Hookworm infections continue to impose a substantial burden on human and animal health, but the early host responses that influence parasite establishment are not fully characterized. Experimental models that reproduce key features of hookworm biology and host-parasite interactions remain essential for advancing translational research. In this study, we examined hematological, biochemical, immunological, and parasitological parameters during the acute phase of experimental hookworm infection using the Ancylostoma ceylanicum-Mesocricetus auratus model, a small-animal system widely employed for mechanistic studies of hookworm infection. Animals were evaluated at 7 and 20 days post-infection. Hematological indices and serum iron concentrations did not differ between infected and control groups during the acute phase. In contrast, infected animals showed increased splenic mass at 20 days post-infection, indicating immunological activation. Hepatic hepcidin expression was markedly reduced, suggesting an early alteration in systemic iron regulation. Analysis of inflammatory mediators revealed selective modulation of cytokine expression, with reduced interleukin-6 transcript levels at 20 days post-infection, whereas tumor necrosis factor alpha expression remained unchanged. Parasitological analyses demonstrated progressive parasite establishment, with fecal egg output detected from 14 days post-infection and reaching approximately 300 eggs per gram by day 18, consistent with the onset of patency. Taken together, these data indicate that acute hookworm infection induces coordinated changes in immune responses and iron metabolism before the development of overt hematological alterations.
Roundworm nematodes are globally distributed zoonotic parasites that inhabit the intestinal tract of various mammals. Although these parasites reside in the host's guts, their own intestinal ecosystems remain poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that helminths may harbor distinct gut microbiomes that contribute to their physiology and host interactions, yet cross-species comparisons are lacking. Here, we performed full-length 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize and compare the gut microbiomes of four major roundworm species-Ascaris suum (As), Baylisascaris schroederi (Bs), Toxocara cati (Tc), and Toxocara vitulorum (Tv). Across 38 individual worms, we identified 359 bacterial taxa dominated by Enterobacteriaceae, with Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Klebsiella pneumoniae forming a conserved core community. Despite this compositional similarity, beta-diversity and hierarchical clustering analyses revealed that microbial community structure was primarily determined by parasite phylogeny and roundworm sex, not host diet. Functional prediction using PICRUSt2 indicated clear species-specific enrichment in metabolic pathways, such as carbohydrate metabolism in Bs and xenobiotic metabolism in As, reflecting adaptive divergence of microbial functions. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that roundworm gut microbiomes exhibited taxonomic conservation but functional specialization, shaped by the evolutionary history of the parasites themselves. This study established a conceptual framework viewing the parasite as the primary host of its microbiome and provided new insights into the co-evolutionary relationships between helminths and their symbiotic bacteria.
Anemia remains a significant global public health challenge, affecting approximately 25% of the world's population and disproportionately impacting pregnant women, with an estimated 40% prevalence worldwide. Intestinal helminth infections exacerbate this burden, with anemia prevalence reported as high as 55.6% among infected pregnant women compared to 16.4% in those uninfected. This study aimed to determine the burden of anemia and its determinants among pregnant women with helminthiasis attending antenatal care at tertiary Hospitals in western Uganda. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st November 2022-1st March 2023, enrolling 420 pregnant women diagnosed with helminthiasis attending antenatal clinics. Data were collected via interviewer-administered questionnaires and laboratory records. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 23 to identify factors independently associated with anemia. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 26.2% (95% CI: 22.2-30.6), with 39.1% (95% CI: 30.5-48.4) mild, 35.5% (95% CI: 27.1-44.7) moderate, and 25.5% (95% CI: 18.2-34.3) severe cases. Multivariate analysis showed that moderate and heavy hookworm intensities increased anemia risk nearly two-fold (aOR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.16-3.54; p = 0.028) and 2.4-fold (aOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.06-5.41; p = 0.041), respectively. Protective factors included being a student (aOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.05-0.63; p = 0.008), deworming ≥3 months prior (aOR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.01-0.88; p = 0.038), using borehole water (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.36-1.00; p = 0.048), and gestational age 14-27 weeks (aOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.35-0.92; p = 0.020). Conclusions: Maternal anemia showed a clear dose-response with hookworm intensity, with risk increasing from moderate to heavy infection. Delayed deworming and unsafe water increased odds, whereas being a student and second-trimester gestation were protective. Timely anthelminthic treatment, improved water access, and strengthened antenatal care are critical in endemic settings.
An origami worm-inspired robot is developed to achieve multimodal locomotion and multifunctional operation within confined and complex pipeline environments. The robot integrates eight Yoshimura-origami crawling modules driven by pneumatic muscles, two rolling modules with deployable flaps, and a shape-memory alloy (SMA)-actuated waterbomb gripper, forming a compact and modular mechatronic system. A unified gait-generation framework enables 25 distinct locomotion gaits, including earthworm-like peristaltic crawling (rectilinear, sidewinding, and circular), inchworm-like two-anchor crawling, and bidirectional wheel-rolling. Kinematic modeling predicts performance across modes and exhibits qualitative agreement with experiments, with deviations attributed to stick-slip and frictional effects. The robot demonstrates robust mobility in a complex industrial pipeline scenario involving inclined, curved, variable-diameter, and discontinuous pipes, as well as vertical detection and large-diameter traversal. Coordinated actuation between the pneumatic and SMA systems allows effective grasping and swallowing-like manipulation of objects with varied stiffness. The integrated design achieves high maneuverability, environmental adaptability, and functional versatility, providing a promising platform for inspection, detection, and maintenance tasks in constrained engineering environments.
This study investigates the protrusion mechanism of the unsegmented marine worm Phascolosoma stephensoni to inspire new actuation strategies for soft robotics. A magnetically-driven, soft fluidic transmission mechanism is developed to deploy a proboscis-like structure, achieving an elongation ratio of up to 2.5 relative to the system initial resting length. The design integrates an active fluid-filled trunk with four magnetic bending units (15 mm x 30 mm x 2mm) and a passive proboscis housed inside during rest. Under external magnetic field sources, the units compress the trunk, driving the proboscis deployment through fluid displacement, while hyperelastic passive strips enable its retraction when the magnetic field is switched off. The units were fabricated from DragonSkin-10 silicone with 5 μm-NdFeB particles at concentrations ranging from 40 to 70 wt%. Increasing particle content from 40 to 70 wt% yields a magnetization gain up to ~200% and marked improvements in bending performance. A trunk analytical model was developed and validated with 2.4% error to guide the proboscis design. Final performances were evaluated in terms of proboscis displacement (up to 45 mm, i.e. ratio of up to 2.5 relative to the system initial resting length), internal pressure variation (up to 3 kPa), and tip force (up to 1 N). These results demonstrate how optimizing magneto-mechanical properties enables a fully soft, wirelessly actuated fluidic transmission mechanism, paving the way for applications such as targeted delivery in constrained and delicate environments.
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We describe a new species of pisionid annelid, Pisione mizuchi sp. nov., found from rivers on Sado Island, Japan. This species represents the second known member of the genus Pisione Grube, 1857 to inhabit freshwater environments. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the absence of elongated ventral cirri on segment 2 and dorsal cirri on segment 3, the absence of bilobed prechaetal lobes, the presence of four chaetae per parapodium, and a single pair of male copulatory organs associated with strongly modified parapodia. A phylogenetic tree of Pisioninae based on four molecular markers (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA) is also provided.
Background/Objectives: The flavonoid quercetin (Q) has recently been suggested as a natural anti-aging and senolytic agent. However, its low stability and poor oral bioavailability may limit its efficacy. To address this, we investigated whether a lecithin-based formulation of Q, Quercefit™ (QF), enhances stress resistance and delays aging in vivo. Methods: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was used as an animal model to evaluate the effects of QF under physiological and stress conditions. Unformulated Q was administered as a control. Worm survival, healthspan, resistance to thermal and oxidative stress, and expression of stress- and longevity-related genes were assessed. All the experiments were conducted at least in triplicate, each including a minimum of 15 worms. The data were analyzed using Student's t-test, one-way or two-way ANOVA, and Bonferroni's post hoc test. Results: One hundred micromolar Q administered in QF was more effective than equimolar unformulated Q in increasing the worms' ability to resist acute thermal stress at 35 °C (tested on 75 worms/group) and oxidative stress caused by 0.5 mM hydrogen peroxide (tested on 75 worms/group). In this last case, the protective effect of QF was similar to that of N-acetylcysteine and ascorbic acid. Under experimental conditions mimicking the long-term consequences of thermal stress, QF, like Q, increased the worms' lifespan and healthspan by approximately 50%, counteracting the age-related decline associated with stress (120 worms/group). These benefits are supported by QF's capacity to act as a reactive oxygen species scavenger; suppress heat-shock element gene transcription activated by thermal stress, such as hsp-16.2 and hsp-70, and stimulate the sod-3 and gst-4 genes that are involved in antioxidant and detoxification responses. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Q, when administered in the QF formulation, can act at the transcriptional level to protect against aging induced by stressful conditions.
