Vertebrates mount a series of immune reactions when invaded by helminths but antihelmintic immune strategies allow, in many cases, the first invaders of the non-immune host to survive for prolonged periods, whereas subsequent larval invaders of the same parasite species face increased host resistance and thereby decreased colonization success. This concomitant immunity may represent a trade-off between adverse side effects (associated with killing of large helminths in the host tissue) and the need for future protection against invasion. Encapsulation and isolation of large live endoparasitic larvae may be associated with less pathology compared to coping with excess dead parasite tissue in host organs. Likewise, live adult nematodes may be accepted in tissues at a certain activity level for the same reasons. Various host cell receptors bind helminth molecules after which signal-transducing events lead to mobilization of specific reaction patterns depending on the combination of receptors and ligands involved. Both innate and adaptive responses (humoral and cellular) are prominent actors, but skewing of the Th1 lymphocyte response towards a Th2 type is a characteristic element of antihelminthic responses in mammalian hosts. Similar patterns may be expected also to occur in at least some fish species, such as salmonids, producing relevant cytokines, MHCII and CD4+ cells required for these lymphocyte subpopulations. Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., is without these immunological elements that indicate that alternative reaction pathways exist in at least some fish groups. Recent achievements within teleost immunology have made it possible to track these host responses in fish and the present work outlines the main immune reactions in fish against helminths and suggests three experimental fish models for exploration of these immune pathways in fish infected with nematodes.
© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.