Controlled infection with cryopreserved human hookworm induces CTLA-4 expression on Tregs and upregulates tryptophan metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Infecting humans with controlled doses of helminths, such as human hookworm (termed hookworm therapy), is proposed to prevent or treat various intestinal and extraintestinal diseases. However, full-scale clinical trials examining hookworm therapy are limited by the inability to scale-up the production of hookworm larvae to infect sufficient numbers of patients. With the aim of overcoming this challenge, this study infected four healthy individuals with hookworm larvae that had been reanimated from cryopreserved eggs to examine their viability and immunogenicity. We demonstrate that reanimated cryopreserved hookworm larvae establish a viable hookworm infection and elicit a similar immune response to larvae cultured from fresh stool. Furthermore, a refined understanding of the therapeutic me

SUBMITTER: Vacca F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11485773 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature