The human hookworm Necator americanus appears to have evolved a number of complementary strategies to overcome the host's haemostatic processes. These include the inhibition of blood coagulation, platelet aggregation and mediator release, and the secretion of fibrinogenolytic enzymes. These strategies presumably allow the parasite to establish the chronic infections so often documented in human populations.

This paper demonstrates that the activities of glycogen phosphorylase (GP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are reduced in adult worms of the filarial nematode Litomosoides carinii recovered from pyri-doxine-deficient cotton rats when compared to worms recovered from pyridoxine-sufficient controls. GP, ALT and AST activities were determined in adult worms L. carinii recovered from cotton rat hosts over a 20-week experimental period. Activities of GP, ALT and AST in the parasite showed a direct correlation with the dietary pyridoxine intake of their host. Throughout the experiment, enzyme activities were significantly lower (P < 0·001) in worms from rats fed a pyridoxine-free diet ad libitum that in worms from rats fed either a stock colony diet, a pyridoxine-free diet ad libitum with daily supplementation of 100 μg pyridoxine or limited amounts of pyridoxine-free diet with daily supplementation of 100 μg pyridoxine. The lower than normal activity of GP, ALT, AST and other enzymes dependent on the biologically active derivative of pyridoxine, the coenzyme pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP), interferes with the protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism of L. carinii and may in part cause the reduced establishment, development and growth of the parasite in pyridoxine-deficient hosts.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were documented for the first time in both somatic extracts and excretory/secretory (ES) products of the infective-stage larvae of Trichinella spiralis and T. pseudospiralis. Larvae recovered from muscles of infected mice were heat shocked at 37, 40, 43 and 45 °C in RPMI 1640 medium containing L-[35S]methionine. Somatic extracts and ES products of heat-shocked worms were then analysed by SDS-PAGE, autoradiography and laser densitometry. Prominent bands of HSPs were observed at 43 °C which is the optimal heat shock temperature. The major HSPs in somatic extracts of T. spiralis were 20, 47, 50, 70, 80 and 86 kDa. When the temperature was increased from 37 to 43 °C, the greatest increase in absorbance was observed in HSPs 70 and 86. In vitro translation of mRNA in a nuclease-treated rabbit reticulocyte lysate system showed an increase in the synthesis of the 80 kDa protein. This suggests that the production of HSP 80 is regulated at the transcriptional level. The major HSPs in the ES products were 11, 45, 53 and 64 kDa. In T. pseudospiralis, the major HSPs in the somatic extracts were 20, 26, 31, 50, 53, 70, 80 and 86 kDa, and in the ES products, 11, 35, 37, 41 and 64 kDa.

Worm expulsion of, and IgE and interferon (IFN)-γ responses to, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis were studied in 2 rat strains, Brown Norway (BN) and Fischer (F)-344. BN rats expelled the majority of worms by day 14 post-infection (p.i.) with approximately 6% of worms surviving for at least 3 weeks. In F-344 rats, worm expulsion was delayed by 2 days relative to that in BN, while the numbers of residual worms were significantly fewer than in BN, suggesting that different immune mechanisms are involved in early and late phases of immunity. Total serum IgE, as well as in vitro IgE production by mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells, was increased 2 weeks p.i., the levels being markedly higher in BN than in F-344 rats. Serum rat mast cell protease II was also increased more significantly in BN than in F-344 rats. In contrast, production of IgG2a and IFN-γ by MLN and spleen cells was found to be higher in F-344 than in BN rats. These results indicate that the early worm expulsion is correlated with the host IgE and mast cell responsiveness, whereas the persistence of infection in the late period may be controlled by different immune mechanisms.

The 50–30 kDa fraction isolated from the excretory/secretory products (E/S) of the nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis significantly decreased the amplitude of contraction of segments of uninfected rat intestine when injected into the lumen of the segments maintained in an organ bath. Dot blot analysis of the fraction suggested that it was similar in immuno-reactivity to porcine vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). When antiserum to porcine VIP was mixed with N. brasiliensis E/S and the mixtures were injected into the lumen of segments of rat intestine, the inhibitory effect of the E/S on amplitude of contraction decreased. When physiological concentrations of porcine VIP (12·9 pmol/ml) were injected into the lumen of segments of uninfected rat intestine the amplitude of contraction decreased significantly. Western blot analysis of the E/S, using antiserum to porcine VIP, recognized a 30 kDa protein in the E/S and also in whole worm homogenate suggesting that synthesis of the peptide occurs inside the nematode. Peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI)-like immuno-reactivity was detected in a 68 kDa fraction of the E/S and the homogenate but this fraction did not affect the amplitude of contractions of the intestine.

