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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Parasite Immunology

GETTING INTO HOST'S SKIN: INITIAL IMMUNE RESPONSE TO Schistosoma mansoni INFECTION

Provisionally accepted
Carolina Melo Orrico-FerreiraCarolina Melo Orrico-Ferreira1,2,3Paulo-Emilio Oliveira CruzPaulo-Emilio Oliveira Cruz1Joao-Vitor Borges RiosJoao-Vitor Borges Rios1Wellington Silva RosaWellington Silva Rosa1Beatriz Souza dos SantosBeatriz Souza dos Santos3Raphel Chagas SilvaRaphel Chagas Silva1,2Carina Silva PinheiroCarina Silva Pinheiro1,2Barbara Castro-Pimentel FigueiredoBarbara Castro-Pimentel Figueiredo1,2,3,4*
  • 1Laboratório de Alergia e Acarologia, Instituto de Ciencias da Saude, Salvador, Brazil
  • 2Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Imunologia, Salvador, Brazil
  • 3Departamento de Bioquimica e Biofisica, Serviço de Imunologia, Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos, Salvador, Brazil
  • 4Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil

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Schistosoma mansoni initiates infection through active skin penetration by cercariae, triggering early immune responses that are crucial to disease establishment. In naïve hosts, parasite antigens elicit an initial Th1-type response that is rapidly modulated to a Th2 profile by parasite-derived immunomodulatory molecules, including proteases and eicosanoids. Upon reinfection, prior sensitization enhances Th2 responses, IgE production, and eosinophil recruitment, while promoting regulatory mechanisms that limit pathology and favor chronic infection. Key molecules such as cercarial elastase (SmCE) interfere with antigen presentation and antibody function, facilitating immune evasion. This review explores the early immune responses elicited at the cutaneous interface during primary S. mansoni infection and reinfection, emphasizing the dynamic interplay between host defense mechanisms and parasite-driven immunoregulation. Understanding these early skin-stage events reveals how S. mansoni balances immune activation and suppression, offering valuable targets for vaccine development and immune-based interventions.

Keywords: Cercaria, cercarialelastase, immune response, Schistosome infection, skin immunity

Received: 07 Jul 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Orrico-Ferreira, Cruz, Rios, Silva Rosa, dos Santos, Silva, Pinheiro and Figueiredo. 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: Barbara Castro-Pimentel Figueiredo

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material