Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan;40(1):e12506.
doi: 10.1111/pim.12506. Epub 2017 Dec 15.

Schistosoma mansoni-specific immune responses and allergy in Uganda

G Nkurunungi  1   2 , J Kabagenyi  1 , M Nampijja  1 , R E Sanya  1   3 , B Walusimbi  1 , J Nassuuna  1 , E L Webb  4 , A M Elliott  1   2 ; LaVIISWA study team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Schistosoma mansoni-specific immune responses and allergy in Uganda

G Nkurunungi et al. Parasite Immunol. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Low allergy-related disease (ARD) prevalence in low-income countries may be partly attributed to helminth infections. In the Schistosoma mansoni (Sm)-endemic Lake Victoria islands (Uganda), we recently observed positive helminth-allergy associations, despite low ARD prevalence. To understand how Sm-induced cytokine and antibody profiles might influence allergic response profiles in this population, we assessed Schistosoma worm (SWA)- and egg antigen (SEA)-specific Th1 (IFN-γ), Th2 (IL-5, IL-13) and regulatory (IL-10) cytokine profiles (n = 407), and total (n = 471), SWA-, SEA- and allergen (house dust mite [HDM] and cockroach)-specific (as)IgE and IgG4 profiles (n = 2117) by ELISA. Wheeze was inversely associated with SWA-specific IFN-γ (P < .001) and IL-10 (P = .058), and SEA-specific IL-5 (P = .004). Conversely, having a detectable asIgE response was positively associated with SWA-specific IL-5 (P = .006) and IL-10 (P < .001). Total, SWA-, SEA- and allergen-specific IgE and IgG4 responses were higher among Sm Kato-Katz positive (SmKK+) and skin prick test (SPT)+ individuals compared to SmKK- and SPT- individuals. However, total and asIgG4/IgE ratios were lower among SPT+ and wheezing individuals. We conclude that, in this population, helminth-induced antibody and cytokine responses may underlie individual positive helminth-atopy associations, while the overall IgG4-IgE balance may contribute to the low overall prevalence of clinical allergies in such settings.

Keywords: ELISA; Schistosoma spp; allergy; cytokine; immunoglobulin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
We hypothesize that the Th2 cytokine‐induced Sm‐specific IgE promotes potent, Sm‐specific, atopic effector responses and Sm elimination from the host, and also cross‐reactive responses to some allergens, resulting in positive Sm‐allergy associations. By contrast, Sm‐specific IL‐10, IgG4 and/or nonspecific polyclonally stimulated IgE inhibit these allergy‐related outcomes. White and shaded arrows denote promotion and inhibition, respectively
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tyagi N, Farnell EJ, Fitzsimmons CM, et al. Comparisons of Allergenic and Metazoan Parasite Proteins: Allergy the Price of Immunity. PLoS Comput Biol. 2015;11:e1004546. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dunne DW, Butterworth AE, Fulford AJ, et al. Immunity after treatment of human schistosomiasis: association between IgE antibodies to adult worm antigens and resistance to reinfection. Eur J Immunol. 1992;22:1483‐1494. - PubMed
    1. Dunne DW, Webster M, Smith P, et al. The isolation of a 22 kDa band after SDS‐PAGE of Schistosoma mansoni adult worms and its use to demonstrate that IgE responses against the antigen(s) it contains are associated with human resistance to reinfection. Parasite Immunol. 1997;19:79‐89. - PubMed
    1. Smits HH, Everts B, Hartgers FC, Yazdanbakhsh M. Chronic helminth infections protect against allergic diseases by active regulatory processes. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2010;10:3‐12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hamid F, Amoah AS, van Ree R, Yazdanbakhsh M. Helminth‐induced IgE and protection against allergic disorders. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015;388:91‐108. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms