Mesocestoides corti in the rat: Comparisons of Mesocestoides corti infections in rats and mice

Infections of M. corti in rats were compared with those in mice. The recoveries of parasites and their distribution were examined for 60 days after infection. During this period continuous and extensive multiplication occurred in mice. In rats there was an initial multiplication of tetrathyridia in the first 10 days followed by a decline in numbers. The relative distribution of tetrathyridia between the peritoneal cavity and liver was similar in both hosts.     

Spontaneous sexual differentiation of Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia in vitro

Barrett N. J., Smyth J. D. and Ong S. J. 1982. Spontaneous sexual differentiation of Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia in vitro. International Journal for Parasitology12: 315–322. Tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti, from the body cavity of mice, maintained in the laboratory by intraperitoneal infection, were used for in vitro culture. In an initial experiment, after 50 days asexual multiplication in vitro one tetrathyridium spontaneously segmented and developed into a sexually mature adult. Further experiments were carried out in an attempt to determine the conditions favouring segmentation and sexual differentiation. A combination of 5 or 10 ml liquid medium S1OE.H (basically composed of CMRL 1066 and foetal calf serum with supplements) changed every 3 days, in a Leighton tube (19 × 105 mm), rotated at 38°C and gassed with 10 or 20% CO₂, containing between 100 and 200 tetrathyridia, has proved to be most suitable so far. Numerous adult worms with normal male and female genitalia have been obtained in this system. However, segmentation is sporadic, rather than consistent and only a few shelled eggs with hooked oncospheres have so far been obtained, suggesting that impregnation and fertilization in vitro is not fully comparable with that in vivo.     

Gonadectomy and the development of polycephalic tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) in mice

The number of polycephalic tetrathyridia present in 150-day-old intraperitoneal larval populations of Mesocestoides corti was markedly increased in mice gonadectomized 1 month prior to infection. This effect was more pronounced in male hosts. In both sexes it was inversely correlated with the size of the populations: the smaller the population, the larger was the number of polycephalic tetrathyridia. These forms are probably produced when the separation of daughter individuals lags behind the growth and organogenesis of these peculiar cestodes.     

Protection against Mesocestoides corti infection in mice treated with zymosan or Salmonella enteritidis 11RX

Toye P. G. and Jenkin C. R. 1982. Protection against Mesocestoides corti infection in mice treated with zymosan or Salmonella enteritidis 11RX. International Journal for Parasitology12: 399–402. Zymosan and Salmonella enteritidis 11RX were found to partially protect mice against infection with the cestode Mesocestoides corti. Thus, mice previously infected with S. enteritidis 11RX contained fewer parasites in the peritoneal cavity compared to normal mice. Mice pretreated with zymosan contained fewer parasites in the peritoneal cavity and in the liver compared to normal mice and this protection was enhanced by the passive transfer of serum from mice chronically infected with M. corti. Examination of mice in the initial stages of infection revealed that the administration of zymosan led to an alteration in parasite location from the peritoneal cavity to the liver.     

A comparative study of the susceptibility of inbred strains of mice to infection with Mesocestoides corti

White T. R., Thompson R. C. A. and Penhale W. J. 1982. A comparative study of the susceptibility of inbred strains of mice to infection with Mesocestoides corti. International Journal for Parasitology12: 29–33. The susceptibility of 6 strains of inbred mice to infection with Mesocestoides corti was studied following both intraperitoneal and oral inoculation of tetrathyridia. The greatest degree of resistance was seen in C57BL/6 mice and this resistance was independent of route of inoculation. The proliferation of the parasite in C57BL/6 mice was compared with a more susceptible strain (CBA/H) on 7, 14, 21, 35 and 60 days post-infection. Although both strains harboured significantly different parasite burdens during the initial period following infection, these differences were no longer apparent by day 60.     

