Schistosoma mansoni granulomas in the skeletal striated muscles in the murine model of neuroschistosomiasis: histological findings

Abstract

Schistosomiasis mansoni presents many clinical manifestations during migration of schistosomes in their hosts, including diarrhea, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, liver abscesses, skinlesions, brain tumors and myeloradiculopathy. No lesions have been reported in skeletal striated muscles due to schistosomiasis mansoni in the literature. This short communication reports the histopathological findings on skeletal musculature in a murine model of neuroeschistosomiasis mansoni. Lesions were found in the tongue, masseter muscle, buccinator muscle, digastric muscle and temporalis muscle. Worm recovery was carried out to confirm the infection. We describe here, for the first time in the literature, injuries in the skeletal musculature due to Schistosoma mansoni nfection.

Discovery of Schistosoma mekongi circulating proteins and antigens in infected mouse sera

“…muscles related to the pathophysiology of schistosomiasis [44]. The enzyme 1α-hydroxylase catalyzes the synthesis of active vitamin D. In a previous report, deficiency of vitamin D was typical in patients with hepatic fibrosis caused by schistosomiasis [45].…”

“…Intermediate filaments are structural cytoskeletal components consisting of actin filaments and microtubules [62] and play roles in cell structural support as well as the regulation of many fundamental cellular processes [63]. The interactions between S. mekongi-infected mouse proteins and intermediate filaments may be related to the skeletal muscle changes seen with schistosomiasis as granuloma were detected in skeletal muscles of S. mansoni infected mice [44]. The active form of vitamin D is catalyzed by 1α-hydroxylase; therefore, the down-regulation of 1α-hydroxylase in S. mekongi-infected mouse sera may affect the vitamin D metabolism pathway [64].…”

Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (-G308A) Polymorphism with risk of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding from Schistosomiasis in Pernambuco

“…Schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic infection that affects approximately 240 million people worldwide 1 . In Brazil, approximately 1.5 million people are presently infected by the hemoparasite Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni), especially in the Northeast region 2 and mainly in the state of Pernambuco, which contains the highest number of deaths from this disease in the country 3 .…”

“…The pathological process of the disease occurs through an immune response to the parasite eggs deposited in the liver, causing a granulomatous inflammatory reaction 1,3 . This process causes periportal fibrosis (PPF), which leads to portal vein obstruction, followed by increased portal hypertension and the appearance of esophageal varices, which can rupture and cause upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) 1,2,4 .…”