Trichinellosis is a globally significant zoonotic parasitic disease for which effective preventive strategies remain elusive. Our previous studies identified Ts-Hsp70 as a promising vaccine candidate antigen against Trichinella spiralis, although its precise mechanism of immune protection is not fully understood. Macrophages (Mφ) play pivotal roles in anti-helminth immunity and undergo dynamic M1/M2 polarization shifts during different stages of T. spiralis infection. To investigate whether Ts-Hsp70 enhances host resistance against T. spiralis infection by reprogramming macrophage polarization to provide multi-stage protection. The role of macrophages in worm expulsion was confirmed via macrophage depletion using clodronate liposomes (CloA). In vivo, cytokine levels (ELISA) and macrophage polarization (flow cytometry, immunofluorescence) were assessed in the spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), intestine, and muscle of Ts-Hsp70-immunized mice at 1, 5, 15, and 30 days post-infection (dpi). In vitro studies evaluated the direct effects of Ts-Hsp70 on macrophage phenotype, phagocytic capacity, and T-cell activation. Macrophage depletion significantly abrogated Ts-Hsp70-mediated expulsion of both adult worms (early stage) and muscle larvae (mid-late stage). In vivo, Ts-Hsp70 immunization promoted a sustained M1-dominated response, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α) and reduced anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) in serum. This shift significantly increased M1/M2 ratios across peripheral organs (spleen, MLN) and local infection sites (intestine, muscle) during mid-late infection. In vitro, Ts-Hsp70 directly induced M1 markers (iNOS, CD80, TNF-α), enhanced phagocytic activity, and promoted CD4+T-cell proliferation. Ts-Hsp70 confers dual-stage protection against T. spiralis by sustaining M1 macrophage polarization-promoting early adult worm expulsion and disrupting larval survival in later stages. These findings elucidate the mechanism underlying Ts-Hsp70-induced immune protection and reinforce its potential as an effective vaccine antigen against trichinellosis.
Oral lichen planus (OLP), known as a common and chronic mucosal inflammatory disease. Due to its potential for cancerous transformation, this disease has long been a subject of significant concern. Its pathogenesis is that an unknown antigen activates oral keratinocytes and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the epithelium, leading to a T cell-mediated immune response. This study investigates the regulatory role of HIF-1α transcription factor and the potential role of autophagy in a simulated OLP inflammatory cell model. In this study, by comparing the control group with the model group, we observed a notable up-regulation of HIF1A mRNA expression. Additionally, both the autophagy marker protein LC3-II and its substrate p62 exhibited abnormal accumulation, suggesting that autophagy is impaired at the lysosomal degradation stage. Furthermore, mechanistic studies have shown that HIF-1α leads to dysfunction of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway by inhibiting the expression of lysosomal-related genes, while knockdown of HIF-1α alleviates the disruption of autophagic and promotes the improvement of cell activity. In experiments with C. elegans, stimulation with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (P. gingivalis LPS) shortens worms' lifespan, but knocking down the hif-1 gene reverses this effect. Similarly, deletion of the key autophagy genes bec-1 and lgg-1 reduces worm survival rates. Results indicate that HIF-1α plays a vital role in regulating autophagy-lysosomal function and cellular homeostasis. In summary, the excessively high expression of HIF-1α aggravates cellular and systemic damage by impairing autophagy-lysosomal function in OLP. Conversely, the targeted inhibition of HIF-1α restores autophagy function, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy.
