title: Polyparasitism and its impact on the immune system.
abstract: Parasitic infections are common in many tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and concomitant infection, polyparasitism, is the rule rather than the exception in such areas. At the immunological level, different parasites induce quite different responses characterised, for example, by protozoa that polarise responses towards Th1, whilst helminths are strong Th2 and regulatory T cell inducers. The question of how the co-existence of such parasites within the same host might influence the immunological responses to each species and, more importantly, whether such interactions affect resistance, susceptibility or clinical outcome, needs to be addressed in well-designed studies of sufficient power. The current paper discusses what we know as well as the gaps in our knowledge of polyparasitism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, University of Indonesia, Faculty of Medicine, Salemba Raya, Jakarta, Indonesia. taniawati@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Taniawati
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Supali
authors.forename: Jaco J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Verweij
authors.forename: Aprilianto Eddy
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Wiria
authors.forename: Yenny
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Djuardi
authors.forename: Firdaus
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.forename: Maria M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kaisar
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wammes
authors.forename: Lisette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Lieshout
authors.forename: Adrian J F
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Luty
authors.forename: Erliyani
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sartono
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yazdanbakhsh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000502:physiology