title: Parasitological characteristics of Schistosoma mansoni infection in swiss mice with underlying malnutrition.
abstract: The effects of a protein-restricted diet (8% protein, 81% carbohydrate and 11% lipids) on Schistosoma mansoni infectivity, fecal egg excretion and intestinal egg distribution in Swiss (SW) mice were studied. Pregnant mice received a deficient diet from the middle of gestation until delivery. Seven-days-old mice were exposed to 50 cercariae (BH strain, Brazil). Offspring mice had a free access to the deficient diet since lactation until adulthood. The controls were fed with a commercial mice diet. A parasitological examination was performed between six and eight weeks post-infection while both groups were necropsied one week later. Mice on the experimental diet showed a significant loss in body weight. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in pre-patent period, kinetics of egg excretion and worm recovery from mice on either diet. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found concerning to the percentage of deposited eggs in the distal segment of the small intestine from hosts on the experimental diet. Our data suggest that experimental malnutrition induced for a long term has no detrimental effect on the acute schistosomiais infection in SW mice.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintologia Romero Lascasas Porto, Departamento de Patologia e Laboratórios, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20590-170, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Renata Heisler
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: Lucas de Andrade
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Patrícia Dias
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.forename: Cristiane Oliveira
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Cravo
authors.forename: Egberto Gaspar
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: de Moura
authors.forename: José Roberto
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Machado-Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000469:parasitology; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000254:growth & development*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000150:complications / Q000469:parasitology*