Supplemented nutrition decreases helminth burden and increases drug efficacy in a natural host-helminth system.

ABSTRACT: Gastrointestinal (GI) helminths are common parasites of humans, wildlife, and livestock, causing chronic infections. In humans and wildlife, poor nutrition or limited resources can compromise an individual's immune response, predisposing them to higher helminth burdens. This relationship has been tested in laboratory models by investigating infection outcomes following reductions of specific nutrients. However, much less is known about how diet supplementation can impact susceptibility to infection, acquisition of immunity, and drug efficacy in natural host-helminth systems. We experimentally supplemented the diet of wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) with high-quality nutrition and measured resistance to the common GI nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. To test whether diet can

SUBMITTER: Sweeny AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7893286 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature