Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T10:19:50.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The aggregation response of Trichostrongylus colubriformis: a basis for the rapid interpretation of in vitro anthelmintic screens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

D. C. Jenkins
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemical Microbiology, Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BS
E. B. Rapson
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemical Microbiology, Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BS
P. Topley
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemical Microbiology, Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BS

Summary

An in vitro anthelmintic primary screen in which the effects of compounds on the aggregation response of newly moulted adult worms of Trichostrongylus colubriformis was monitored is described. Representatives of all the major classes of the anti-trichostrongyle anthelmintics all inhibited worm aggregation completely when present in the culture medium either at or at less than micromolar concentrations. The screen proved highly selective for these broad-spectrum agents, much higher concentrations of the narrower spectrum anthelmintics, active only against blood-sucking nematodes, trematodes and/or cestodes, having little or no effect on this response. This in vitro assay, based solely on the occurrence or absence of worm aggregation following the final moult in culture, proved very easy to interpret rapidly and accurately. It can be recommended therefore for the primary mass screening of synthetic compounds or natural products for intrinsic activity against the trichostrongylid helminths of ruminants.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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

Ibarra, O. F. & Jenkins, D. C. (1984). The relevance of in vitro anthelmintic screening tests employing the free-living stages of trichostrongylid nematodes. Journal of Helminthology 58, 107–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, D. C., Armitage, R. & Carrington, T. S. (1980). A new primary screening test for anthelmintics utilizing the parasitic stages of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in vitro. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 63, 261–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, D. C. & Carrington, T. S. (1982). An in vitro screen for anthelmintics employing Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in a defined medium. Veterinary Parasitology 11, 223–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, D. C. & Ibarra, O. F. (1984). Nematospiroides dubius: response of the late fourth-stage larva to anthelmintics in vitro. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 70, 395402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ostlind, D. A. & Cifelli, S. (1981). Efficacy of thiabendazole, levamisole hydrochloride and the major natural avermectins against Trichostrongylus colubriformis in the gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). Research in Veterinary Science 31, 255–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapson, E. B., Jenkins, D. C. & Topley, P. (1985). Trichostrongylus colubriformis: in vitro culture of parasitic stages and their use for the evaluation of anthelmintics. Research in Veterinary Science 39, 90–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simpkin, K. G. & Coles, G. C. (1981). The use of Caenorhabditis elegans for anthelmintic screening. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 31, 66–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar