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Helminths and microbes within the vertebrate gut – not all studies are created equal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2019

Alba Cortés ,
Laura E. Peachey ,
Timothy P. Jenkins ,
Riccardo Scotti  and
Cinzia Cantacessi Open the ORCID record for Cinzia Cantacessi [Opens in a new window]
Alba Cortés
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road CB3 0ES, Cambridge, UK
Laura E. Peachey
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road CB3 0ES, Cambridge, UK Bristol Veterinary School, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, BS40 5DU, Bristol, UK
Timothy P. Jenkins
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road CB3 0ES, Cambridge, UK
Riccardo Scotti
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road CB3 0ES, Cambridge, UK
Cinzia Cantacessi*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road CB3 0ES, Cambridge, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Cinzia Cantacessi, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The multifaceted interactions occurring between gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic helminths and the host gut microbiota are emerging as a key area of study within the broader research domain of host-pathogen relationships. Over the past few years, a wealth of investigations has demonstrated that GI helminths interact with the host gut flora, and that such interactions result in modifications of the host immune and metabolic statuses. Nevertheless, whilst selected changes in gut microbial composition are consistently observed in response to GI helminth infections across several host-parasite systems, research in this area to date is largely characterised by inconsistent findings. These discrepancies are particularly evident when data from studies of GI helminth-microbiota interactions conducted in humans from parasite-endemic regions are compared. In this review, we provide an overview of the main sources of variance that affect investigations on helminth-gut microbiota interactions in humans, and propose a series of methodological approaches that, whilst accounting for the inevitable constraints of fieldwork, are aimed at minimising confounding factors and draw biologically meaningful interpretations from highly variable datasets.

Keywords

Helminth-microbiota interactionssoil-transmitted helminthsanthelminticsbacterial 16S rRNA sequencingconfounding factors
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 146 , Issue 11 , September 2019 , pp. 1371 - 1378
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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