title: Structural changes in the jejunal mucosa of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni, fed low or high protein diets.
abstract: The effects of high and low-protein diets on the structure of the jejunal mucosa were studied in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice (morphology and histomorphometry). Weaning male albino mice were infected with 80 cercariae, fed with high (20%) or low-protein (5%) diets and compared to uninfected controls under the same conditions. Mice were sacrificed 12 weeks after infection. Animals submitted to a low-protein diet showed lower weight curves, mainly when infected. In the jejunal mucosa, finger-like villi were the predominant pattern among uninfected high-protein fed animals, while the infected ones showed leaf-shaped and flattened villi in most cases. Undernourished infected mice had 65.7% leaf-shaped villi. A significant increase in the number of goblet cells was seen in infected mice. A decrease in the number of absorptive cells was detected in undernourished mice, particularly in infected ones.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brasil.
authors.forename: Janira Lúcia Assumpção
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.forename: Haroldo da Silva
authors.initials: Hda S
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Dinalva Bezerra
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.forename: Maria Eugênia Leite
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Monica Lopes
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Assunção
authors.forename: Eridan de Medeiros
authors.initials: Ede M
authors.lastname: Coutinho
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001834:Body Water; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D007583:Jejunum / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000473:pathology*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins