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Desai P, Karl CE, Ying B, Liang CY, Garcia-Salum T, Santana AC, Caten FT, Urban JF, Elbashir SM, Edwards DK, Ribeiro SP, Thackray LB, Sekaly RP, Diamond MS. Intestinal helminth infection impairs vaccine-induced T cell responses and protection against SARS-CoV-2. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.14.575588. [PMID: 38293221 PMCID: PMC10827110 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.14.575588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Although vaccines have reduced COVID-19 disease burden, their efficacy in helminth infection endemic areas is not well characterized. We evaluated the impact of infection by Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri (Hpb), a murine intestinal hookworm, on the efficacy of an mRNA vaccine targeting the Wuhan-1 spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Although immunization generated similar B cell responses in Hpb-infected and uninfected mice, polyfunctional CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were markedly reduced in Hpb-infected mice. Hpb-infected and mRNA vaccinated mice were protected against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020, but control of lung infection was diminished against an Omicron variant compared to animals immunized without Hpb infection. Helminth mediated suppression of spike-specific CD8+ T cell responses occurred independently of STAT6 signaling, whereas blockade of IL-10 rescued vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell responses. In mice, intestinal helminth infection impairs vaccine induced T cell responses via an IL-10 pathway and compromises protection against antigenically shifted SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritesh Desai
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Courtney E. Karl
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Baoling Ying
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chieh-Yu Liang
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Tamara Garcia-Salum
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ana Carolina Santana
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Felipe Ten Caten
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joseph F. Urban
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Diet, Genomics, and Immunology Laboratory, and Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
| | | | | | - Susan P. Ribeiro
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Larissa B. Thackray
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rafick P. Sekaly
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Michael S. Diamond
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Lebu S, Kibone W, Muoghalu CC, Ochaya S, Salzberg A, Bongomin F, Manga M. Soil-transmitted helminths: A critical review of the impact of co-infections and implications for control and elimination. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011496. [PMID: 37561673 PMCID: PMC10414660 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Researchers have raised the possibility that soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections might modify the host's immune response against other systemic infections. STH infections can alter the immune response towards type 2 immunity that could then affect the likelihood and severity of other illnesses. However, the importance of co-infections is not completely understood, and the impact and direction of their effects vary considerably by infection. This review synthesizes evidence regarding the relevance of STH co-infections, the potential mechanisms that explain their effects, and how they might affect control and elimination efforts. According to the literature reviewed, there are both positive and negative effects associated with STH infections on other diseases such as malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, gestational anemia, pediatric anemia, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, as well as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and human papillomavirus (HPV). Studies typically describe how STHs can affect the immune system and promote increased susceptibility, survival, and persistence of the infection in the host by causing a TH2-dominated immune response. The co-infection of STH with other diseases has important implications for the development of treatment and control strategies. Eliminating parasites from a human host can be more challenging because the TH2-dominated immune response induced by STH infection can suppress the TH1 immune response required to control other infections, resulting in an increased pathogen load and more severe disease. Preventive chemotherapy and treatment are currently the most common approaches used for the control of STH infections, but these approaches alone may not be adequate to achieve elimination goals. Based on the conclusions drawn from this review, integrated approaches that combine drug administration with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions, hygiene education, community engagement, and vaccines are most likely to succeed in interrupting the transmission of STH co-infections. Gaining a better understanding of the behavior and relevance of STH co-infections in the context of elimination efforts is an important intermediate step toward reducing the associated burden of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Lebu
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Winnie Kibone
- School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Chimdi C. Muoghalu
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Stephen Ochaya
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Uppsala Academic Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Aaron Salzberg
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Felix Bongomin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
| | - Musa Manga
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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Filarial infections compromise influenza vaccination efficacy: Lessons from the mouse. Immunol Lett 2023; 255:62-66. [PMID: 36889363 DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2023.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
Helminth parasites infect more than a quarter of the human population and inflict significant changes to the immunological status of their hosts. Several human studies report impaired responses to vaccinations in helminth-infected individuals. Analysing the impact of helminth infections on the efficacy of influenza vaccinations in the mouse system helps to elucidate the underlying immunological processes. Concurrent infection with the parasitic nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis reduced the quantity and quality of antibody responses to vaccination against seasonal influenza in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. This led to impaired vaccination-induced protection against challenge infections with the human pathogenic 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus in helminth-infected mice. Impaired responses were also observed if vaccinations were performed after immune-driven or drug-induced clearance of a previous helminth infection. Mechanistically, the suppression was associated with a systemic and sustained expansion of IL-10-producing CD4+CD49b+LAG-3+ type 1 regulatory T cells and partially abrogated by in vivo blockade of the IL-10 receptor. In summary, these findings raise the concern that individuals in helminth-endemic areas may not always benefit from vaccinations, even in the absence of an acute and diagnosable helminth infection.
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A New Role for Old Friends: Effects of Helminth Infections on Vaccine Efficacy. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11101163. [PMID: 36297220 PMCID: PMC9608950 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are one of the most successful medical inventions to enable the eradication or control of common and fatal diseases. Environmental exposure of hosts, including helminth infections, plays an important role in immune responses to vaccines. Given that helminth infections are among the most common infectious diseases in the world, evaluating vaccine efficiency in helminth-infected populations may provide critical information for selecting optimal vaccination programs. Here, we reviewed the effects of helminth infections on vaccination and its underlying immunological mechanisms, based on findings from human studies and animal models. Moreover, the potential influence of helminth infections on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was also discussed. Based on these findings, there is an urgent need for anthelmintic treatments to eliminate helminth suppressive impacts on vaccination effectiveness during implementing mass vaccination in parasite endemic areas.
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