We report the discovery of a new palaeoscolecid worm specimen from the Bainiuchang area, southeastern Yunnan, China. The specimen exhibits a cylindrical body with annulations, each bearing two rows of Hadimopanella-type sclerites, along with plates, platelets, microplates, and implanted plates. These features are compatible with the diagnosis of the genus Wronascolex, and the specimen is tentatively assigned to Wronascolex sp. However, given the limited number and preservation of the available specimens, which preclude a detailed demonstration of the scleritome morphology for comparison with other palaeoscolecid worms, this assignment should be treated as tentative. This specimen may be the first record of a soft-bodied fossil from the Miaolingian Series (Wuliuan Stage) strata of southeastern Yunnan. Its taphonomic features-preservation as carbonaceous compressions accompanied by iron-rich films-are broadly consistent with Burgess Shale-type (BST) preservation. Whole-rock geochemical analysis of samples from the fossil-bearing interval yielded redox proxy values suggestive of suboxic to weakly reducing depositional conditions, broadly comparable to those reported from some BST deposits, such as the Mackenzie Mountains locality of Canada. However, these geochemical results are preliminary and based on a limited number of samples. Taken together, these observations suggest the possibility that the Bainiuchang area may host a BST Lagerstätte. Should this be confirmed, such a deposit would postdate the Chengjiang and Guanshan biotas (Cambrian Series 2, eastern Yunnan) and predate the Fulu biota, which is the only confirmed BST Lagerstätte in southeastern Yunnan to date. Furthermore, this discovery extends the known paleogeographic range of the genus Wronascolex southward to the southwestern margin of the South China Block. It also represents, to our knowledge, the first reported occurrence of soft-bodied fossil preservation in the Wuliuan Stage of Yunnan Province.
Chromatin accessibility plays essential roles in transcription, DNA repair, and chromosome segregation. Hyper-accessible regions usually correlate with active promoters and enhancers, facilitating transcription factor binding and regulatory activity. The assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq) enables genome-wide profiling of chromatin accessibility with very few cells. However, its implementation in Caenorhabditis elegans is limited by the nematode's rich collagen cuticle that complicates cell dissociation. Here, we present an optimized protocol for performing ATAC-seq in whole worms at the L4 stage. The procedure begins with synchronized cultures and involves cuticle disruption, enzymatic dissociation, and cell-suspension preparation. Permeabilized nuclei are then subjected to Tn5 transposition, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and purification of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-ready libraries. This protocol requires 30 µL of worm pellet, can be completed in one day, and generates 5,000-9,000 accessibility peaks in the Bristol N2 reference strain. This streamlined workflow can be adapted to other developmental stages or FACS-purified cell populations. By reducing technical barriers to ATAC-seq in C. elegans, this method expands opportunities to study genome-wide chromatin accessibility in response to genetic and environmental perturbations in a whole-organism context.
