Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-07T12:25:12.315Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A study of the relationship between the energy contents of Schistosoma mansoni cercariae and their death during penetration of mammalian host skin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

A. M. Ghandour  and
A. M. Ibrahim
A. M. Ghandour
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
A. M. Ibrahim
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Immersion of Biomphalaria pfeifferi in 1.5% glucose solution showed that the snails did not absorb any glucose during the first six hours but that almost 30% of the glucose was absorbed after 24 hours. The glycogen content of such “glucose-fed” snails was much higher than that of control normal snails. Cercariae of S. mansoni collected from the former snails exhibited a much lower level of death (20%), during penetration of mouse skin, than that of control normal cercariae (36%).

It is suggested that death of S. mansoni cercariae during penetration of mammalian host skin is probably due to exhaustion of their energy reserves.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , December 1978 , pp. 339 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bruce, J. I., Weiss, E., Stirewalt, M. A. and Lincicome, D. (1969) Schistosoma mansoni: glycogen content and utilization of glucose, pyruvate, glutamate and citric acid intermediates by cercariae and schistosomula. Experimental Parasitology, 26, 29–40.Google Scholar
Cheng, T. C. and Synder, R. W. (1962) Studies on host-parasite relationships between larval trematodes and their hosts. II. The utilization of the host’s glycogen by the intra-molluscan larvae of Glythelmins pennsylvaniensis Cheng, and associated phenomena. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 81, 209–228.Google Scholar
Christie, J. D., Foster, W. B. and Stauber, L. A. (1974) C 14 uptake by Schistosoma mansoni from Biomphalaria glabrata exposed to C 14 glucose. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 23, 297–302.Google Scholar
Clegg, J. and Smithers, S. R. (1968) Death of schistosome cercariae during penetration of the skin. II. Penetration of mammalian skin by Schistosoma mansoni. Parasitology, 58, 111–128.Google Scholar
Emile, V. H. (1965) Estimation of glycogen in small amounts of tissue. Annals of Biochemistry, 11, 256–265.Google Scholar
Ghandour, A. M. (1975) A study of the infectivity of the cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium, Ph.D. Thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Ginetsinskaia, T. A. (1960) Glycogen in cercariae and the dependence of its distribution on the specific characters of the parasite (In Russian). Doklady Akademii Nauk SSR, 135, 1012–1015. Abstract seen in Helminthological Abstracts.Google Scholar
Mendel, B., Kemp, A. and Myers, D. (1954) A calorimetric micromethod for the determination of glucose. Biochemistry Journal, 56, 639–646.Google Scholar
Rai, S. L. and Clegg, J. (1968) Death of schistosome cercariae during penetration of the skin. I. Penetration of bird skin by Austrobilharzia terrigalensis. Parasitology, 58, 199–214.Google Scholar
Stirewalt, M. A. and Kruidenier, F. J. (1961) Activity of the acetabular secretory apparatus of cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni under experimental conditions. Experimental Parasitology, 2, 191–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar