Schistosomiasis from a Snail's Perspective: Advances in Snail Immunity

The snail's immune response is an important determinant of schistosome infection success, acting in concert with host, parasite, and environmental factors. Coordinated by haemocytes and humoral factors, it possesses immunological hallmarks such as pattern recognition receptors, and predicted gastropod-unique factors like the immunoglobulin superfamily domain-containing fibrinogen-related proteins. Investigations into mechanisms that underpin snail-schistosome compatibility have advanced quickly, contributing functional insight to many observational studies. While the snail's immune response is important to continue studying from the perspective of evolutionary immunology, as the foundational determinants of snail-schistosome compatibility continue to be discovered, the possibility of exploiting the snail for schistosomiasis control moves closer into reach. Here, we review the current understanding of immune mechanisms that influence compatibility between Schistosoma mansoni and Biomphalaria glabrata.