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Science 9 November 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5545, p. 1237
DOI: 10.1126/science.294.5545.1237o
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This Week in Science
Schistosome parasites spend part of their life cycle in the mammalian liver, where they chronically infect their host for the purposes of reproduction and transmission. This parasite can detect changes in its environment through host-derived signals, including those that arise from the endocrine and immune systems. Using different strains of immune deficient mice, Davies et al. (p. 1358) report that the hepatic stage of the schistosome life cycle appears to depend on a peculiar subset of lymphocytes in the liver. These cells express the CD4 coreceptor but are independent of expression of class I or class II major histocompatibility molecules normally needed for T cell development. These unusual hepatic T cells may allow the parasite to detect fluctuations in the immunological health of their host.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
