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In developed countries, an enormous change has occurred within the human body over the past century—the loss of parasitic worms. Due to improvements in sanitation, roundworms that have inhabited human intestines (such as the hookworm above) and challenged our immune system for millions of years are no longer a threat. Does the end of this long-term relationship come at a cost?
Explain how the adaptive and innate immune responses work together to defend the human body against infection by parasitic worms.

Which of the following outcomes would be expected if somatic hypermutation did not occur?

a. The diversity of pattern-recognition receptors would be significantly lowered.

b. B and T lymphocytes would not be able to produce receptors that recognize antigens.

c. The adaptive immune response would not be activated by pathogens.

d. The secondary immune response to a repeat infection would produce the same antibodies as those made in the primary immune response.

Propose a hypothesis to explain how self-reactive B cells are identified and eliminated during maturation.

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In developed countries, an enormous change has occurred within the human body over the past century—the loss of parasitic worms. Due to improvements in sanitation, roundworms that have inhabited human intestines (such as the hookworm above) and challenged our immune system for millions of years are no longer a threat. Does the end of this long-term relationship come at a cost?

What is the hygiene hypothesis? What correlation does it attempt to explain?

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In developed countries, an enormous change has occurred within the human body over the past century—the loss of parasitic worms. Due to improvements in sanitation, roundworms that have inhabited human intestines (such as the hookworm above) and challenged our immune system for millions of years are no longer a threat. Does the end of this long-term relationship come at a cost?

Pattern-recognition receptors have been identified that recognize worm products. Explain how these receptors are used to activate the adaptive immune response most appropriate for worm infection.

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In developed countries, an enormous change has occurred within the human body over the past century—the loss of parasitic worms. Due to improvements in sanitation, roundworms that have inhabited human intestines (such as the hookworm above) and challenged our immune system for millions of years are no longer a threat. Does the end of this long-term relationship come at a cost?

Parasitic worms modulate their host's immune response by inducing the proliferation of regulatory T cells. What role do these cells play in the adaptive immune response? How could this effect on regulatory T cells be linked to the hygiene hypothesis?

<Image>

In developed countries, an enormous change has occurred within the human body over the past century—the loss of parasitic worms. Due to improvements in sanitation, roundworms that have inhabited human intestines (such as the hookworm above) and challenged our immune system for millions of years are no longer a threat. Does the end of this long-term relationship come at a cost?

The roundworm Heligmosomoides polygyrus is a natural intestinal parasite of mice, and it offers an excellent model of the immunology of worm infections in humans. Scientists evaluated the impact of parasitic roundworms on immune disorders using mice prone to developing type 1 diabetes mellitus. Five-week-old mice were infected with H. polygyrus (Hp). Two weeks later, half of the mice were cured of the infection (Rx). When the mice were 40 weeks old, scientists calculated the percentage of mice that developed diabetes in both groups: those exposed to roundworms and those in uninfected control groups (** means P<0.01). What two conclusions are supported by the results shown below?