Trichuris suis secrete products that reduce disease severity in a multiple sclerosis model

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disease, which affects about 1 in 1000 individuals in the western world. It has been suggested that this relatively high prevalence is linked to a high level of hygiene, i.e. a reduced exposure to various microorganisms, including parasites. Parasites are known to employ different immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory strategies, which enable them to evade destruction by the immune system. We have investigated the immunomodulation by the swine whipworm, Trichuris suis , by measuring the impact of oral administration of T. suis ova as well as of intraperitoneal administration of T. suis excretory/secretory products on the development and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis — an animal model that shares clinical and pathological characteristics with multiple sclerosis. Intraperitoneal administration of excretory/secretory products before disease onset, resulted in a significant decrease in disease severity as well as markedly reduced T H 1 and T H 17 T-cell responses, centrally in the spinal cord as well as in the periphery, i.e. the spleen. Thus, parenteral administration of T. suis -derived products results in a skewing of the immune response with a significant impact on disease severity in a CNS inflammatory disease model.