title: Helminth infections: protection from atopic disorders.
abstract: Westernized countries are suffering from an epidemic rise in immunologic disorders, such as childhood allergy. A popular explanation is that the increased prevalence in allergy is due to a diminished or altered exposure to gut-dwelling microbes, resulting in a disordered immunoregulation. Various population studies have provided a strong case for the involvement of helminth infections in this respect. Detailed analysis of helminth-induced immune responses showed that helminths not only prime for polarized Th2 responses but also potently induce T-cell hyporesponsiveness. Recently, it has been demonstrated that helminths induce suppressed host immune responses by the priming for regulatory T cells. It is proposed that this regulatory T cell-inducing activity accounts for the protection observed in the development of allergic disorders. It would be interesting to define and characterize particular helminth molecules that have profound immunomodulatory capacities as a target for therapeutic application in the treatment or prophylaxis of allergic manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands. H.H.Smits@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Hermelijn H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.forename: Franca C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Hartgers
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yazdanbakhsh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens