Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2021 Jan 27;288(1943):20202722. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2722. Epub 2021 Jan 20.
Gastrointestinal (GI) helminths are common parasites of humans, wildlife, and livestock, causing chronic infections. In humans and wildlife, poor nutrition or limited resources can compromise an individual's immune response, predisposing them to higher helminth burdens. This relationship has been tested in laboratory models by investigating infection outcomes following reductions of specific nutrients. However, much less is known about how diet supplementation can impact susceptibility to infection, acquisition of immunity, and drug efficacy in natural host-helminth systems. We experimentally supplemented the diet of wood mice () with high-quality nutrition and measured resistance to the common GI nematode . To test whether diet can enhance immunity to reinfection, we also administered anthelmintic treatment in both natural and captive populations. Supplemented wood mice were more resistant to infection, cleared worms more efficiently after treatment, avoided a post-treatment infection rebound, produced stronger general and parasite-specific antibody responses, and maintained better body condition. In addition, when applied in conjunction with anthelmintic treatment, supplemented nutrition significantly reduced transmission potential. These results show the rapid and extensive benefits of a well-balanced diet and have important implications for both disease control and wildlife health under changing environmental conditions.
胃肠道（GI）寄生虫是人类、野生动物和家畜常见的寄生虫，会导致慢性感染。在人类和野生动物中，营养不良或资源有限会削弱个体的免疫反应，使他们更容易受到更高的寄生虫负担的影响。这种关系已经在实验室模型中得到了验证，通过研究特定营养素减少后感染的结果。然而，人们对饮食补充如何影响对感染的易感性、获得免疫以及天然宿主-寄生虫系统中药物疗效知之甚少。我们用高质量的营养物质实验性地补充了林姬鼠的饮食，并测量了它们对常见胃肠道线虫的抵抗力。为了测试饮食是否可以增强对再感染的免疫力，我们还在自然和圈养种群中进行了驱虫治疗。补充营养的林姬鼠对 感染的抵抗力更强，治疗后更有效地清除蠕虫，避免了治疗后的感染反弹，产生了更强的一般和寄生虫特异性抗体反应，并保持了更好的身体状况。此外，当与驱虫治疗结合使用时，补充营养物质显著降低了 的传播潜力。这些结果表明，均衡饮食具有快速而广泛的益处，对环境条件变化下的疾病控制和野生动物健康都具有重要意义。
