Science has long known that beneficial gut bacteria are crucial to their host's immune function. Soon after birth, beneficial bacteria begin colonizing mammalian guts, where they incite the release of specific lymphocytes that help the host's immune system combat pathogenic bacteria while leaving them in peace. But this paper, said Yale University evolutionary biologist Stephen Stearns, builds a bridge between that model of immune modulation and the epidemiological evidence that autoimmune diseases are rare in areas where intestinal worm infections are common. "This [interaction between worm and bacterium] is unexplored and, it's particularly relevant because of its medical significance," Stearns told The Scientist.
Recent research has explored using low-level parasitic worm infections to treat autoimmune diseases. Some treatments, though still controversial, exist for disorders such as Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. The theory is that intestinal worms tone down overactive immune responses that typify autoimmune disorders. In light of these new findings, Stearns said, the health of gut bacteria must be considered in concert with the hypothesized immune modulatory effect of the worms.
For now, though, Roberts and Grencis are focusing more on the novelty of the three-way interaction between worms, bacteria and mammalian hosts that they've uncovered. Both said it was too early and there were too many additional aspects of the interaction to explore to draw clinical conclusions about what Roberts called the "three-legged stool" interaction.
But Roberts did venture a vision of how the research might be useful in the future. "I think if we understand how our immune systems develop and are built then it gives us a greater opportunity to manipulate that," he said. "It gives us the opportunity to potentially prime the immune system by different kinds of tailored probiotics or even by potentially delivering different types of worms. Who knows?"
Read more: New gut ecosystem model? - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57492/#ixzz0qqaqL84h
Recent research has explored using low-level parasitic worm infections to treat autoimmune diseases. Some treatments, though still controversial, exist for disorders such as Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. The theory is that intestinal worms tone down overactive immune responses that typify autoimmune disorders. In light of these new findings, Stearns said, the health of gut bacteria must be considered in concert with the hypothesized immune modulatory effect of the worms.
For now, though, Roberts and Grencis are focusing more on the novelty of the three-way interaction between worms, bacteria and mammalian hosts that they've uncovered. Both said it was too early and there were too many additional aspects of the interaction to explore to draw clinical conclusions about what Roberts called the "three-legged stool" interaction.
But Roberts did venture a vision of how the research might be useful in the future. "I think if we understand how our immune systems develop and are built then it gives us a greater opportunity to manipulate that," he said. "It gives us the opportunity to potentially prime the immune system by different kinds of tailored probiotics or even by potentially delivering different types of worms. Who knows?"
Read more: New gut ecosystem model? - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57492/#ixzz0qqaqL84h