How would I isolate the compounds parasitic worms release in your body that quell the immune system?

Question

Do me proud, YA! I guess? I guess I should be critically thinking but I'm only an undergrad and this is only a hypothetical experiment in my mind. I don't have the knowledge base yet.

Answer 1

This, unfortunately, is a very difficult question, and one that has not been answered yet. The problem with parasitic worms is that they require a mammalian host to undergo full development. Therefore, any worms you would be able to isolate (of those that are viable outside the host) would be the infectious forms that rapidly morph once inside the host. So, the actual worm that interacts with the immune system is not the one you would have in a tube. This has complicated research into the nature of the worm-derived effectors on the immune system. Certain intestinal roundworms (such as Ascaris) could be isolated, but these are huge worms and largely dont care about the tiny immune system because they're so big. The more interesting filarial worms (B. malayi, O. volvulus, etc) that constantly interact with the immune system are blood borne and difficult to harvest in large numbers. In fact, a large portion of them live in the lymphatics -- right in the middle the immune centers, which is puzzling.
Your thinking is on the right lines, but you'll need to be pretty creative to come up with some useful info. The previous answer is worth a shot, but it has been done before and any data taken from that must be interpreted carefully due to the artificial nature of it. If you succeed, there are some profound effects on the field of immunology, and in clinical allergies.

Answer 2

Try this:
Grow the parasites in a known compound (nutrient agar, or nutrient liquid).

Extract materials from the parasites - usually by straining off the parasite, then using what's left.

Do assays to determine what is in the slurry/liquid.

Test the components on cultured immune cells in various combinations to see what effect they have...

There are so many different ways to approach this kind of problem.

Answer 3

huh?