Cysticercus fasciolaris infection in wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Korea and formation of cysts by remodeling of collagen fibers

Abstract

Abstract. Cysticercus fasciolaris, the larval form of Taenia taeniaeformis, is commonly encountered in rodents. In our study, 287 wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) in South Korea were examined in 2010 and 2011. Of 287 rats, 97 (33.8%) were infected with C. fasciolaris. A strong positive correlation was found between the host body weight and prevalence in both sexes, regardless of the year of collection. The liver was the most common habitat of the parasite, and the lung was the most frequent ectopic region, followed by mesentery, pleura, abdominal wall, and kidney. The lesions of the affected organs were generally characterized by well-developed cysts, each containing a larva. However, the cysts within kidney and abdominal wall were poorly organized, filled with abscess, and lacked larvae. Collagen types I and III, but not type IV, played significant roles in constructing the cysts at differential stages, addressed by immunohistochemistry. During cyst wall development, both collagen types contributed equally to cyst formation at the early stage, whereas collagen type I was the major component at the late stage (p < 0.05). In early-stage cysts, distribution of collagens was interestingly differential depending on the development stage, as collagen type I was localized in the outer layer and type III was located in the inner layer. Our results suggest that an appropriate remodeling process of collagen fibers is necessary for C. fasciolaris to build the well-conditioned cysts in the target organs for survival.

Identification of immunogenic proteins of the cysticercoid of Hymenolepis diminuta

“…Most probably the collagens detected in metacestodes of H. diminuta constitute the cyst wall of cysticercoids. Lee et al [ 47 ] have described the presence of collagen in the wall of cysts formed by Cysticercus fasciolaris (metacestode of Taenia taeniaeformis ) in different organs of wild rats. These authors showed that various types of collagen are engaged in constructing the cysts at different stages.…”

Natural Cysticercus fasciolaris infection in rodents from a rural area in Yucatan, Mexico

“…[12][13][14] Synanthropic species such as Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus, and Mus musculus are the main intermediate hosts of this parasite, with prevalence ranging from 4.3% 15 to 67.7%. 16 Cysticercus fasciolaris infection has been reported in urban and wild rodents from Brazil, 17 Korea, 18 Egypt, 19 India, 20 Malaysia, 21 Thailand, 22 and Mexico. [23][24][25] Rodents from the R. rattus and M. musculus species have been found infected with C. fasciolaris, in Yucatan.…”

Cysticercus fasciolaris in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Grenada, West Indies

“…C. fasciolaris develops mainly in the liver of rodents and contains larval stages of the parasite. Occasionally cysts also develop in the abdominal wall and kidney, filled with purulent exudate without larvae [ 2 ]. A small number of fibrosarcoma cases in the liver of rats associated with cysts of T. taeniaeformis have been reported [ 3 – 5 ].…”

“…T. taeniaeformis has been reported in rodents and cats worldwide. The report of C fasciolaris particularly, in brown rats (R. norvegicus), is from India [ 7 , 8 ], Korea [ 2 ], Malaysia [ 9 ], Serbia [ 10 ], and USA [ 3 ]. In Grenada, during a survey conducted in 2005 for Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) in lung/heart of R. norvegicus [ 11 ], lesions of C. fasciolaris in the liver of (29.6%) rats were also reported.…”