Deciphering host-helminth cross talk – the battle for clearance or chronicity
Event details
| Date | 23.05.2013 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Nicola Harris |
| Location |
SV 1717 A
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Intestinal helminth infections are the most widespread and prevalent of all parasitic diseases, infecting one in three of the world's population. Though not usually lethal, these parasites are major causes of host morbidity particularly within children. No vaccines are currently available. Our work has provided grounds for optimism in the search for effective vaccines by revealing that parasite-specific antibodies can control intestinal worm infection. We also showed that helminths have evolved the ability to divert the host immune response away from production of ‘protective’ antibodies and towards ‘non-specific’ antibodies, allowing parasite chronicity. These findings had clear implications for basic parasitology and for vaccine development, yet they also highlighted how little is known about protection from these pathogens. We thus undertook further work to discover the precise mechanisms through which antibodies provide anti-helminth immunity. Our first studies identified a crucial role for antibodies in promoting basophil hematopoiesis within the bone marrow. We additionally found that antibodies were key for macrophage mediated control of helminths; specifically, antibodies allowed macrophages to adhere to tissue invasive larvae, they modulated macrophage gene expression and reduced larval motility. Antibody-induced macrophage trapping of helminth larvae functioned to prevent the parasite from completing its lifecycle and acted to protect the host against extensive tissue damage. Current work in our laboratory is focused on expanding these findings to investigate the impact of antibodies on tissue damage and repair mechanisms.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- SV Faculty
Contact
- M. Mary / H. Hirling