Center for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, Queensland Tropical Health Alliance, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.
Int J Parasitol. 2013 Mar;43(3-4):225-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.11.005. Epub 2012 Dec 5.
In the developed world, declining prevalence of parasitic infections correlates with increased incidence of allergic and autoimmune disorders. Current treatments for these chronic inflammatory conditions have little to no effect on their prevalence and are referred to as "controllers" rather than cures. There has been limited success in therapeutically targeting allergic and autoimmune pathways, leaving an unmet need for development of effective anti-inflammatories. We discuss the benefit of hookworm infections and the parasite's ability to condition the immune system to prevent allergic asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. We then examine the immunomodulatory properties of selected hookworm-derived proteins in these two models of inflammation. While hookworm protein therapy has yet to be fully exploited, the identification of these proteins and the mechanisms by which they skew the immune system will provide new avenues for controlling and optimally reversing key pathological processes important in allergic and inflammatory bowel diseases.
在发达国家，寄生虫感染的患病率下降与过敏和自身免疫性疾病的发病率增加相关。目前，这些慢性炎症性疾病的治疗方法对其患病率几乎没有影响，因此被称为“控制剂”而非治愈剂。在针对过敏和自身免疫途径进行治疗方面，取得的成功有限，因此仍然需要开发有效的抗炎药。我们讨论了钩虫感染的益处，以及寄生虫调节免疫系统以预防过敏性哮喘和炎症性肠病的能力。然后，我们研究了所选钩虫衍生蛋白在这两种炎症模型中的免疫调节特性。虽然钩虫蛋白治疗尚未得到充分利用，但这些蛋白的鉴定以及它们改变免疫系统的机制将为控制和优化逆转过敏性和炎症性肠病的关键病理过程提供新途径。
