Intest Res.  2025 Jan;23(1):8-22. 10.5217/ir.2023.00059.

Helminths in alternative therapeutics of inflammatory bowel disease

• Pandey H
• Tang DWT
• Wong SH
• Lal D

• KMID: 2564393
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2023.00059

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a nonspecific chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite recent advances in therapeutics and newer management strategies, IBD largely remains untreatable. Helminth therapy is a promising alternative therapeutic for IBD that has gained some attention in the last two decades. Helminths have immunomodulatory effects and can alter the gut microbiota. The immunomodulatory effects include a strong Th2 immune response, T-regulatory cell response, and the production of regulatory cytokines. Although concrete evidence regarding the efficacy of helminth therapy in IBD is lacking, clinical studies and studies done in animal models have shown some promise. Most clinical studies have shown that helminth therapy is safe and easily tolerable. Extensive work has been done on the whipworm Trichuris, but other helminths, including Schistosoma, Trichinella, Heligmosomoides, and Ancylostoma, have also been explored for pre-clinical and animal studies. This review article summarizes the potential of helminth therapy as an alternative therapeutic or an adjuvant to the existing therapeutic procedures for IBD treatment.

Keyword

Inflammatory bowel disease; Ulcerative colitis; Crohn disease; Helminths; Microbiota

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. FigurHelminths in inflammatory bowel disease treatment and their molecular mechanisms. Figure created with BioRender. IL, interleukin; INF-γ, interferon gamma; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; TGF-β, transforming growth factor beta; Treg, regulatory T cell.ecaption

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