Research: Host-Parasite Interactions
Understanding how helminths cause disease and how they modulate host immunity to promote parasite survival.
About
ABOUT OUR RESEARCH
Helminths are parasitic worms that cause infections in humans and other animals. They represent the most common infectious agents worldwide and are responsible for a global burden of disease exceeding those suffering from malaria and tuberculosis. Our research centres around whipworm (Trichuris species), filarial nematodes (Brugia malayi and Litomosoides sigmodontis), and Schistosoma species.
Current projects include:
- Identifying novel vaccine candidates for whipworm (T. trichiura)
- Exploring of the Trichuris antimicrobial peptidome as a source of novel antimicrobials and opportunities for parasite control
- Dissecting the role of innate lymphoid cells in metabolic diseases, immune memory, and resistance to Schistosoma and filarial infection.
Whipworm
T. trichiura is a gastrointestinal nematode that causes an estimated 465 million infections worldwide. Trichiuriasis (the disease caused by this parasite) is classed as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organisation. Heavy infections cause gastrointestinal symptoms and impaired growth and development.
Vaccination has the potential to reduce the disease burden of whipworm infection, however there are currently no commercially available vaccines against these parasites.
Ongoing research projects include the identification and evaluation of novel vaccine candidates forwhipworm, as well as understanding how these parasites modulate the host’s intestinal microbiota to promote their own survival, and how we might be able to harness components with antimicrobial activity in our fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Schistosoma and filarial infections
It is estimated that 206.5 million people require preventive treatment for schistosomiasis, and that 200 million people are infected by filariasis. Mass deworming treatments aiming to stop the infection spread and control morbidity of those diseases are currently ongoing in endemic countries.
However, it has been shown that helminth infections, through their immune-regulatory mechanisms, are epidemiologically associated with lower incidence of metabolic and autoimmune inflammatory disorders, i.e., being infected with worms would protect from type 2 diabetes or liver disease. An unforeseen consequence of eradicating helminth infections, therefore, may be an increase in immune disorders especially in emerging Brazil, Russia, India and China economies simultaneously undergoing changes in diet and lifestyle which may predispose to metabolic syndromes.
Our recent investigations shed the light on a specific population of immune cells, namely the natural killer (NK) cells, and indicate that they expand locally during experimental helminth infection. Furthermore, this infection also prevents early signs of liver dysfunction, suggesting that helminth infection might impact on disease parameters, as NK cells are known to regulate liver disease.
Ongoing research projects are focusing on hepatic NK cell sub-populations dynamics during murine experimental schistosomiasis and filariasis infection and identify potential regulatory mechanisms the worms exercise on liver cells.