Ultrastructural changes in the tegument and gut of adult Fasciola hepatica following in vivo treatment with artesunate

A comparative study on the impact of two artemisinin derivatives, artemether and artesunate, on the female reproductive system of Fasciola hepatica

“…As a result of these changes, morphological abnormalities in the clusters of shell protein globules increased as time progressed. Similar changes to the ger have been observed in the tegumental and gastrodermal cells of F. hepatica following treatment with different artemisinin compounds O'Neill et al, 2009O'Neill et al, , 2015. Consequently, it is possible to interpret the cellular changes in terms of what is known about the action of artemisinin compounds.…”

“…Treatment with artemisinins and free radicals is known to cause collapse of the membrane potential of mitochondria, leading to their swelling and inhibition of electron transfer and oxidative phosphorylation (Wakabayashi and Karbowski, 2001;Li et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2010). This action could explain the mitochondrial changes seen, not just in the vitelline cells, but in the tegumental and gastrodermal cells as well following treatment with artemisinins O'Neill et al, 2009O'Neill et al, , 2015 and would have a deleterious impact on energy production by the fluke as a whole, especially in tissues of high energetic requirement such as the vitellaria. The build-up of lipid deposits would indicate metabolic disruption and, in turn, the effects on energy metabolism would contribute to the state of general ill-health and loss of motility in the flukes.…”

“…Flukes extracted from other rats were all pale and very sluggish in their movement. For further details, see O'Neill et al (2015).…”

“…Nevertheless, it is important for the future design and testing of new artemisinin derivatives that there is a better understanding of their action against fluke. There have been few morphological studies and they have concentrated on external surface changes to flukes following treatment (Keiser and Morson, 2008a,b;Halferty et al, 2009;O'Neill et al, 2009O'Neill et al, , 2015Kirchhofer et al, 2011;Duthaler et al, 2012).…”

Ultrastructural changes to the tegumental system and gastrodermal cells of adult Fasciola hepatica following treatment in vivo with a commercial preparation of myrrh (Mirazid)

“…Should the swelling of the basal infolds continue, it would lead to the eventual sloughing of the tegument that was observed; this phenomenon has also been seen in previous studies on fasciolicidal drugs (e.g. Fairweather et al ., 1986; Skuce & Fairweather, 1990; Stitt & Fairweather, 1994; Meaney et al ., 2004; McKinstry et al ., 2007; McConville et al ., 2009; O'Neill et al ., 2015).…”