Hookworms Could Aid In Asthma Treatment

Highlights

Previous clinical trials with hookworms have been found to be effective in inflammatory conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.
To survive, the parasitic worms secrete a protein that regulate the host immune system by changing T cells from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory state.
Though IBD and asthma are very different conditions, what they have in common is a defect in the regulation of the immune system.
Parasitic hookworms could be used as promising treatment candidates in individuals with allergies such as asthma.

Asthmatics could breathe easier in the future with help from parasitic hookworms.

Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) researchers, at James Cook University (JCU) in Cairns, Australia, have identified a protein secreted by hookworms that suppresses asthma in mice.

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It's a lung condition characterized by inflammation of the bronchi and constriction of the airways that result in coughing, wheezing or breathlessness. Allergy and other airway irritants can trigger it

‘The protein secreted by the parasitic worm, modify the host immune system from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory state. This could be used against the inappropriate inflammation that characterizes autoimmune diseases and allergy.’

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The asthma study, published in Science Translational Medicine, tested a recombinant form of the protein on both mice and human cells.

The protein, AIP-2, was tested in vitro on human cells - from people allergic to dust mites, a common asthma trigger. The testes indicate the protein is also a promising candidate as a treatment for humans with allergies such as asthma.

Mice treated with the worm protein showed an extensive suppression of inflammatory responses after exposure to an allergen. The protein was administered through an injection or intranasal means.

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Professor Alex Loukas, head of JCU's Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, said AIP-2 showed great promise as a potential treatment for allergies, which affect nearly a billion people worldwide, costing over $9 billion per year in Australia alone.

Previous AITHM research had looked into possible treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including clinical trials that established experimental hookworm infection as an effective anti-inflammatory treatment for people with coeliac disease. “After our initial success with IBD, asthma was our next logical goal,” JCU immunologist Dr Severine Navarro said.

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Although IBD and asthma are very different conditions, what they have in common is a defect in the regulation of the immune system, which results in overwhelming inflammatory processes.

'To survive and remain undetected in the human gut, parasitic worms regulate their human host's immune response. We aim to use that to control the inappropriate inflammation that characterizes autoimmune diseases and allergy,” Dr Navarro said.

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“Our previous work on inflammatory bowel disease established that hookworm proteins can change T cells from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory,” Dr Navarro said. 'The good news is that this doesn't just protect the gut, it also protects other organs, such as the airways, where asthma develops.”

“In our initial work on IBD we infected some very committed trial participants with actual hookworms. We have since established that the protective properties of hookworms lie in their oral secretions. More recently, we've isolated AIP-2, one of the most abundant proteins in that secretion mixture.” Professor Alex Loukas, said.

The recombinant form of AIP-2 used in the study, can now be reproduced in large quantities.

'This is an exciting development for us, because it means we're another step closer to being able to put a pill-based treatment into clinical trials, not just for asthma but also for other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.” Prof.Loukas said.

Source-Medindia