Immune Recognition and Evasion: Molecular Aspects of Host-Parasite Interaction

Studies of parasite biology, focusing on the invasion of multicellular organisms by bacterial, protozoal, fungal, viral, or helminth parasites, have revealed the intricacy of the genetic programs that control host-parasite interactions. Analyses of the genetic basis of immune recognition, together with insights into the limitations of the host's capacity to eliminate parasitic infections, have furthered our understanding of immune recognition and function. Investigations of parasite antigens and the mechanisms by which parasites evade immune recognition have in turn revealed genetic and biochemical mechanisms that parallel the immune control in complexity and flexibility. The parasite s potential to scavenge nutrients and to utilize its host's hormonal and genetic regulation, for the benefit of its own growth and development, adds a new level of complexity to host-parasite interactions.