The effect of Anguillicola crassus (Nematoda) on gas composition in the swimbladder of eels (Anguilla anguilla) was studied using mass spectrometry in feral eels from two German rivers and in experimentally infected eels. In both naturally and experimentally infected eels significant correlations were observed between the proportion of oxygen in the swimbladder and level of infection with Anguillicola crassus. In swimbladders of naturally infected feral eels the contribution of oxygen to swimbladder gas was reduced by 36–62·9% and in experimentally infected eels it was reduced by 11·4–57% compared to uninfected controls. The proportion of CO2 appeared to be lower in infected swimbladders compared to uninfected ones. However, this change was not significant. The findings are discussed in relation to an altered structure of the swimbladder wall due to the parasite.

Population dynamics, site selection, growth and maturation of the cestode Eubothrium crassum in a natural population of Salmo trutta in a small lake were studied over a period of 1 year, the life-span of a cohort in fish. Infection of fish commenced in spring but peaked in July. Small, plerocerciform parasites initially located in the intestine, but then some moved into the pyloric caecae whilst others, the majority in heavy infections, were lost from the fish causing a fall in abundance from 460 to 10 over 2 months. This mortality was density dependent. Initially, parasites were distributed more evenly throughout the caecae but as time increased larger parasites were found preferentially in the anterior caecae before moving back into the intestine when gravid, preparatory to being lost in the following summer. Only a small proportion of the infrapopulation became gravid. Although the proportion of caecae occupied was initially density dependent, by the time of maturation several preferred anterior caecae remained unoccupied and mean intensity always exceeded unity. Neither growth nor maturation was affected by intraspecific competition. It was concluded that caecal availability did not set a limit or threshold of infrapopulation density, and in this respect E. crassum–S. trutta differed from some acanthocephalan-fish systems but was similar to others. Heavy infection followed by heavy mortality appeared to be typical of this parasite-host system in other localities, and of several other cestode-fish systems. The implications of this for population regulation are discussed.

The response of individual adult males of the potato cyst nematodes, Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, to sex pheromones from adult females was investigated using electrophysiological techniques. Each male nematode was pierced with an electrode close to the cephalic region and then exposed to pheromones from virgin females. Cellular responses in the form of action potentials were recorded as spike activity. The spike frequency produced by G. rostochiensis and G. pallida males increased significantly after the application of their homospecific pheromone. The spike frequency produced by G. pallida males also increased significantly after the application of G. rostochiensis female sex pheromone. In contrast, males of G. rostochiensis showed no significant response to G. pallida female sex pheromone. The electrophysiological results support and considerably extend information from agar plate behavioural bioassays.

We investigated the adult sex ratio in 70 infrapopulations of the nematode Echinomermella matsi, a parasite of the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. The adult sex ratio was skewed towards female dominance at low adult intensity and towards male dominance at high adult intensity. We hypothesize that this is due to differences between the sexes in development and mortality rates, or that female recruitment is density dependent. A model with differences between the sexes in developmental and mortality rates may develop the observed sex ratios if the female developmental and mortality rates are several times that of the males. A large difference in developmental rates between the sexes appears unreasonable because the developmental rate for both sexes is low, and the predicted low female life-expectancy is unlikely because the males appear to accumulate in infrapopulations as the females age. Density dependence of female numbers is, however, supported by a significantly lower female recruitment in infrapopulations with old females. We also find that the mean male length is negatively related to measures of crowding, thereby supporting the hypothesis that competition is of importance in E. matsi infrapopulations. A female bias at low intensities of infection, a density dependence in female recruitment and the taxonomic position of E. matsi indicate that sex may be environmentally determined in this nematode.

An electrophysiological preparation of Ascaris suum pharyngeal muscle suitable for recording changes of input conductance using a 2-microelectrode current clamp and pharmacological study is described. The preparation is shown to contain a glutamate-gated Cl (ion sensitive) channel sensitive to the avermectin analogue, milbemycin D. The application of glutamate produces a dose-dependent increase in Cl conductance and the effect of glutamate is potentiated by milbemycin D. Milbemycin D also produced a dose-dependent increase in input conductance.