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Translatability of helminth therapy in inflammatory bowel diseases
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Translatability of helminth therapy in inflammatory bowel diseases

Joel V Weinstock and David E Elliott
International journal for parasitology, Vol.43(3-4), pp.245-251
03/2013
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.10.016
PMCID: PMC3683647
PMID: 23178819
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3683647View
Open Access

Abstract

[Display omitted] ► Hygiene and loss of helminthic infections contributed to the spread of inflammatory bowel diseases. ► Helminths have therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. ► They work through activation of regulatory T cells and modulation of dendritic cell function. ► They likely will prove safe in therapeutic applications. Modern hygienic lifestyles are associated with the emergence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which now afflicts millions of people in highly-developed countries. Meticulous hygiene interrupts conduits of transmission required for ubiquitous exposure to parasitic worms (helminths). We proposed that loss of exposure to helminths permits development of IBD. Early clinical trials suggested that exposure to helminths such as Trichuris suis or Necator americanus can improve IBD. Over the last several years, processes to “medicinalize”T. suis have been developed and use of this helminth is now being studied in large multi-center clinical trials. Concurrently, we and others have identified some of the immune regulatory mechanisms elicited by helminth exposure that suppress inappropriate intestinal inflammation. These efforts could soon result in new therapies for patients with IBD.
 IBD Colitis Dendritic cells Mucosa Helminths

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