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Updated: Aug 2, 2025
Cultivation of Heligmosomoides Polygyrus: An Immunomodulatory Nematode Parasite and its Secreted Products
Published on: April 6, 2015
Dangerous liaisons: how helminths manipulate the intestinal epithelium
Danielle Karo-Atar1, Alex Gregorieff2, Irah L King3
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Meakins-Christie Laboratories, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McGill Regenerative Medicine Network, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract:
Intestinal helminths remain highly pervasive throughout the animal kingdom by modulating multiple aspects of the host immune response. The intestinal epithelium functions as a physical barrier as well as a sentinel innate immune tissue with the ability to sense and respond to infectious agents. Although helminths form intimate interactions with the epithelium, comprehensive knowledge about host-helminth interactions at this dynamic interface is lacking. In addition, little is known about the ability of helminths to directly shape the fate of this barrier tissue. Here, we review the diverse pathways by which helminths regulate the epithelium and highlight the emerging field of direct helminth regulation of intestinal stem cell (ISC) fate and function.
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