{"title":"Controlled human helminth infection models: insights into type 2 immunity and therapeutic development.","authors":"H Richard Droghini, Thomas B Nutman, P'ng Loke","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2026.02.009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Controlled human infection models are powerful tools for evaluating pathogenesis, immune responses, vaccines, and therapeutics, including parasitic helminths. Helminths have also been tested as inflammatory disease therapeutics. This review focuses on immune responses during controlled infections with Trichuris species, Necator americanus, and Schistosoma mansoni. Over 700 participants have been experimentally infected across 33 studies to date. These models reveal significant heterogeneity in type 2-associated responses among individuals for all infections. While eosinophilia is most frequently observed, mixed Th1/Th2 responses in CD4+ T cells accompanied by IL-10 production and T regulatory cells are often observed in some individuals. Generally, controlled helminth infection models are safe and answer basic questions on type 2 responses. Improved immunophenotyping will guide future therapeutic applications and vaccine development.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":"264-274"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6000,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12987545/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Trends in parasitology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2026.02.009","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/3/7 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Controlled human infection models are powerful tools for evaluating pathogenesis, immune responses, vaccines, and therapeutics, including parasitic helminths. Helminths have also been tested as inflammatory disease therapeutics. This review focuses on immune responses during controlled infections with Trichuris species, Necator americanus, and Schistosoma mansoni. Over 700 participants have been experimentally infected across 33 studies to date. These models reveal significant heterogeneity in type 2-associated responses among individuals for all infections. While eosinophilia is most frequently observed, mixed Th1/Th2 responses in CD4+ T cells accompanied by IL-10 production and T regulatory cells are often observed in some individuals. Generally, controlled helminth infection models are safe and answer basic questions on type 2 responses. Improved immunophenotyping will guide future therapeutic applications and vaccine development.
期刊介绍：
Since its inception as Parasitology Today in 1985, Trends in Parasitology has evolved into a highly esteemed review journal of global significance, reflecting the importance of medical and veterinary parasites worldwide. The journal serves as a hub for communication among researchers across all disciplines of parasitology, encompassing endoparasites, ectoparasites, transmission vectors, and susceptible hosts.
Each monthly issue of Trends in Parasitology offers authoritative, cutting-edge, and yet accessible review articles, providing a balanced and comprehensive overview, along with opinion pieces offering personal and novel perspectives. Additionally, the journal publishes a variety of short articles designed to inform and stimulate thoughts in a lively and widely-accessible manner. These include Science & Society (discussing the interface between parasitology and the general public), Spotlight (highlighting recently published research articles), Forum (presenting single-point hypotheses), Parasite/Vector of the Month (featuring a modular display of the selected species), Letter (providing responses to recent articles in Trends in Parasitology), and Trendstalk (conducting interviews). Please note that the journal exclusively publishes literature reviews based on published data, with systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and unpublished primary research falling outside our scope.
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