Artigos Schistosoma Mans Oni in Mice: Modulation of Granulomatous Response after Reinfection and Chemotherapeutic Treatment

Mice previously infected with Schistosoma mansoni, and cured by specific treatment (400ing/kg oxamniquine, p. o.) in the chronic phase o f the disease, were reinfected 20 days after treatment to assess their capacityfor modulation ofthe granulomatous response. Histopathologic examination o f the animals ’ liver, at 60 days after reinfection, evidenced the presence o f typical granulomas o f the chronic phase in most animals. This infer that the capacity for modulation o f the granulomatous response had been maintained, thus preventing a new acute phase of the disease. Conversely, a group o f previously infected mice, untreated and submitted to reinfection, showed reactivation of the granulomatous response in 50% o f the animals. The possible implications o f these findings in human schistosomiasis mansoni are discussed.