Pyrene, a four-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), presents significant challenges in environmental remediation due to its extremely low water solubility and recalcitrance to removal. Surfactant-Enhanced Remediation (SER) represents a promising strategy to address this issue. This study systematically investigated the synergistic solubilization of pyrene by blending anionic surfactant aliphatic alcohol polyoxyethylene ether phosphates (AE3P) with nonionic surfactant fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ethers (AEOn, n = 3, 5, 7, 9) at a 1:1 mass ratio, with a focus on the influence of ethylene oxide (EO) chain length The solubilization efficiency of the mixed surfactant systems was assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography with Ultraviolet Detection (HPLC-UV), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), stress-rheometer, zeta potential, fluorescence spectroscopy, and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and compared to that of the individual components. Results indicated that the solubilization capacity for pyrene increased significantly with the number of ethylene oxide (EO) units in AEOn. The AE3P/AEO9 system showed optimal performance, with a solubility (Sw) of 80.05 mg/L and a molar solubilization ratio (MSR) of 2.135 × 10-2. The longer EO chains facilitated a structural transition of the mixed micelles from spherical to wormlike configurations, which enlarged the hydrophobic core volume and reduced the polarity of the palisade layer. thereby substantially enhancing pyrene solubilization. ffectively, thereby substantially enhancing pyrene solubilization. This approach provided a theoretical foundation for the development of efficient and cost-effective remediation strategies for PAHs-contaminated soils, and demonstrated considerable potential for practical application.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest global burden of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. In Gabon, community-level epidemiological data remain limited and no molecular surveillance of STHs has been conducted to date. In July 2023, a community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in rural and urban areas of Ngounié Province, Gabon. Stool samples from 233 participants were analysed using formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation microscopy and the Allplex GI-Helminth(I) quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. Overall, 70.0% (95% CI 63.6 to 75.8) of participants tested positive for at least one STH by microscopy or qPCR. Trichuris spp. was the most prevalent helminth (59.2% [95% CI 52.6 to 65.6]), followed by Ascaris spp. (48.1% [95% CI 41.5 to 54.7%]), hookworms (18.5% [95% CI 13.7 to 24.0]) and Strongyloides spp. (12.0% [95% CI 8.1 to 16.9]). Microscopy identified Strongyloides fuelleborni in 2.7% of samples. qPCR detected Necator americanus in 16.7% and Ancylostoma spp. in 0.4%. Rural residence was independently associated with Ascaris spp. (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.50; p=0.007) and Trichuris spp. (AOR 2.45; p=0.008) infections. Male sex (AOR 3.83; p=0.010) and age 18-40 y (AOR 4.90; p=0.011) were associated with Strongyloides spp. infection. STH infections remain endemic in certain Gabonese communities. The findings highlight the need for species-specific surveillance using sensitive molecular diagnostics to inform targeted control strategies.
Assessment of the health status of individual animals is a key step in the timely and targeted treatment of infections, which is critical in the fight to slow the development of anthelmintic and antimicrobial resistance. The FAMACHA scoring system has been used successfully to detect anaemia caused by infection with the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus in small ruminants and is an effective way to identify individuals in need of treatment. However, assessing FAMACHA is labour-intensive and costly, as individuals must be manually examined at frequent intervals. Here, accelerometers were used to measure the individual activity of extensively grazing small ruminants (sheep and goats) exposed to natural Haemonchus contortus worm infection in southern Africa, over long time scales (13+ months). When combined with machine learning, this activity data can predict poorer health (increases in FAMACHA score) in sheep with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 82.7%, as well as to identify animals that fail to respond to treatment with AUC of 66.4%. We demonstrate that these classifiers remain robust over time, and that interpretation of their trained results reveals that poorer health, such as that resulting from haemonchosis, significantly affects the night-time activity levels, more so than that of the daytime. Our study thus reveals that low-cost biologgers can exploit behavioural patterns to detect subtle changes in animal health and enable timely and targeted intervention. This has real potential to improve economic outcomes and animal welfare, as well as to limit the use of anthelmintic drugs and diminish selective pressures on anthelmintic resistance in both commercial and resource-poor communal farming.
Tapeworms of the order Caryophyllidea (Cestoda) are widespread parasites of cypriniform and siluriform fishes. Most species occur in suckers (Catostomidae) in the Nearctic, including 4 species of the enigmatic genus Archigetes Leuckart, 1878. Species of this genus can mature in oligochaetes, i.e., may have a monoxenous (direct) life cycle. In this article, Archigetes notemigoni n. sp. is described from the golden shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill, 1814) (Leuciscidae) in Wisconsin. The new species differs from other Archigetes species in having a small (≤2 mm long), spindle-shaped body with the maximum width at the middle, tapering toward the scolex and posterior end, and a small scolex wider than the neck, with a pair of narrow, deep median loculi on the dorsal and ventral sides and 2 pairs of lateral, very shallow loculi. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that A. notemigoni is closely related to Archigetes sieboldi Leuckart, 1878 and Archigetes vadosus Uhrovič, Oros, Kudlai, Kuchta, & Scholz, 2022. In addition, Hypocaryophyllaeus gilae Fischthal, 1953 from the Utah chub Gila atraria (Girard, 1856) in Wyoming and Biacetabulum oregoni Williams, 1978 from the largescale sucker Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, 1856 in Oregon are placed as new combinations in Archigetes because their morphology, such as the shape of the small body (usually <5 mm in total length), bulboloculate scolex, distribution of vitelline follicles, and shape of the ovary, corresponds to that of Archigetes species. In total, the Nearctic fauna of Archigetes now comprises 7 species: 4 from minnows (Leuciscidae) and 3 from suckers (Catostomidae). In addition, there are 2 undescribed Archigetes morphotypes from Notropis spp. (Leuciscidae) in northern Mexico.
