Human Exploitation Of Host Immune Responses By Parasites Essay

For my parasite I picked Ophiocordyceps unilateralis or the zombie ant fungus. This fungus infects tree dwelling carpenter ants in tropical rainforests and forces them to do its biding. The parasitic fungus spreads itself around by releasing spores into the air like most fungi. The catch is that to be able to mature itself to the point of passing along its offspring it has to sacrifice an ant. Once an ant has become infected it behaves very bizarrely. The fungus forces the ant to crawl out to the end of a leaf and then it begins to shake violently. This causes the ant to fall to the forest floor where it begins to look for a nearby plant. Once it has found a suitable plant, usually one around 10cm from the ground, it climbs out onto a leaf

The immune system plays a vital role in helping the body to fight diseases, as well as pathogens, the disease-causing factors. It is mainly composed of the tonsils and adenoids, the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels, the spleen, appendix, and bone marrow. The main purpose of the immune system is to assist the body in its struggle to maintain optimal health.

Parasites are plants or animals that derive benefit from the metabolism of other plants or animals at the expense of the host and without providing some benefit to the host in return.

Four stages of this parasite have been identified the first stage is the penetration phase which is day 1-17 during this stage the larvae moves into the body of the animal and moves to the lungs. The second stage which is the prepatent phase which is day 8-25

Typically, a parasite is known as any organism, which lives off or benefits at the expenses of another organism, its host. When the non-mutual symbiotic relationship between them end up with the host being killed directly by the organism, then it is better known as a parasitoid. On the other hand, when the organism makes an intermediate host more prone to die due to be eaten by the next host, then it is named a trophically transmitted parasite. In order to survive, they all depend on transmitting themselves from one host to another one. Some of them have the ability of manipulating their host’s behavior in order to achieve a successful transmission. In other words, the way humans and animals think or behave could be being controlled by some

First thing that a physician will do is examine the stool and/or urine for ova of the parasite. It is crucial that one review’s the patients travel and residency history to cross check if they were near the species that might be causing this infection. Another diagnostic test that should be taken is a serologic testing for antischistosomal antibody, which diagnoses travelers or immigrants who have not been treated appropriately for schistosomiasis in the past that are from endemic areas. Serologic tests usually detect antibodies of the adult parasitic worm.

Much of our understanding of immune interactions with T. gondii is through studies on rodents, and the rodent immune system shows some specific adaptations in this area. Indeed, rodents express a set of toll-like-receptors (TLRs) to deal with recognizing protozoan parasites; studies have identified that the cell surface receptors TLR-2 and TLR-4 (which respond to glycosylphosphatidylinositols), and the endosomal receptors TLR-7, TLR-9, TLR-11 and TLR-12 are required 6, 17. The most compelling evidence suggests that the endosomal TLR-11 (possibly in conjunction with TLR-12) is part of a specific murine response that recognizes the protein profilin which is secreted from motile parasites 18-20. Evidence suggests that the innate immune response in mice

The immune system is comprised of the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. When pathogens invade the body passing through one of the body’s natural defenses such as the surface barrier, the skin, the innate immune system goes on the defensive. The innate immune system responds near the pathogens point of entry. The innate immune system initial response is inflammation, “caused by the release of chemicals from damaged cells (Pinel, 2014). Cytokines are proteins released by cells to assist in regulating the response to pathogens. “Cytokines attract white blood cells, leukocytes, and other cells that fight pathogens, known as phagocytes” (Pinel, 2014). It is theorized that phagocytosis, the process in which phagocytes destroy pathogens, is one of the first immune reactions to have evolved to known vertebrates and invertebrates (Pinel, 2014).

