Effects of helminth co-infections on atopy, asthma and cytokine production in children living in a poor urban area in Latin America

Helminths are modulators of the host immune system, and infections with these parasites have been associated with protection against allergies and autoimmune diseases. The human host is often infected with multiple helminth parasites and most studies to date have investigated the effects of helminth...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC research notes Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 817
Main Authors:	Alcântara-Neves, Neuza Maria, de S G Britto, Gabriela, Veiga, Rafael Valente, Figueiredo, Camila A, Fiaccone, Rosimeire Leovigildo, da Conceição, Jackson S, Cruz, Álvaro Augusto, Rodrigues, Laura Cunha, Cooper, Philip John, Pontes-de-Carvalho, Lain C, Barreto, Maurício Lima
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 19-11-2014 BioMed Central
Subjects:	Age Allergic reaction Allergies Allergy Analysis Animals Ascaris Asthma Asthma - blood Asthma - complications Asthma - parasitology Biomarkers - metabolism Care and treatment Child Child, Preschool Cities Coinfection - blood Coinfection - complications Coinfection - parasitology Confidence intervals Cytokines - biosynthesis Cytokines - blood Dermatitis, Atopic - blood Dermatitis, Atopic - complications Dermatitis, Atopic - parasitology Diagnosis Eosinophilia - blood Eosinophilia - complications Female Genetic aspects Health aspects Helminthiasis - blood Helminthiasis - complications Helminths - physiology Humans Hypersensitivity, Immediate - complications Hypersensitivity, Immediate - immunology Immunoglobulin E Immunoglobulin E - blood Infections Laboratories Latin America Leukocytes, Mononuclear - metabolism Lymphocytes Male Medical research Medicine, Experimental Models, Biological Nematoda Parasites Parasites - physiology Population Poverty Risk factors Sanitation Skin Tests Studies Toxocara Trichuris trichiura Brazil
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Helminths are modulators of the host immune system, and infections with these parasites have been associated with protection against allergies and autoimmune diseases. The human host is often infected with multiple helminth parasites and most studies to date have investigated the effects of helminths in the context of infections with single parasite or types of parasites (e.g. geohelminths). In this study, we investigated how co-infections with three nematodes affect markers of allergic inflammation and asthma in children. We selected Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, two parasites that inhabit the human intestine and Toxocara spp (Toxocara canis and/or T. cati), intestinal roundworms of dogs and cats that cause systemic larval infection in humans. These parasites were selected as the most prevalent helminth parasites in our study population. 36.4% of children were infected with one parasite; 12.7% with 2 and 5.2% with 3. Eosinophilia>4% and >10% was present in 74.3% and 25.5% of the children, respectively. Total IgE>200 IU/mL, sIgE≥0.70 kU/L and SPT positivity were present in 59.7%, 37.1% and 30% of the children, respectively. 22.7% had recent asthma (12.0% non-atopic and 10.7% atopic). Helminth infections were associated in a dose-dependent way to decrease in the prevalence of SPT and increase in eosinophilia, total IgE, and the production of the regulatory cytokine IL-10 by unstimulated peripheral blood leukocytes. No association with asthma was observed. Helminth co-infections in this population were associated with increased markers of the Th2 immune response, and with a host immune regulatory phenotype that may suppress allergic effector responses such as immediate hypersensitivity reactions in the skin.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1756-0500 1756-0500
DOI:	10.1186/1756-0500-7-817