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Seeking the ghost of worms past

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Abstract

The mechanisms of protective immunity to parasite infections in humans are still elusive. Here, Woolhouse and Hagan discuss new evidence suggesting that the extremely slow development of acquired immunity to human schistosomes may depend on exposure to antigens from these worms after they die.

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Figure 1: Changes with age in infection and immune responses to schistosome infection.
Figure 2: The life cycle of human schistosomes.
Figure 3: Scanning electron micrograph of the surface syncytial tegument of an adult schistosome exposed to praziquantel in vitro.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Chandiwana, P. Ndhlovu, F. Mutapi, J. Kusel and the staff of the Blair Research Laboratory, Harare for their contributions to the work discussed here. The authors thank the European Commission, The Royal Society and the World Health Organization for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, EH25 9RG, Midlothian

    M.E.J. Woolhouse

  2. Division of Infection and Immunity IBLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ

    P. Hagan

Authors
  1. M.E.J. Woolhouse
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  2. P. Hagan
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Woolhouse, M., Hagan, P. Seeking the ghost of worms past. Nat Med 5, 1225–1227 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/15169

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