INVESTIGADORES
PEREZ Pablo Fernando
capítulos de libros
Título:
Immunobiotics and immunity against parasites
Autor/es:
5. HUMEN, M. A.; BENYACOUB, J.; MINNAARD, J; BRASSART, D.; DE ANTONI, G. L. SCHIFFRIN, E. J. AND PÉREZ, P. F.
Libro:
Probiotics: Immunobiotics and Immunogenics.
Editorial:
SCIENCE PUBLISHERS/CRC PRESS, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Referencias:
Año: 2013; p. 194 - 214
Resumen:
Parasitism represents a ?win-lose? situation in which
one organism benefits from the relationship while the other member is harmed by
it (Faust and Raes, 2012). Actually, parasites could lead from undetectable or
minor effects to debilitating or fatal disease. In addition, it has been
demonstrated that interaction with parasites could lead to dramatical
modification of the host´s phenotype (Goodman and Johnson, 2011).
A broad vision of parasites will include in this group
both prokaryote and eukaryote organisms but in this chapter the term ?parasite?
refers to protozoan and metazoan organisms able to provoke disease in
vertebrates.
Parasites have evolved to exploit host´s resources in
a way that maximizes the likelihood of their continuity on Earth. Successful
parasites preserve their host at least until transmission to another individual
is accomplished. Should this step is not complete before host death the
parasite will be committed to extinction. In this evolutionary frame, life
cycles of several parasites reach high degrees of sophistication in order to
guaranty permanence.
Life cycle of many parasites includes passage or
colonization of the digestive tract and the interaction with the host´s
microbiota and factors that lead to the modification of the balance between
intestinal inhabitants may affect significantly the infection by parasites.
A hallmark in parasite life is the ability to respond
to changes in the environment by phenotypic changes that allows the organisms
to adapt to very variable conditions. This phenotypic plasticity constitutes a
successful strategy for survival (Mideo and Reece, 2012).
Several microorganisms have demonstrated to antagonize
the effect of intestinal pathogens. Mechanisms involved in these protective
ability include barrier effect (i.e. exclusion and growth inhibition) and
immunomodulation.
Even though the gastrointestinal tract is a natural
target for nutritional interventions with microorganisms-containing
preparations, effects of these products can go beyond the limits of the
gastrointestinal tract (Salva et al., 2010).
Whereas there is substantial scientific evidence on
the effect of probiotics on the course of bacterial infections, the field of
protozoan and metazoan pathogens remains almost unexplored. In this chapter we
will describe the biology and cell cycle of parasites for which the effect of
probiotic has been studied as well as evidence of the effect of different
probiotics on protozoan and metazoan parasites.