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Weisman Z, Kalinkovich A, Stein M, et al. Effects of Helminth Eradication on the Immune System. Pathog Immun. 2017;2(2):293-307doi: 10.20411/pai.v2i2.205.
Weisman, Z., Kalinkovich, A., Stein, M., Greenberg, Z., Borkow, G., Adlerstein, D., Mahdi, J. A., & Bentwich, Z. (2017). Effects of Helminth Eradication on the Immune System. Pathogens & immunity, 2(2), 293-307. https://doi.org/10.20411/pai.v2i2.205
Weisman, Ziva, et al. "Effects of Helminth Eradication on the Immune System." Pathogens & immunity vol. 2,2 (2017): 293-307. doi: https://doi.org/10.20411/pai.v2i2.205
Weisman Z, Kalinkovich A, Stein M, Greenberg Z, Borkow G, Adlerstein D, Mahdi JA, Bentwich Z. Effects of Helminth Eradication on the Immune System. Pathog Immun. 2017 Jul 10;2(2):293-307. doi: 10.20411/pai.v2i2.205. eCollection 2017. PMID: 30993247; PMCID: PMC6423624.
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Pathog Immun. 2017 Jul 10;2(2):293-307. doi: 10.20411/pai.v2i2.205. eCollection 2017.

Effects of Helminth Eradication on the Immune System.

Pathogens & immunity

Ziva Weisman, Alexander Kalinkovich, Miguel Stein, Zalman Greenberg, Gad Borkow, David Adlerstein, Jemal Ali Mahdi, Zvi Bentwich

Affiliations

  1. Kaplan Medical Center, Ben-Ari Institute of Clinical Immunology and AIDS Center, Rehovot, Israel.
  2. Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
  3. Public Health Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
  4. Department of Microbiology Immunology and Genetics, Center for Emerging and Tropical Diseases and AIDS, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba, Israel.
  5. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.

PMID: 30993247 PMCID: PMC6423624 DOI: 10.20411/pai.v2i2.205

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Helminth infection has a profound effect on the immune system. However, the precise nature of the immune changes that are elicited by helminth infection have not been sufficiently characterized. Furthermore, the reversibility of these changes after treatment has not been documented sufficiently. We studied the immune profiles of Ethiopian immigrants to Israel at baseline, that is on arrival and at one-year follow-up and compared individuals who received antihelminth treatment during the study period with those who missed the treatment.

METHODS: A longitudinal follow up study involving different groups of subjects was conducted. Baseline data was recorded from the newly arrived Ethiopian immigrants for a series of peripheral blood tests, including: IgE and Eosinophil levels, T-cell populations, T-cell receptor phenotypes, and cytokine measurement. These tests were all repeated after a 1-year interval. Results were compared between the newly arrived Ethiopian immigrants (NEW-Eth-Il), long term Ethiopian immigrants (LT-Eth-Il), and non Ethiopian Israeli controls (NON-Imm-Il).

RESULTS: Of the 184 individuals, 111 were NEW-Eth-Il, who had a high prevalence of helminth infection, the immunological changes were elevated IgE levels and eosinophil counts, decreased CD4/CD8 ratio, increased proportion of HLA-DR+CD3+, HLA-DR+CD4+ and HLA-DR+CD8+ cells, decreased proportion of CD45RA+CD4+ (naive) and CD28+CD8+ cells, increased proportion of CD45RO+CD4+ (memory) cells, and increased secretion of IL-4 and IL-5 (Th2 type cytokines). In the 42 LT-Eth-Il participants, who all had negative tests for helminth infection, we did not observe these immune changes and their immune profile did not differ markedly from that of the NON-Imm-Il controls. The follow-up immune profiles of 33 NEW-Eth-Il who received succesful antihelminth treatment, showed a significant normalization in the above-mentioned variables that was not observed in the 19 NEW-Eth-Il who missed and did not receive the antihelminth treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that helminth infection is associated with profound immune changes that are normalized within a short time after helminth eradication. They also strengthen the hypothesis that effective antihelminth interventions, in areas endemic for intestinal helminths, may have an impact on AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics.

Keywords: Helminth infections; antihelminth treatment; helminths immunology

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest

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