In vitro development of the strobilar stage of Mesocestoides corti

Thompson R. C. A., Jue Sue L. P. and Buckley S. J. 1982. In vitro development of the strobilar stage of Mesocestoides corti. International Journal for Parasitology12: 303–314. Sexually mature strobilated adults of Mesocestoides corti were grown consistently from undifferentiated tetrathyridia in vitro using a conventional diphasic culture system. Development (growth, strobilisation and maturation) was compared in vitro and in vivo. Although growth and strobilisation were comparable in vitro and in vivo, during the first 18 days, total length and numbers of proglottids decreased in vivo but continued to increase in vitro after day 18. Both male and female reproductive systems appeared to develop normally in vitro and self copulation was frequently observed in cultured worms. However, fully developed oncospheres were not produced in vitro.     

Localization and associated histopathology of asexually proliferative Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia (cestoda) infecting mouse mammary glands

Female mice of pregnant random-bred, or unmated BALB/c groups were exposed per os to Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia and necropsied at various intervals postexposure. The right posterior subcutaneous fat pad with two mammary glands was removed from each mouse, stained, mounted whole and examined microscopically for localization of worms. The left fat pad/gland set was processed, sectioned and stained using standard histological techniques. In pregnant mice, tetrathyridia were localized primarily in the fat pad's posteroventral lobe. Unmated mice had few worms in the mammary glands or associated fat pads. The difference in infection levels between the two host groups may result from mouse strain difference or the pregnant condition of one group.     

Histopathological changes in livers of mice infected with tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti and exposed to different environmental temperatures

Novak M. 1982. Histopathological changes in livers of mice infected with tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti and exposed to different environmental temperatures. International Journal for Parasitology12: 41–45. Observations on the histopathology of the liver of mice infected with Mesocestoides corti and kept for 20 days p.i. (post-infection) at low (5 ± 1°C), room (21 ± 1°C) or high (35 ± 1°C) temperature revealed that the degree of liver pathology was directly proportional to the intensity of liver infection, which in turn was the result of the temperature effect. The most severe pathological changes occured in the heavily infected organs of mice kept at low temperature, followed by less prominent changes in moderately infected livers of mice kept at room temperature and the smallest changes in lightly infected livers of mice kept at high temperature. The pathological changes in infected and uninfected livers of hosts exposed to different environmental temperatures are described and compared.     

Cross-protection between the metacestodes of Mesocestoides corti and Taenia crassiceps in mice

Novak M. 1984. Cross-protection between the metacestodes of Mesocestoides corti and Taenia crassiceps in mice. International Journal for Parasitology14: 497–501. Infection with M. corti generated significant resistance against a challenge with T. crassiceps introduced either 2 or 6 weeks after primary infection. Challenge infection with T. crassiceps did not influence primary infection with M. corti. Infection with T. crassiceps protected significantly against challenge with M. corti given 2 weeks but not 6 weeks after the primary infection. Challenge infection with M. corti significantly suppressed primary infection with T. crassiceps.     

Gonadectomy,sex hormones and the growth of tetrathyridial populations of Mesocestoides corti (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) in mice

Gonadectomy in mice considerably depressed the volumes of intraperitoneal tetrathyridial populations, orchiectomy being more efficient than ovariectomy. Testosterone propionate accelerated the growth of tetrathyridial populations in gonadectomized mice of both sexes. Oestradiol benzoate was less efficient, but considerably increased the invasion of livers both in intact and in gonadectomized mice. The average size of tetrathyridia was inversely proportional to the size of the populations: tetrathyridia from an orchiectomized mouse were the largest, those from an orchiectomized and testosterone treated mouse, the smallest, and those from an orchiectomized mouse treated with oestradiol, intermediate in size.     

