Helminth excretory–secretory products and experimental immunomodulation
Research exposure to work on parasite-derived proteins as possible regulators of host inflammation, including the collagen-induced arthritis mouse model.
The question
Parasitic helminths release excretory–secretory products (ESPs): a mixture of proteins and other molecules that act on their host. Some of these appear to dampen host inflammation. That raises a question with clinical relevance: could helminth-derived molecules point towards new ways of regulating immune-mediated inflammatory disease?
My involvement
Alongside my BSc (2018–2021), I volunteered in the Parasitology Research Laboratory of Dr P. A. Ahammed Shareef at PSMO College. My role was research exposure within the group, not independently led experiments.
- The laboratory’s work on helminth ESPs and their potential immunoregulatory properties.
- The collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model, an established experimental model of immune-mediated inflammatory arthritis, used to evaluate candidate immunomodulatory interventions.
- Related work in the same laboratory on liver-fluke ESPs and immunodiagnostics.
What I took from it
Host–microbe and host–parasite interactions are chemical conversations. That idea runs through my later work: whether a molecule is made, and what it does, depends on the biological context it meets.