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Updated: May 21, 2026

Using Single-Worm Data to Quantify Heterogeneity in Caenorhabditis elegans-Bacterial Interactions
Published on: July 22, 2022
Remodeling parasite microenvironments: a cold-to-hot transformation
Jiaqi Wang1, Zeming Wu2, Xuemin Jin3
1State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Abstract:
The persistence of tissue-dwelling parasites represents a profound challenge in infectious disease management, traditionally attributed to intrinsic biochemical resistance against anthelmintic agents. However, cross-disciplinary evidence suggests that parasites orchestrate sophisticated spatial and immunological hijacking of host tissues. By actively constructing dense fibrotic barriers and upregulating critical immune checkpoints, these pathogens establish 'cold', tumor-like microenvironments that physically exclude and immunologically exhaust host effector cells. This opinion proposes a conceptual paradigm shift toward host-directed therapies and targeted nanomedicine. By adapting advanced oncological strategies-including stroma normalization, microenvironment-targeted immune checkpoint blockade, and localized stimulator of interferon genes agonist delivery-parasitic lesions can theoretically be transformed into immunologically 'hot' foci, thereby restoring endogenous immune clearance and exponentially enhancing the efficacy of conventional pharmacological interventions.
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