Effects of mebendazole and levamisole on tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti in the mouse

Bennet E.-M., Behm C.A. and Bryant C. 1978. Effects of mebendazole and levamisole on tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti in the mouse. International Journal for Parasitology8: 463–466. Mebendazole, but not levamisole, administered to mice carrying artificial infections of 50 tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti, was effective in killing the parasites. However, simultaneous administration of mebendazole and levamisole was still more effective. Treatment with levamisole before infection had no additional effect.Injection of mice with dead larvae offered some protection against a subsequent challenge with 50 live larvae; however, levamisole did not then improve the anthelmintic efficacy of mebendazole. In mice rendered immunoincompetent by radiation mebendazole was less effective than in non-irradiated controls and levamisole again did not enhance the effect of mebendazole. It is concluded that anthelmintic efficacy of mebendazole depends on its anthelmintic activity supplemented by the host's immune response; and that levamisole stimulates the latter.     

Taenia crassiceps: Fate of cysticerci following ingestion by the mouse

Cysticerci of Taenia crassiceps were administered to mice by gavage to determine whether enteral or parenteral infections would establish consistently. Some worms survived in the small intestine up to 16 days, whereas others penetrated through the gut wall into the peritoneal cavity within 24 hr. Similar proportions of different doses of worms reached the peritoneal cavity regardless of the size of the inoculum and sex or strain of mice used. In addiiton, it was shown that mice may acquire an intraperitoneal infection with T. crassiceps by eating the carcass of an infected mouse.     

Effect of sex hormones on the growth and multiplication of tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) in mice

The number of tetrathyridia in the peritoneal cavities of mice increases exponentially with time. Thirty days post infection more larvae are in the cavities than in the livers. After that the increase of intraperitoneal populations continues, whereas the number of tetrathyridia in the livers remains more or less constant.Exogenous testosterone propionate, 10 $\text{μg}\text{g}$, twice a week, for 5 weeks, increases significantly the total volumes of tetrathyridial populations in the peritoneal cavities, whereas oestradiol benzoate, 5 $\text{μg}\text{g}$ or 10 $\text{μg}\text{g}$, also for 5 weeks, accelerates the rate of growth and multiplication of coelomic tetrathyridia to a much lesser extent, but increases significantly the infection of the livers.     

Fasciola hepatica: Migration of newly excysted juveniles in resistant rats

Using transmission and scanning electron microscopy, the early migration of juvenile Fasciola hepatica was examined in naive and resistant rats. In naive rats, the migration of flukes to the peritoneal cavity was uneventful. In resistant rats, flukes were rapidly coated with antibody whilst still in the gut lumen and a proportion of the flukes were unable to penetrate the intestinal wall. Those that did penetrate were unharmed as they crossed the gut wall, but on entering the peritoneal cavity they were coated with antibody and host cells including eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages, and mast cells. Eosinophils were seen degranulating onto the fluke surface, and this appeared to result in the erosion of the tegumental syncytium.     

The early migratory behaviour of young Fasciola hepatica in sensitized mice

Earlier work has shown that when mice are sensitized with irradiated metacercariae the numbers of immature flukes that can be recovered from the peritoneal cavity 2 days after reinfection with normal metacercariae is significantly less than the numbers recovered from non-sensitized control mice. Experiments are now described which investigate the reason for this difference. An inflammatory cellular reaction, most marked in sensitized mice occurs in the intestinal wall but this does not delay the migration of challenge flukes into the peritoneal cavity. No effective protective mechanism operates at the intestinal wall because similar numbers of flukes are present in the livers of sensitized and non-sensitized mice at 12 and 14 days after infection. When livers of sensitized and non-sensitized mice were examined 2 days after infection significantly more flukes had already reached the liver in the sensitized group. This indicates that immature flukes migrate more quickly from the peritoneal cavity in mice previously sensitized with irradiated metacercariae and would account for the difference in the number of flukes recovered from the peritoneal cavity of sensitized and non-sensitized mice at 2 days after infection.     

