1. The effect of three-monthly albendazole treatment on Th2 responses: Differential effects on IgE and IL-5.
- Author
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Ruiter, K., Tahapary, D. L., Wammes, L. J., Wiria, A. E., Hamid, F., Lieshout, L., Smit, J. W. A., Houwing‐Duistermaat, J. J., Sartono, E., Supali, T., and Yazdanbakhsh, M.
- Subjects
HELMINTHS ,IMMUNOGLOBULIN E ,INTERLEUKINS ,ALBENDAZOLE ,PHYTOHEMAGGLUTININS ,THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
Helminth parasites induce a strong Th2 response, characterized by high levels of IgE and elevated signature cytokines such as IL-5. As many global deworming programmes are underway, there is concern that this might lead to emergence of Th1-mediated pathologies when the counterbalancing helminth-induced Th2 response is absent. Therefore, we assessed the effect of deworming on Th2-mediated responses in a household-clustered randomized controlled trial in Indonesia. Total plasma IgE and whole-blood IL-5 responses to mitogen phytohaemagglutinin ( PHA) were measured in 1494 and 682 subjects, respectively, at baseline, 9 and 21 months after three-monthly single-dose treatment with albendazole or placebo. Anthelmintic treatment did not result in complete removal of helminth infections in the community. However, treatment significantly decreased IgE levels in albendazole- compared to placebo-treated subjects. IL-5 responses to PHA were not significantly affected by anthelmintic treatment and tended to increase in albendazole-treated subjects, indicating that intensive treatment of helminth parasites has different outcomes on B-cell (IgE levels) and T-cell ( IL-5) responses. The data shows that 2 years of deworming can have differential effects on responses typified as Th2-mediated, which needs to be taken into account when examining the impact of helminths on noncommunicable diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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