REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Parasite Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1642707
This article is part of the Research TopicGut Microbiota Interventions: Novel Approaches to Type 2 Diabetes TreatmentView all articles
Clinical Challenges and Technological Breakthroughs in Helminthic Therapy for Diabetes
Provisionally accepted
Yunhuan ZhuJiyuan WangRuke WangXinyi FeiXianwei Li
Yijie ZhangJialu XuQingzhi Zhao
Keda ChenXiaofen Zhang
Hongyu Li*- Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China
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Helminthic therapy, as an emerging strategy for Diabetes Mellitus (DM), demonstrates significant clinical benefits by modulating host immune and metabolic systems. Studies have shown that this approach effectively enhances insulin sensitivity, reduces chronic inflammation, and restores metabolic homeostasis through the regulation of gut microbiota. However, certain diabetic patients undergoing helminthic therapy may encounter risks such as infections or metabolic disturbances, necessitating the development of safer and more precise therapeutic methods. This review, conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, systematically retrieved and analyzed 163 high-quality studies from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. It comprehensively evaluates the mechanisms, clinical outcomes, and safety improvement strategies associated with helminthic therapy. To ensure the safe application of this treatment, we propose strategies including genetic editing, real-time monitoring, targeted therapeutics, and helminth-derived molecules, along with a detailed clinical decision-making framework. This framework encompasses the matching of host health status with helminth species selection, guidance on dose optimization and treatment duration, and the application of modern intelligent technologies for real-time monitoring of therapeutic processes and potential adverse effects. Helminthic therapy has demonstrated success in alleviating hyperglycemia, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance in diabetic patients, offering substantial health benefits through its immunomodulatory and metabolic regulatory effects. These findings suggest that helminthic therapy holds the potential to become a revolutionary approach in the field of DM.
Keywords: Helminthic therapy, Diabetes Mellitus, adverse effects, Helminths-derivedmolecules, Risk Assessment, Clinical monitor
Received: 07 Jun 2025; Accepted: 16 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Wang, Wang, Fei, Li, Zhang, Xu, Zhao, Chen, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongyu Li, hongyu88926@zjsru.edu.cn
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