Determinants of resistance in human schistosomiasis

描述（由申请人提供）：曼氏血吸虫感染仍然是非洲大部分地区的一个主要公共卫生问题，现在很清楚，慢性曼氏血吸虫感染可导致严重和轻微的发病率。后者被低估了，但可能对全球整体公共卫生产生更大的影响。我们和其他人有证据表明，吡喹酮治疗后，特别是当涉及多轮治疗和再感染时，可以产生对病毒体再感染的抵抗力。了解导致严重和轻微发病的免疫反应，并负责抵抗再感染和免疫调节这些反应可能是重要的，在确定有效的大规模化疗的时间表，以及超越大规模化疗作为唯一的控制手段。虽然血吸虫病是一种公共卫生威胁，但它也会影响不相关的免疫反应;例如，对现有疫苗以及新候选疫苗的临床试验、合并感染、特应性过敏和自身免疫性疾病。本提案的目的是：a）更好地理解与发病率和再感染抵抗力相关的潜在免疫调节和免疫应答;和B）确定血吸虫病对血吸虫病母亲所生婴儿和血吸虫病治疗前后免疫的成人的标准扩大免疫规划疫苗应答的影响。具体目标是：1）血吸虫病中调节性T细胞和Th 17细胞的功能分析; 2）血吸虫病控制中吡喹酮标准年度大规模给药后儿童免疫应答改变和发病率的分析; 3）血吸虫病对受感染母亲所生儿童和成人中与疫苗诱导的免疫应答的影响的建立和机制。每个具体目标都是基于初步发现和血吸虫病人类免疫学文献产生的假设。这项研究将在肯尼亚基苏穆及其附近的人群中进行，那里全年都有S。mansoni在维多利亚湖，并基于14年的合作，纵向研究。这些方法主要是分析明确的临床和流行病学结果与免疫参数之间的关系，如：流式细胞术检测外周血白细胞表型;全血培养对嗜酸性粒细胞和其他抗原的反应，然后对产生的细胞因子和血浆抗体水平进行多重分析。这些研究将产生实用的、与公共卫生相关的发现，例如蠕虫治疗后免疫接种前所需的时间，以及可能优化大规模药物管理控制计划以降低感染相关的发病率。他们还将回答有关血吸虫病期间免疫调节的基本免疫学问题，以及寄生虫感染如何改变适应性免疫反应。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Infection with Schistosoma mansoni remains a major public health problem in much of Africa, and it is now clear that chronic schistosome infections can lead to both severe and subtle morbidity. The latter is under- estimated, but likely has the greater impact on overall global public health. We and others have evidence that resistance to reinfection with schistosomes can develop after praziquantel treatment, especially when this involves multiple rounds of treatments and reinfections. Understanding the immune responses that cause severe and subtle morbidity and are responsible for resistance to reinfection and the immunoregulation of those responses may be important in determining effective scheduling of mass chemotherapy as well as moving beyond mass chemotherapy as the only means of control. While schistosomiasis is a public health threat, it can also impact unrelated immune responses; for example, to current vaccines and in situations like clinical trials of new candidate vaccines, co-infections, atopic allergies and autoimmune diseases. The objectives of this proposal are to: a) achieve a better understanding of the underlying immunoregulation and immune responses that correlate with both morbidity and resistance to reinfection; and b) determine the impact of schistosomiasis on standard Expanded Program of Immunization vaccine responses in infants born of mothers with schistosomiasis and adults immunized before or after treatment for their schistosomiasis. The Specific Aims are: 1) Functional analyses of T regulatory and Th17 cells in schistosomiasis; 2) Analyses of the development of altered immune responses and morbidity in children following standard annual mass drug administration with praziquantel for control of schistosomiasis; and 3) Establishment and mechanisms of the impact of schistosomiasis on non-schistosome related vaccine-induced immune responses in children born of infected mothers, and in adults. Each Specific Aim is based on hypotheses generated from preliminary findings and the literature on human immunology in schistosomiasis. The research will be done with cohorts in and near Kisumu, Kenya, where there is year-round transmission of S. mansoni in Lake Victoria, and is based on 14 years of collaborative, longitudinal studies. The methodologies will primarily be analyses of the relationships between well defined clinical and epidemiologic findings and such immune parameters as: peripheral blood leukocyte phenotyping by flow cytometry; responses to schistosome and other antigens by whole blood cultures followed by multiplex analyses of the cytokines produced, and plasma antibody levels. These studies will produce practical, public health-related findings, such as the time needed after helminth treatment before immunizations, and possible optimization of mass drug administration control programs to achieve reductions in infection-associated morbidity. They will also answer basic immunologic questions about immunoregulation during schistosomiasis and how schistosome infections alter adaptive immune responses.