Effects of certain lipid compounds on growth and asexual multiplication of Mesocestoides corti (Cestoda) tetrathyridia

The effects of Williams and Law mixture (W-L), farnesol (juvenile hormone mimics), ecdysterone (molting hormone analog), cholesterol, and stigmasterol on growth and asexual reproduction of Mesocestoides corti larvae in vivo and in vitro were studied. W-L and ecdysterone stimulated an increase in larval asexual reproduction under in vivo conditions, however, cholesterol had no effect on the larvae in vivo. In vitro, cholesterol stimulated a slight increase in reproduction but had no effect on growth; stigmasterol appeared to be somewhat detrimental to the larvae. In vitro, W-L, farnesol, and ecdysterone stimulated by varying amounts an increase in growth (as measured by larval size) and asexual reproduction. Lipid extraction of M. corti larvae and Hymenolepis diminuta adults, followed by a series of thin-layer chromatograms, yielded 2 compounds (I-B and I-D) which affected M. corti larvae in vitro. These 2 compounds stimulated increased growth of the M. corti larvae and to some extent an increase in asexual reproduction.     

Fasciola hepatica: The effect of challenge by the subcutaneous or intraperitoneal route with living adult flukes in sensitized rats

When rats, sensitized either by subcutaneous implantation of adult F. hepatica or by a normal oral infection with F. hepatica metacercariae, were challenged by implanting adult flukes in the peritoneal cavity, 23% of these flukes were killed in rats sensitized by subcutaneous implantation and 71% in the rats sensitized by the oral route. In contrast neither of these sensitization routes were effective against subcutaneous challenge with adult fluke. Histological evidence suggested that about half of the dead flukes found were killed shortly after transfer and these flukes were surrounded with mononuclear cells. The remaining dead flukes appear to have died after becoming surrounded with a cyst. These latter flukes were surrounded by neutrophils and this cell type was very prominent in the cysts of sensitized rats.     

Factors influencing the establishment of Mesocestoides corti in mice following oral inoculation of tetrathyridia

Factors which influence the establishment of tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti in mice following inoculation per os were examined. Only a proportion of the tetrathyridia penetrate the gut wall and gain access to the peritoneal cavity and liver, and most of these penetrate through the wall of the small intestine. It appears that tetrathyridia must attach to the intestinal mucosa and commence penetration immediately or they pass into the large intestine and are voided. Establishment was not influenced by strain, sex or age of host. However, the temperature at which tetrathyridia were maintained before inoculation influence their ability to penetrate the intestinal wall. Additionally it appears that tetrathyridia have to undergo a morphological change before or during, this penetration phase.     

The first report of peritoneal tetrathyridiosis in squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)

This report describes a case of peritoneal larval cestodiasis caused by tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides sp. in an adult female squirrel monkey. The monkey had lived in a zoological garden in Japan and had a clinical history of wasting. At necropsy, numerous whitish oval masses were found in the liver and peritoneal cavity. These masses contained larval cestodes. Morphological observation and molecular analyses of the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene sequences allowed us to identify the larva as the tetrathyridium of Mesocestoides sp. This is the first report of Mesocestoides larvae in a squirrel monkey in Japan.     

Eimeria nieschulzi and Trichinella spiralis: Analysis of concurrent infection in the rat

The effects of concurrent primary infection of the rat with Eimeria nieschulzi and Trichinella spiralis on the number of oocysts of E. nieschulzi shed by the host and on the number, distribution, and fecundity of adult T. spiralis were analyzed. When rats were initially infected with E. nieschulzi followed 9 days later by infection with T. spiralis there occurred a significant decrease in the total numbers of adult worms in the small intestine, a significant shift in the position of these worms along the length of the small gut, a decrease in the fecundity of adult female worms, and a decrease in muscle parasitism when compared with rats infected with T. spiralis alone. When rats were initially infected with T. spiralis, followed 9 days later by infection with E. nieschulzi, there occurred a significant decrease in the numbers of oocysts shed over 24 hr on Days 7, 9, and 11 postinfection below that seen with rats infected only with Eimeria. These changes are discussed in terms of the enteropathophysiologic lesions and enteric inflammation known to occur during infections with these two parasites.