Schistosomiasis is one of the world's greatly neglected tropical diseases, and its control is
largely dependent on a single drug, praziquantel. Here, we report the in vivo effect of
mefloquine, on Schistosoma mansoni juvenile and adult worms. A mefloquine concentration
of 200mg/kg induced morphological changes on the tegument, analysis carried out by
scanning electron microscopy(SEM) revealed severe tegumental changes that occurred
rapidly after treatment of S. mansoni worms with mefloquine 200mg/kg. The SEM analysis
revealed progressive damages on the tegument surface causing its disruption. The changes in
the tegument surface included peeling as well as formation and collapsing of tubercles,
shedding of the tegument from the basement membrane indicating straight damage to the cells
in a direct time dependent effect. In addition, morphological changes on oral and ventral
sucker regions, in the form of deformity, retraction and shrinkage were observed S. mansoni
worms 2, 3, and 7 days after treatment of both juvenile and adult infection. Results:
Tegumental change of adult S. mansoni recovered from mcfloquine treated mice have been
observed in both male and female which were prominent in female worms.
Keywords: Schistosoma mansoni, tegumental changes, mefloquinc, adult ,juvenile. |
