Immunology of Parasitic Helminth Infections

Helminths remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries (22). While excellent drugs are available to treat many helminth infections, they remain relatively expensive and/or difficult to administer systematically in situations where so many other vital needs compete for limited resources. The absence of vaccines, the amenability of several mouse models of helminth infection to experimental analysis, the suitability of helminth infections for studying the immunobiology of chronic infection and of Th2 response development, the possibility of molecular cross-talk between helminths and the mammalian immune system, and the developing realization that helminth infections affect the ability of an individual to mount immune responses against other Ag (self or nonself) make the immunology of helminth infection an important, challenging, and exciting choice for investigation.