Protective immunity to Schistosoma haematobium infection is primarily an anti-fecundity response stimulated by the death of adult worms
Authored by Kate M Mitchell, Francisca Mutapi, Nicholas J Savill, Mark E J Woolhouse
Date Published: 2012
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1121051109
Sponsors:
Wellcome Trust
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
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Abstract
Protective immunity against human schistosome infection develops slowly, for reasons that are not yet fully understood. For many decades, researchers have attempted to infer properties of the immune response
from epidemiological studies, with mathematical models frequently being
used to bridge the gap between immunological theory and population-level
data on schistosome infection and immune responses. Here, building upon
earlier model findings, stochastic individual-based models were used to
identify model structures consistent with observed field patterns of
Schistosoma haematobium infection and antibody responses, including
their distributions in cross-sectional surveys, and the observed
treatment-induced antibody switch. We found that the observed patterns
of infection and antibody were most consistent with models in which a
long-lived protective antibody response is stimulated by the death of
adult S. haematobium worms and reduces worm fecundity. These findings
are discussed with regard to current understanding of human immune
responses to schistosome infection.
Tags
Epidemiology
patterns
Aggregation
Chemotherapy
Recognition
Age
Mansoni
Praziquantel
Intensity
Profiles