Whipworm ova and Hookworm have been tested for immunological diseases and allergies. Helminthic therapy has been investigated as a treatment for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis Crohn’s, allergies and asthma. The mechanism of how the helminths modulate the immune response, is unknown. Hypothesized mechanisms include re-polarisation of the Th1 / Th2 response and modulation of dendritic cell function. The helminths down regulate the pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokines, Interleukin-12, Interferon-Gamma and Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha, while promoting the production of regulatory Th2 cytokines such as IL-10, IL-4, IL-5 and

Besides bacteria and virus, human disease can also be caused by parasites infection. A parasite is an organism which lives in another organism as the host and usually will cause harm to the host. Parasite depends on and to be in the host to live, grow and multiply as shown by. Anisakis is a helminth organism and is a genus of parasitic nematodes. There is six species within the genus. This paper will focus on how do Anisakis infections cause disease to human with using the species of Anisakis simplex (A. simplex) since this species is most frequently related to human disease as shown by Adams et al. (1997).

The last fifteen years have seen a reemergence of interest in cancer immunosurveillance and a broadening of this concept into one termed cancer immunoediting. The latter, supported by strong experimental data derived from murine tumor models and provocative correlative data obtained by studying human cancer, holds that the immune system not only protects the host against development of primary nonviral cancers but also sculpts tumor immunogenicity. Cancer immunoediting is a process consisting of three phases: elimination (i.e., cancer immunosurveillance), equilibrium, and escape. Herein, we summarize the data supporting the existence of each of the three cancer immunoediting phases. The full understanding of the immunobiology of cancer immunosurveillance and immunoediting will hopefully stimulate development of more effective immunotherapeutic approaches to control and/or eliminate human cancers.

For example the group of flatworms, these are parasites which can often affect anything from the digestive tract to the brain canal. Often time a flatworm is passed by uncooked meats, and eggs can be transferred from not using proper hygiene. Once a worm has entered its host it is self-fertilizing. The worms can produce thousands of eggs and once passed from the host the egg remains in the digestive tract until it matures and the process can then re-start itself. This type of life cycle has caused many adaptations for the worms, for example the worms are self-fertilizing, this way one mature worm is all that is needed in a host organism. The worms are also segmented and they have hooks used for attachment inside the host. The worms also do not have a circulatory system they rely on gas exchange. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

If a pathogen breaches barriers: innate immune response result into an immediate effect of non- specific response. All Innate immune systems derived from plants and animals, when a pathogen evades the innate response, a third layer of protection is possessed by vertebrates in which activation of adaptive immune system takes place. The immune system response adopts itself within an infection and pathogen recognition is improved. As a result of the improved response, its then retains itself when the pathogen is eliminated in form of an immunological memory and allows the adaptive immune system to mount faster and stronger when pathogen is encountered each time.

Another potential variable that enormously improves the rise of new pathogens is the multiplication of new strains of the pathogens. Diverse strains of parasites act distinctively including their affectability to medications and this is the reason the medication safe strains of Plasmodium has prompted to the spread and increment pervasiveness of intestinal sickness. Various parasites have created distinctive strains with different possibilities including those that can make them make due in cruel situations and fast multiplication and down direction of host safe reactions.

Schistosomiasis, an insidious parasitic disease, is estimated to affect more than 240 million people worldwide with 700 million people living in at risk areas. (World Health Organization.) The prevalence is highest in the paediatric population as they have “high exposure to infective water and low levels of acquired immunity” (McGarvey, 2000, p.269) Infection is acquired through contact exposure to cercariae (larval stage of parasitic blood flukes) from activities such as swimming and bathing in infected water. This parasitic disease leads to poor general health, delayed growth and development, decreased cognitive development and reproductive health issues (Terer et al., 2013). Until recently, treatment guidelines have focused on annual school based deworming programs with the anthelminthic drug Praziquantel (PZQ.) In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) expanded their treatment guidelines to include preschool aged children (children under the age of five) in their mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns. This change came about from new research exploring misconceptions related to epidemiology and immunology of preschool aged children. Although it was been proven that Praziquantel is safe and effective in this population, preschool aged children still have difficultly accessing appropriate treatment. This essay will discuss the challenges and barriers in resolving this health inequity and in particular, the need for a suitable pediatric Praziquantel formulation. These