Cytokines and immediate hypersensitivity in protective immunity to helminth infections

Abstract

Infection with tissue-invasive helminth infections characteristically induces immunological responses associated with immediate hypersensitivity such as IgE elevations, tissue and peripheral blood eosinophilia, and mast cell hyperplasia. Specific sets of cytokines appear to regulate these responses; the resulting responses reflect the balance of upregulatory and inhibitory signals these cytokines provide. The nature of these cytokines and their role in both protective immunity and pathogenesis in helminth infections of humans is the subject of this review.