Necator americanus: maintenance through one hundred generations in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). II. Morphological development of the adult and its comparison with humans.
Through 100 passages, the human hookworm Necator americanus was adapted to the golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, without either the requirement for exogenous steroids or other immunosuppressive agents, nor the requirement to infect hamsters as pups. Adult N. americanus recovered from infected hamsters were morphologically similar to those from infected humans in Sichuan Province, China, although they were smaller and the females produced fewer eggs. The natural history and kinetics of N. americanus infection was different in female and male hamsters. Female hamsters supported low intensity infections that lasted for approximately two months. In contrast, the peak intensity of infection in male hamsters was high, but this situation lasted less than for 4 weeks at which time many of the hookworms were expelled. However, even after the major parasite expulsion, the total number of hookworms consistently remained higher in chronically infected male hamsters compared with female hamsters. The hamster model of N. americanus is potentially useful for studying the development of new anthelminthic drugs and vaccines.
National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC), 207 Rui Jin Er Lu, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China.
Xue
X
Jian
Xiao
X
Shu-Hua
Qiang
Q
Hui-Qing
Liu
L
Sen
Peter
P
Hotez
Shen
S
Bing-Gui
Xue
X
Hai-Chou
Li
L
Tie-Hua
Zhan
Z
Bin
D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus / Q000469:parasitology*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D017221:Necator americanus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009332:Necatoriasis / Q000469:parasitology*; D012692:Serial Passage; D012737:Sex Factors