Effects of low-protein diet onSchistosoma mansonimorphology visualized by morphometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that protein deficiencies can hamper both the course of experimental schistosomiasis and normal development of adult worms. To further investigate this relationship, we compared adult male and female Schistosoma mansoni from malnourished and well-fed mice through morphometric and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis. Swiss mice were fed protein-deficient diets (8%) and infected subcutaneously with approximately 80 S. mansoni cercariae (BH strain, Brazil). Control mice were fed a standard rodent diet (23% protein). The nutritional status was evaluated by body weight gain and albumin values. Mice were sacrificed 63 days post-infection. Recovered worms were stained with hydrochloric carmine and preserved as whole-mounts for bright-field examination and confocal microscopy. The body weight gain and serum albumin concentrations were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in malnourished mice than in controls. In general, all morphometric values of specimens grown in malnourished mice were lower than those of control mice. Schistosome worms grown in malnourished mice had statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in the reproductive system and tegument than those grown in mice fed standard diets. In female worms, vitelline glands showed few remaining follicles and ovaries lacked mature oocytes. In male parasites, tubercles were fewer in number on the dorsal surface and testicular lobes presented fewer differentiated germinal cells. In summary, we describe novel data supporting the view that low-protein diets may influence the development of adult worms.

Serum CCL11 (eotaxin‐1) and CCL17 (TARC) are serological indicators of multiple helminth infections and are driven by Schistosoma mansoni infection in humans

“…; Barros et al . ), and the scarcity of host micronutrients also affected nematode development and reduced parasitic burden in experimental models such as hamsters (Held et al . ) or mice (Bourgeois et al .…”

“…Vice versa, malnutrition can influence the development of the parasite in its host. In experimental S. mansoni infections, the development of male and female schistosomes has been shown to be impaired in undernourished mice (Oliveira et al 2003;Barros et al 2009), and the scarcity of host micronutrients also affected nematode development and reduced parasitic burden in experimental models such as hamsters (Held et al 2006) or mice (Bourgeois et al 2007).…”

Schistosomula, pre-adults and adults ofSchistosoma mansoniingest fluorescence-labelled albuminin vitroandin vivo: implication for a drug-targeting model

“…Moreover, albumin seems to be an additional source of energy supply for adult schistosomes, as recent studies reported on the underdevelopment of both sexes of adult worms in undernourished mice, which were fed on a protein-deficient diet (Neves et al 2001; Barros et al . 2009).…”

Espécimes de Schistosoma mansoni descritos por Pirajá da Silva no Brasil (1908) reexaminados pela técnica de microscopia de varredura a laser confocal

“…Since its discovery, Schistosoma mansoni has been the subject of intense investigation, describing the features of adult worm based on light microscopy [9][10][11][12][13] . With the advances in microscopy technology, confocal laser scanning microscopy has become an invaluable tool for helminthology, mainly for schistosomiasis mansoni studies [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . The present article revisited the S. mansoni specimens first described by Pirajá da Silva in Brazil, using confocal laser scanning microscopy.…”

“…A vitelline gland (vitellaria) joined by a short vitelline duct was also observed. It is worth mentioning that these characteristics have been described during the examination of freshly collected worms 15,16,[19][20][21] .…”