Helminths immune regulation

Maizels RM Infections and allergy -helminths, hygiene and host immune regulation. Curr Opin Immunol 2005 17 656-661. 

Mahanty S, Mollis SN, Ravichandran M et al 1996 High levels of spontaneous and parasite antigen-driven interleukin-10 production are associated with antigen-specific hyporespon-siveness in human lymphatic filariasis.) Infect Dis 173 769—773 Maizels RM 2005 Infections and allergy—helminths, hygiene and host immune regulation. Curr Opin Immunol 17 656—661... 

Maizels RM, Yazdanbakhsh M. Immune regulation by helminth parasites cellular and molecular mechanisms. Nat Rev Immunol 2003 3 733-744. 

McSorley HJ, Maizels RM. Helminth infections and host immune regulation. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2012 25(4)585—608. 

One likely reason for the prevalence of helminths is their undoubted ability to down-regulate the host immune system at both the antigen-specific and polyclonal levels [3], In many chronic diseases, such as schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis, peripheral blood T cells show dramatically impaired parasite antigen-specific responsiveness [4], as discussed in more detail below. Moreover, from early reports of immunosuppression in animal models of infection, to studies in Africa linking vaccine failure to heavy helminth infection, there is clear evidence that infections can diminish reactivity to bystander antigens, particularly with increasing intensity of... 

The external surfaces of parasitic helminths, termed the tegument in cestodes and trematodes, and the cuticle in nematodes, are adapted to serve a wide range of biological functions. Though most research has focused on structural aspects or their roles in immune evasion (Chapter 16) and nutrient absorption, the external surfaces of helminths also serve important roles in locomotion, excretion and regulation of electrochemical and osmotic gradients. 

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