Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa), Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Unité de Recherche en Immunologie et Immunomodulation (UR2IM)/Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Contrôle de Qualité des Denrées Alimentaires (LAMICODA), Ecole Supérieure des Techniques Biologiques et Alimentaires, Universite de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
Front Immunol. 2022 Oct 18;13:1009968. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1009968. eCollection 2022.
Helminth infection-driven changes to immunity in the female reproductive tract (FRT) is an immune axis that is currently understudied but can have major implications for the control of FRT infections. Here we address how human hookworm infection associates with vaginal immune profile and risk of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Stool, blood, cervical swabs and vaginal flushes were collected from women from the Central region of Togo to screen for hookworms ( and high carcinogenic risk HPV types, Kato Katz and PCR, respectively. Cytokine, chemokine and immunoglobulin levels were analysed in cervicovaginal lavages and plasma samples. A pronounced mixed Type 1/Type 2 immune response was detected in the vaginal fluids of women with hookworm infection and this immune signature was a notable feature in hookworm-HPV co-infected women. Moreover, hookworm infection is positively associated with increased risk and load of HPV infection. These findings highlight helminth infection as a significant risk factor for acquiring a sexually transmitted viral infection and potentially raising the risk of subsequent pathology.
寄生虫感染驱动女性生殖道（FRT）免疫的变化是一个目前研究较少但对控制 FRT 感染有重大影响的免疫轴。在这里，我们研究了人类钩虫感染与阴道免疫特征和人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）感染风险之间的关联。从中部地区的多哥妇女收集粪便、血液、宫颈拭子和阴道冲洗液，分别通过加藤厚涂片和 PCR 检测钩虫（和高致癌风险 HPV 类型。分析宫颈阴道灌洗液和血浆样本中的细胞因子、趋化因子和免疫球蛋白水平。在感染钩虫的妇女的阴道液中检测到明显的混合 1 型/2 型免疫反应，这种免疫特征是钩虫-HPV 共感染妇女的一个显著特征。此外，钩虫感染与 HPV 感染的风险和负荷增加呈正相关。这些发现强调了寄生虫感染是获得性传播病毒感染的重要危险因素，并可能增加随后发生病理学的风险。
