News and Reviews
Immune cell discovery could lead to improved chronic worm treatment
Immune cell discovery could lead to improved chronic worm treatment
Monash University
Monash University researchers have uncovered why some intestinal worm infections become chronic in animal models, which could eventually lead to human vaccines and improved treatments.
Parasitic worms, also called helminths, usually infect the host by living in the gut. About a quarter of the world population is afflicted with helminth infections.
They are highly prevalent in developing countries such as sub-Saharan Africa, South America and some tropical countries in Asia. In Australia, they can be a problem in First Nations communities.
Some people can fight off the parasites due to effective immune responses. Some people who fail to develop effective immune responses suffer with a long-lasting chronic infection.
Published in Mucosal Immunology, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute study used animal models to reveal a protective immune feature may be lacking in people who are chronically infected.
They discovered that a group of immune cells called T follicular helper (TFH) cells behaved very differently at cellular and molecular levels during acute, resolving and chronic helminth infection.
This meant that in some models the cells protected against chronic illness but in others they didn’t.
Immunofluorescence images showing a chronically helminth infected lymph node A or resistant lymph node B
First author Dr Aidil Zaini said blocking the TFH response impaired worm clearance and promoted chronic infection, so the key was to develop ways to facilitate the protective mechanism.
He said humans also had varying immune responses, so further investigation could develop ways of protecting those prone to chronic disease.
“Our findings provide a proof-of-concept that harnessing the protective features of these immune cells may pave the way for the development of human vaccines and new drugs against helminths,” Dr Zaini explained.
“Although conventional deworming drugs can help clear the parasites, they fail to provide long-term protection and are likely to be less effective due to the development of resistance against these drugs by the parasites.”
Dr Zaini said the results were promising and warranted further investigation. He said the ultimate therapeutic goal was to develop effective vaccines against parasitic helminths in humans, which were not yet available.
“Our discovery contributes to the growing body of literature on the protective immune features during helminth infection,” Professor Zaph said.
“This knowledge can be further explored to facilitate the development of long-term immune interventions for helminth infections, as well as diseases such as allergy.Interestingly, our immune system evolves into developing a similar type of immune response during both helminth infection and allergic responses.”
Co-senior author Professor Colby Zaph said, “In addition, the fundamental discovery that TFH cells that are responding to the same infection can differ so significantly at the molecular level highlights the functional diversity that exists in our immune system, which hopefully can be exploited to manipulate immune responses in the future.”
Co-senior author Professor Kim Good-Jacobson said that parasitic worm infections continued to be a large global health burden. “Now that we can identify the tipping point between effective clearance of worms and a chronic infection taking hold, we hope this work will lead to new ways to prevent or treat these diseases,” Professor Good-Jacobson said.
For more health news, click here.
New development planned for Woolgoolga Retirement Village
Woolgoolga and District Retirement Village Ltd are taking steps to add a collection of modern retirement residences and amenities to their village in High Street. They are in the early phase of planning a new development to be called Callisto Coastal Retirement.
Sasha Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of Woolgoolga and District Retirement Village Ltd is excited about the plans. “We are very proud to be adding Callisto Coastal Retirement to our community.” Ms Andrews said. “We are part of a great community in a fantastic location and aim to set the benchmark for premium retirement living in Woolgoolga.”
At this early stage, they are keen to get input from the local community of future residents to help create the perfect coastal retirement. A Feedback Forum is being offered to eligible potential residents aged 55+, providing an opportunity to learn more, convey their thoughts, ideas and insights around design and services, features, amenities and priorities.
The new development has the support of the Board of Directors of the not-for-profit, community owned organisation. Chairperson, Ian Wade said “Woolgoolga and District Retirement Village has played an important role in the community for many years and we want to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of our seniors for years to come. We have a great opportunity to provide quality retirement living, built with future residents in mind.”
A community Feedback Forum is planned for Tuesday 7 May. For details and to register to attend, go to the website here. For more on the Woolgoolga Retirement Village, visit here.
For more Coffs Harbour news, click here.
Memory Run Walk Jog – My Way Lismore
Albert Park Baseball Grounds
Keen Street Lismore
8am Sunday 19th May 2024
Join a fun community activity to fundraise and raise dementia awareness. Last year, more than 10,000 people walked, jogged and ran in cities and towns across Australia for people impacted by dementia. Dementia awareness
Lismore events include a 10km run, a 5km jog/walk or a 1km walk so that the day is inclusive of all levels of physical ability.
There will be information stalls providing details of supports, local resources and services to help those impacted by dementia, as well as food and drinks.
Form a team from your workplace, local club, friends or family (dress up to make it fun!) and enter the 1km walk, 5km jog/walk or a 10km run. Get lots of sponsors!
To register a team or take part as an individual go to:
www.memorywalk.com.au/event/lismore-myway
Dementia awareness
Currently, dementia is the leading cause of death in women and overall, it is the second leading cause of death for all Australians. In 2024, it is estimated that more than 1.6 million people in Australia are involved in the care of someone living with dementia.
Dr Jones says ‘The ageing population in the Northern Rivers is growing at an exponential rate. Our region is one of the highest ageing communities in NSW and this comes with increasing rates of those impacted by dementia in our community. I’m quite keen to see that we adopt more preventable approaches against dementia in our region’. Dementia awareness
Dr Jones says ‘There are many things we can do to prevent dementia or delay your risk of developing dementia. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits, in particular regular exercise can make a significant difference’.
“We encourage the whole community to come together, not only to raise money for
Dementia Australia, but also to exercise together and to fight this disease” says Dr Jones.
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