Helminth-derived biomacromolecules as therapeutic agents for treating inflammatory and infectious diseases: What lessons do we get from recent findings?

Abstract

Despite the tremendous progress in healthcare sectors, a number of life-threatening infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases are continuously challenging mankind throughout the globe. In this context, recent successes in utilizing helminth parasite-derived bioactive macromolecules viz. glycoproteins, enzymes, polysaccharides, lipids/lipoproteins, nucleic acids/nucleotides, and small organic molecules for treating various disorders primarily resulted from inflammation. Among the several parasites that infect humans, helminths (cestodes, nematodes, and trematodes) are known as efficient immune manipulators owing to their explicit ability to modulate and modify the innate and adaptive immune responses of humans. These molecules selectively bind to immune receptors on innate and adaptive immune cells and trigger multiple signaling pathways to elicit anti-inflammatory cytokines, expansion of alternatively activated macrophages, T-helper 2, and immunoregulatory T regulatory cell types to induce an anti-inflammatory milieu. Reduction of pro-inflammatory responses and repair of tissue damage by these anti-inflammatory mediators have been exploited for treating a number of autoimmune, allergic, and metabolic diseases. Herein, the potential and promises of different helminths/helminth-derived products as therapeutic agents in ameliorating immunopathology of different human diseases and their mechanistic insights of function at cell and molecular level alongside the molecular signaling cross-talks have been reviewed by incorporating up-to-date findings achieved in the field.

Keywords: Biomacromolecules; Helminth therapy; Immunomodulators; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Therapeutic intervention.