Plasmodium and intestinal parasite perturbations of the infected host's inflammatory responses: a systematic review

Abstract

Co-infection of malaria and intestinal parasites is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and causes severe disease especially among the poorest populations. It has been shown that an intestinal parasite (helminth), mixed intestinal helminth or Plasmodium parasite infection in a human induces a wide range of cytokine responses, including anti-inflammatory, pro-inflammatory as well as regulatory cytokines. Although immunological interactions have been suggested to occur during a concurrent infection of helminths and Plasmodium parasites, different conclusions have been drawn on the influence this co-infection has on cytokine production. This review briefly discusses patterns of selected cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and INF-γ) responses associated with infections caused by Plasmodium, intestinal parasites as well as a Plasmodium-helminth co-infection.

Fig. 1

Distribution of people suspected to have malaria and children with soil-transmitted helminthiases. A map showing the global distribution of people in 2016 with suspected malaria (ovals) and children requiring helminth treatment (triangles). Countries with both an oval and a triangle are burdened with both diseases. The data for the soil-transmitted helminthiases was obtained from the Global Health Observatory (GHO) data [2] and the suspected malaria cases obtained from the 2017 WHO Malaria Report [1].