IL-1 is a key cytokine known to drive chronic inflammation and to regulate many physiological, immunological, and neuroimmunological responses via actions on diverse cell types of the body. To determine the mechanisms of IL-1 actions as part of the inflammatory response in vivo, we generated a conditional IL-1 receptor 1 (IL-1R1) mouse mutant using the Cre/LoxP system (IL-1R1(fl/fl) ). In the m...

n engl j med 370;20 nejm.org may 15, 2014 1954 transmitted helminth infections: systematic review and metaanalysis. JAMA 2008;299:1937-48. 3. Keiser J, Tritten L, Silbereisen A, Speich B, Adelfio R, Vargas M. Activity of oxantel pamoate monotherapy and combination chemotherapy against Trichuris muris and hookworms: revival of an old drug. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2013;7(3):e2119. 4. Nagpal S, Sinclai...

Notch ligands and receptors have been implicated in helper T cell (Th cell) differentiation. Whether Notch signals are involved in differentiation of T helper type 1 (Th1) cells, Th2 cells, or both, however, remains unresolved. To clarify the role of Notch in Th cell differentiation, we generated mice that conditionally inactivate Notch signaling in mature T cells. Mice that lack Notch signalin...

Millions of people are treated with anthelmintics to control soil-transmitted helminth infections; yet, drug distribution in the plasma and gastrointestinal tract compartments and the pathway of drug uptake into gastrointestinal nematodes responsible for the pharmacological effect are unknown. We assessed the distribution and uptake of albendazole, albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole sulfone in ...

De novo expression of Muc5ac, a mucin not normally expressed in the intestinal tract, is induced in the cecum of mice resistant to Trichuris muris infection. In this study, we investigated the role of Muc5ac, which is detected shortly before worm expulsion and is associated with the production of interleukin-13 (IL-13), in resistance to this nematode. Muc5ac-deficient mice were incapable of exp...

Schistosomiasis and trichuriasis are two of the most common neglected tropical diseases (NTD) that affect almost a billion people worldwide. There is only a limited number of effective drugs to combat these NTD. Medicinal plants are a viable source of parasiticides. In this study, we have investigated six of the 19 phytochemicals isolated from two Bhutanese medicinal plants, Corydalis crispa an...

Trichuris muris , is the murine parasite and widely deployed model for human whipworm trichiura a that infects around 500 million people globally. Trichuriasis classical disease of poverty with cycle re-infection due to continual exposure humans, particularly children, infective eggs, which contaminate soil in endemic areas. Indeed, modelling studies trichuriasis have demonstrated low efficacy ...

Resistance to many intestinal nematodes is dependent on the induction of polarized type 2 cytokine responses, whereas type 1 responses can exacerbate these infections. The contributions of IL-4 and IL-13 to the development of resistance have been well described for a variety of intestinal parasites; however, the role of IL-10 has not been previously investigated. In this study we infected IL-10...