title: Echinococcus multilocularis: Single hepatic lesion experimentally established without metastasis in rats.
abstract: We herein describe the establishment of single hepatic lesions of Echinococcus multilocularis in rats. A 3mm incision was made on the liver with a surgical knife, and one small round vesicle of E. multilocularis (between 1 × 1 mm and <2 × 2 mm in diameter) was transplanted into the incision and covered with absorbable hemostat gauze. The presence and growth of the transplanted vesicle was monitored for 12 weeks using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Hepatic lesions, the metacestode of this parasite were confirmed in 12 of 17 infected rats (70.6%) by MRI and macroscopic examinations. The average size of the metacestodes with brood capsules at 12 weeks after the experimental transplantation of a single vesicle was 6.1 ± 2.5 mm × 4.4 ± 1.5mm. The smallest size of the metacestodes detected by MRI was approximately 3 × 3 mm. This new approach of establishing single hepatic metacestodes of E. multilocularis in experimental animals is expected to be useful for analyzing the immune-pathological mechanisms of hepatic AE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori 680-8553, Japan.
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imagawa
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakaya
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sako
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuka
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.forename: Munehiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000469:parasitology*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051381:Rats; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
keywords: Alveolar echinococcosis; Echinococcus multilocularis; Hepatic lesion without metastasis; MRI; Rat; Transplantation of a single vesicle of E. multilocularis