Chronic Schistosoma infection is often characterized by a state of T cell hyporesponsiveness of the host. Suppression of dendritic cell (DC) function could be one of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, since Schistosoma antigens are potent modulators of dendritic cell function in vitro. Yet, it remains to be established whether DC function is modulated during chronic human Schistosoma in...

The endocannabinoid system (CS) has been implicated in the development of hepatic fibrosis such as schistosomiasis-associated liver fibrosis (SSLF). However, the mechanisms mediating the action of the CS in hepatic fibrosis are unclear. The present study hypothesized that Schistosoma J. infection upregulates cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) due to activation of NADPH oxidase leading to a fibrotic p...

A Fast, sensitive and specific detection of cercariae of human schistosomes is required for better definition of risk of infection. So, a novel method for the detection of Schistosoma mansoni in human samples that is based on the amplification of a highly repeated DNA sequence has been developed. By use of simple DNA extraction techniques and a rapid 2-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR), it w...

background praziquantel, an antischistosomal compound, is used as first-line drug for chemotherapy of schistosoma japonicum since 1984. in this article, we conducted a systematic review and mete-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different dosages of praziquantel (pzq) for treatment of schistosoma japonicum. evidence acquisition: a number of six articles published in peer-reviewed ...

In the present work, scanning electron microscopical studies on Schistosoma mansoni cercariae exposed to ultraviolet irradiation (UV-irradiation) were done to answer the question: Is the damage inflicted seen on the adult schistosome worms developed from irradiated cercariae, due to direct effect of UV-irradiation on cercariae or due to the host's immunogenicity induced by UVirradiated cercaria...

The effect of hydrocortisone on the development of BH strain of S. mansoni in B. glabrata snails is evaluated. Snails in a randomly chosen group were submitted to hydrocortisone during four days. In the second day of hydrocortisone exposure, the snails were exposed, each, to ten S. mansoni miracidia. Another group, not treated with hydrocortisone, was exposed to miracidia and observed in the sa...

BACKGROUND Numerous factors may influence Schistosoma infection intensity and prevalence within endemic communities, including exposure-related factors such as local environment and behaviour, and factors relating to susceptibility to infection such as immunology and genetics. While animal studies performed in the laboratory can be tightly controlled, human populations are highly heterogeneous,...

Praziquantel (PZQ) is the treatment of choice for schistosomiasis, one of the most important but neglected tropical diseases. Recently, however, Schistosoma have exhibited reduced susceptibility to PZQ, and an urgent need to develop new drugs to treat schistosomiasis has emerged. Thioredoxin glutathione reductase (TGR) plays a crucial role in the redox balance of the parasite, combining glutare...