Micro RNA ‐mediated regulation of immune responses to intestinal helminth infections

Summary Intestinal helminth infections are highly prevalent in the developing world, often resulting in chronic infection and inflicting high host morbidity. With the emergence of drug‐resistant parasites, a limited number of chemotherapeutic drugs available and stalling vaccine efforts, an increased understanding of antihelminth immunity is essential to provide new avenues to therapeutic intervention. Micro RNA s are a class of small, nonprotein coding RNA s which negatively regulate mRNA translation, thus providing finite control over gene expression in a plethora of biological settings. The mi RNA ‐mediated coordinated control of gene expression has been shown to be essential in infection and immunity, in promoting and fine‐tuning the appropriate immune response. This review gathers together and discusses observations of mi RNA ‐mediated effects on the immune system and the subsequent impact on our understanding of antihelminth immunity.