Using our understanding of interactions between helminth metabolism and host immunity to target worm survival.

Abstract

Helminths can adapt to environmental conditions in the host, utilising anaerobic processes like fermentation and malate dismutation to produce energy from carbohydrate. Although targeting carbohydrate metabolism is an established therapeutic strategy to combat helminth infection, questions remain over the metabolic pathways they employ as adults to survive and evade host immunity. Helminths also use amino acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and cholesterol metabolism, a possible strategy favouring the production of immunomodulatory compounds that may influence survival in the host. Here, we discuss the significance of these differing metabolic pathways and whether targeting of helminth metabolic pathways may allow for the development of novel anthelmintics.