep. AIMS: The objective was to evaluate immunomodulation of the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) in sheep experimentally infected with Hc. METHODS: Twenty-four sheep were divided into three groups: one infected with 500 Hc larvae/day for 26 days and supplemented with S. boulardii (40 mL with 1 x 108 CFU/mL/day); a control group only infected with Hc but not supplemented; and a naïve group that never came into contact with either parasites or Sb...

The emergence of deadly fungal infections in Africa is primarily driven by a disproportionately high burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, lack of access to quality health care and the unavailability of effective antifungal drugs. Immunocompromised people in Africa are therefore at high risk of infection from opportunistic fungal pathogens such as Cryptococcus neoformans and Pneumocystis jirovecii, which are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and related socioeconomic impacts. Other emerging fungal threats include Emergomyces spp...