Digitalizing essential services opens up a new risk of exposing critical infrastructure to botnet infections. In a grid topology network, the neighbor-to-neighbor paths can be used by the malicious botnet to spread the infection. Previous white-hat worm launchers used heuristics and supervised learning to exterminate botnets, which demand specific conditions or a suitable dataset to be effective. Although reinforcement learning addressed these issues, it requires a longer time to train. This article proposes a framework to shorten training and improve the effectiveness of reinforcement learning. The framework applies four key principles: (1) surveying the network status with multi-tensor input, (2) removing irrelevant actions via a novel Chebyshev-based masking strategy, (3) reinforcing key actions with rewards, and (4) optimizing rewards for winning. Four reinforcement learning algorithms are implemented to evaluate the framework, which are vanilla policy gradient, deep Q-network, proximal policy optimization, and MuZero in a stylized grid topology network simulation. An ablation study indicates that the masking used in identify accounts for the majority of the improvement, whereas multi-channel in Survey alone can reduce performance without complementary masking, rewards, and optimization. With the mean winning rate improved by 49.129% and mean win efficiency improved by 118.8031% against our previous work, the framework effectiveness is confirmed in stylized simulations.
A new nematode genus and species, Ophthalmonema diodontis gen. et sp. n. (Cystidicolidae), are established based on female specimens (males remain unknown) collected from both eyes of an aquarium-kept spot-fin porcupinefish, Diodon hystrix Linnaeus (Diodontidae, Tetraodontiformes), originally caught in coastal waters off Florida, USA. Examination by light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the mouth structure of this nematode, particularly the presence of two conspicuously large, rounded, opposing dorsoventral plates, each connected by a narrow bridge to the inner end of the pseudolabium, is unique among all cystidicolid genera. Inadequately described cystidicolid nematodes previously reported from the eye and surrounding tissues of D. hystrix and Diodon nicthemerus Cuvier in the Caribbean Sea and in waters off southern Australia, respectively, as Metabronema sp. or Cystidicolidae gen. sp. are considered to belong to the new species O. diodontis. A key to cystidicolid genera is provided.
Helminths have evolved complex immunomodulatory mechanisms that enable chronic infection while minimizing host damage. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding nematode-derived molecules with therapeutic potential. The phosphorylcholine-modified glycoprotein ES-62 from Acanthocheilonema viteae exemplifies pathway-selective immune regulation and has inspired small-molecule analogues for inflammatory diseases. Ancylostoma duodenale secretes protease inhibitors, anticoagulants, and anti-inflammatory proteins that reveal targets for immune and hemostatic modulation. Anisakis pegreffii exerts context-dependent immune control via dendritic cell tolerization, macrophage polarization, and regulatory T-cell expansion. The cystatin Al-CPI from Ascaris lumbricoides reprograms dendritic cell metabolism, induces immune tolerance, and shows efficacy in colitis and allergy models. Brugia malayisecretes proteins that modulate antigen presentation, complement activation, and cytokine signaling. Together, these findings highlight helminth-derived compounds as blueprints for precision immunotherapies that restore immune homeostasis with minimal side effects.
Some parasitic infections promote or inhibit vascular growth in their hosts to increase parasite survival through immune evasion and tissue dissemination. This review focuses on how the most prevalent protozoan and helminth parasites in humans, such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Entamoeba, Schistosoma, and Taenia, manipulate angiogenic pathways for their own benefit. This knowledge reveals that angiogenesis is central to the pathophysiology and therapeutic targeting of parasitic diseases. Importantly, parasites and/or their excretory/secretory factors, which modulate vascular responses, are potential treatments for chronic degenerative diseases in which angiogenesis is crucial to disease progression, such as cancer.