The therapeutic potential of the filarial nematode-derived immunodulator, ES-62 in inflammatory disease.
The dramatic recent rise in the incidence of allergic or autoimmune inflammatory diseases in the West has been proposed to reflect the lack of appropriate priming of the immune response by infectious agents such as parasitic worms during childhood. Consistent with this, there is increasing evidence supporting an inverse relationship between worm infection and T helper type 1/17 (Th1/17)-based inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Perhaps more surprisingly, given that such worms often induce strong Th2-type immune responses, there also appears to be an inverse correlation between parasite load and atopy. These findings therefore suggest that the co-evolution of helminths with hosts, which has resulted in the ability of worms to modulate inflammatory responses to promote parasite survival, has also produced the benefit of protecting the host from pathological lesions arising from aggressive proinflammatory responses to infection or, indeed, aberrant inflammatory responses underlying autoimmune and allergic disorders. By focusing upon the properties of the filarial nematode-derived immunomodulatory molecule, ES-62, in this review we shall discuss the potential of exploiting the immunomodulatory products of parasitic worms to identify and develop novel therapeutics for inflammation.
Harnett
M M
MM
Division of Immunology, Infection and Inflammation, Glasgow Biomedical Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. m.harnett@bio.gla.ac.uk
Melendez
A J
AJ
Harnett
W
W
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D005368:Filariasis / Q000276:immunology; D005370:Filarioidea / Q000276:immunology; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; C435884:ES-62 protein, Acanthocheilonema viteae; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D007155:Immunologic Factors