Increased number of mast cells at the site of infection is widely regarded as important host defense against parasites. The kinetics of mucosal mast cells and connective tissue mast cells responses were studied in the intestines of 68 female CFLP mice infected with 100 Schistosoma mansoni cercariae. The number of mucosal mast cells and the connective tissue mast cells increased from week 3 and ...

BACKGROUND Stunted development and reduced fecundity of Schistosoma parasites in immunodeficient mice and the impaired ability of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1)-infected humans to excrete schistosome eggs have been described. This study explores the effect that HIV-1-associated immunodeficiency has on the excretion of schistosome eggs in a large cohort of coinfected individuals. METHO...

The pathology of schistosomiasis mansoni, a neglected tropical disease of great clinical and socioeconomic importance, results from the parasite eggs that become trapped in host tissues, particularly in the liver and intestines. Continuous antigenic stimulation from these eggs leads to recruitment of inflammatory cells to the sites of infection with formation of periovular granulomas. These com...

BACKGROUND In Brazil, schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease of public health relevance, mainly in poor areas where Schistosoma mansoni is the only human species encountered and Biomphalaria straminea is one of the intermediate host snails. A nested-PCR based on a specific mitochondrial S. mansoni minisatellite DNA region has been successfully developed and applied as a reference method in Braz...

Schistosoma haematobium soluble egg antigen (SEA) secreted in urine can be assayed to determine egg tissue load and hence morbidity in infected individuals. A cohort of 158 infected children aged 4-18 years was followed-up for 33 days pre and post treatment with a single dose of praziquantel. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of S. haematobium between males and females (P < 0...

AIMS To find out whether serology can reliably speciate human schistosomiasis using a simple enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. METHODS Stored sera from 66 patients with microscopically confirmed schistosomiasis were subjected to ELISA using a panel of three antigens, namely: unfractionated Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg antigen (SEA); CEF6, a cationic fraction of SEA; and ...

The low stringency-polymerase chain reaction (LS-PCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays were used to detect the presence of S. mansoni DNA in (1) Brazilian intermediate hosts (Biomphalaria glabrata, B. straminea, and B. tenagophila) with patent S. mansoni infections, (2) B. glabrata snails with prepatent S. mansoni infections, (3) various mixtures of infected and noninfec...