The glycanic epitope of the 38,000 Mr Schistosoma mansoni schistosomula major immunogen defined by the IPLSm1 protective mAb was identified in the hemocyanin of the marine mollusc Megathura crenulata, better known as KLH. This antigenic community was exploited to investigate further the biological properties of this epitope. KLH was shown to strongly inhibit the binding of IPLSm1 mAb to its 38,...

In sub-Saharan Africa, chronic hepatosplenomegaly, with palpable firm/hard organ consistency, is common, particularly among school-aged children. This morbidity can be caused by long-term exposure to malaria, or by Schistosoma mansoni, and it is exacerbated when these two occur together. Although immunological mechanisms probably underlie the pathogenic process, these mechanisms have not been i...

Due to the semi aquatic habits and the overlap of the geographical distribution of the water-rat, Nectomys spp., with schistosomiasis endemic areas, these wild rodents are very likely to acquire Schistosoma mansoni infection in their daily activities. The role of the water-rat in the S. mansoni cycle would be substantiated if one could prove that these rodents acquire the parasite during their ...

Surface and secreted proteins of schistosomes orchestrate the basic physiologic requirements of a parasitic existence. These proteins are often exposed to host tissues during penetration, migration, feeding, and immune evasion, and they are obvious targets for control strategies. Signal sequence trap (SST) represents a novel approach that selects for cDNAs encoding secreted and surface proteins...

The complete gene encoding Schistosoma mansoni triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was isolated from a lambda phage genomic library on 2 overlapping clones. These genomic clones have been characterized by restriction mapping and DNA sequencing of the 5' flanking region, the exons, the intron boundaries and the polyadenylation addition site. S. mansoni TPI is encoded by 6 exons spanning a region of ...

Liver fibrosis is one of the most serious consequences of S. mansoni infection. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential anti-fibrotic effect of human Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) combined with praziquantel (PZQ) in S. mansoni-infected mice. S. mansoni-infected mice received early (8(th) week post infection) and late (16(th) week post infection) t...

Introduction: The responsibility of Schistosoma mansoni in female infertility is still controversial. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of acute and chronic schistosomiasis mansoni infection on the endometrium using immunohistochemical analysis of uterine hormone receptor expression. Methods: Twenty-four nonpregnant swiss albino mice were divided into three groups: control, noninf...

Eduardo de Menezes Hospital, FHEMIG, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil; MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil. Schistosomiasis associated with Schistosoma mansoni is endemic in the Caribbean Islands, the Middle East, South America and Africa and can be imported to any other region of the world by immigration and travel to endemic areas. The disease re...

The diagnosis of schistosome infection, followed by effective treatment and/or mass drug administration, is crucial to reduce the disease burden. Suitable diagnostic tests and field-applicable tools are required to sustain schistosomiasis control programs. We therefore assessed the potential of tandem repeat (TR) proteins for sero-diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni infection using an experimental...

BACKGROUND While considerable genomic and transcriptomic data are available for Schistosoma mansoni, many of its genes lack significant annotation. A transcriptomic study of individual tissues and organs of schistosomes could play an important role in functional annotation of the unknown genes, particularly by providing rapid localisation data and thus giving insight into the potential roles of...