FORALLVENT

Prof. Maria Yazdanbakhsh

M.Yazdanbakhsh at lumc.nl

Maria Yazdanbakhsh obtained her degree in Medical Parasitology at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine followed by a PhD in Immunology at University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  She spent two years as post-doctoral fellow at Imperial College in London using molecular biological tools to analyze parasite derived molecules.  She started a group at Leiden University to study cellular immunology of host parasite interaction.  Collaborations set up, for more than a decade, with research groups in Indonesia, Gabon and Ghana, have paved the way for conducting studies on the modulatory role of chronic parasitic infections on various aspects of the immune system: the association of these infections with the development of allergic disorders; the modulation of responses to vaccinations; and the impact of such infections on the function of regulatory T cells, dendritic cells and Toll Like Receptors.  The group has also, in collaboration with biochemists, identified modulatory molecules derived from parasites that may have potential for therapeutic intervention.


Maria Yazdanbakhsh, as Professor of Cellular Immunology of Parasitic Infections, is active in teaching medical and biomedical students as well as supervising PhD students.  She has more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and books.  She has been active on scientific advisory boards of the Leiden University Medical Center, the Dutch Society for Parasitology and the Dutch Society for Immunology.  She has been on the advisory board of Dutch Foundation for Tropical Research and is on the editorial advisory board of European Journal of Immunology, PLOS Neglected Diseases, Parasite Immunology and Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The group has been part of many European funded projects that investigate the immunological consequences of parasitic infections, the interaction between infections and allergic disorders and the molecular immunological pathways that underlie immune regulation.

15 selected publications:

  1. van den Biggelaar AJH, van Ree R, Rodrigues LC, Lell B, Deelder AM, Kremsner PG, Yazdanbakhsh M.  Reduced atopy in Schistosoma haematobium infected children: a role for parasite induced interleukin-10. The Lancet 2000, 356:1723-27. Commentry in: Lancet; 2000 356: 1699-701.
  2. Yazdanbakhsh M, Kremsner PG, van Ree R. Allergy, parasites, and the hygiene hypothesis. Science 2002, 296:490-4.
  3. 3-van der Kleij D, Latz E, Brouwers JFHM, Kruize YCM, Schmitz M, Kurt-Jones EA, Espevik T, de Jong EC, Kapsenberg ML, Golenbock DT,
    Tielens AGM, Yazdanbakhsh M. A novel host – parasite lipid cross talk: schistosomal lyso-phosphatidylserine activates Toll-like receptor-2
    and affects immune polarization. J Biol Chem 2002, 277:48122-9.
  4. Maizels RM, Yazdanbakhsh M. Regulation of the Immune System by Helminth Parasites - Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms. Nature Reviews Immunology
    2003 3:733-44.
  5. van der Kleij D, van den Biggelaar AH, Kruize YC, Retra K, Fillie Y, Schmitz M, Kremsner PG, Tielens AG, Yazdanbakhsh M. Responses
    to Toll-like receptor ligands in children living in areas where schistosome infections are endemic.J Infect Dis. 2004, 189:1044-51.
  6. Hokke CH, Yazdanbakhsh M. Schistosome glycans and innate immunity.  Parasite Immunol. 2005, 27:257-64.
  7. Hartgers FC, Smits HH, van der Kleij D, Yazdanbakhsh M. Innate, adaptive and regulatory responses in schistosomiasis: relationship to allergy.
    Chem Immunol Allergy. 2006;90:157-75
  8. Smits HH, Hammad H, Nimwegen M. van, Soullie T, Willart MA, Lievers E, Kadouc J,  Kool, M, Kos-van Oosterhoud J, Deelder AM, Lambrecht BN, Yazdanbakhsh M.Protective effect of Schistosoma mansoni infection on allergic airway inflammation depends on intensity and chronicity of infection.  J Allergy Clin Immun. 2007, 120:932-40.
  9. 9-Riet E van,  Adegnika AA, Retra K, Vieira R,  Tielens AGM, Lell B, Issifou S,  Hartgers FC, Rimmelzwaan GF, Kremsner PG, Yazdanbakhsh M. Cellular and humoral responses to influenza in Gabonese children living in rural and semi-urban areas. The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2007, 196:1671-8.
  10. Biggelaar AHJ van den, Thanh-Duc Hua, Rodrigues LC, Kremsner, PG,Yazdanbakhsh M,  Kube D. Genetic variation in Interleukin-10 is associated with atopic reactivity in Gabonese schoolchildren. J Allergy Clin Immun. 2007, 120:973-5.
  11. Genser B, Cooper PJ, Yazdanbakhsh M, Barreto ML, Rodrigues LC. A guide to modern statistical analysis of immunological data. BMC Immunol. 2007;8:27
  12. Adegnika AA, Köhler C, Agnandji ST, Chai SK, Labuda L, Breitling LP, Schonkeren D, Weerdenburg E, Issifou S, Luty AJ, Kremsner PG, Yazdanbakhsh M. Pregnancy-associated malaria affects toll-like receptor ligand-induced cytokine responses in cord blood. J Infect Dis. 2008;198:928-36.
  13. Hartgers FC, Obeng BB, Kruize YC, Duijvestein M, de Breij A, Amoah A, Larbi IA, van Ree R, Wilson MD, Rodrigues LC, Boakye DA, Yazdanbakhsh
    M. Lower Expression of TLR2 and SOCS-3 Is Associated with Schistosoma haematobium Infection and with Lower Risk for Allergic Reactivity in Children
    Living in a Rural Area in Ghana. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2008; 2:e227
  14. Hartgers FC, Obeng BB, Voskamp A, Larbi IA, Amoah AS, Luty AJ, Boakye D, Yazdanbakhsh M. Enhanced TLR responsiveness associated with MAPK activation in Plasmodium falciparum-infected children. Infect Immun. 2008 in press [Epub ahead of print]
  15. Obeng BB, Hartgers F, Boakye D, Yazdanbakhsh M.Out of Africa: what can be learned from the studies of allergic disorders in Africa and Africans?
    Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;8:391-7.

Papers for download (PDFs)

Maria Yazdanbakhsh/Paolo Matricardi - Parasites and the Hygiene Hypothesis