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Worms tame mast cells

Nature Medicine volume 13, pages 1288–1289 (2007)Cite this article

A protein produced by parasitic roundworms that inhibits the inflammatory response is shown to prevent mast cell activation. The protein could potentially be used for the management of allergies and asthma (pages 1375–1381).

Helminth nematodes are incredibly successful pathogens, afflicting billions of people and causing such 'neglected' tropical diseases as elephantiasis and river blindness. Chronic infections require a fine-tuned host-parasite relationship if both parties are to survive and reproduce. In this dynamic, the parasites produce anti-inflammatory mediators to maintain a permissive environment. The best-studied helminth-derived immune response modulator is ES-62 (ref. 1), a protein made by filarial nematodes.

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Figure 1: ES-62, a secreted phosphorylcholine-containing glycoprotein from a parasitic helminth, inhibits FcɛRI-initiated mast cell activation.

Kim Caesar

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edward J. Pearce is in the Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 380 South University Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. ejpearce@mail.med.upenn.edu,

    Edward J Pearce

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  1. Edward J Pearce
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Pearce, E. Worms tame mast cells. Nat Med 13, 1288–1289 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1107-1288

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