Concurrent Infection of TRYPANOSOMA MUSCULI Kendell, 1906, and SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI Sambon, 1907 in Mice
The possible effects of ablastin on Schistosoma mansoni were investigated by (1) establishing a concurrent infection of Trypanosoma musculi and Schistosoma mansoni in mice, and (2) by obtaining Trypanosoma lewisi immune rat serum (ablastin) and injecting it into S. mansoni infected mice. These procedures were followed on days 4, 14 and 28 of S. mansoni infection. For the groups that were given immune rat serum, controls were kept into which normal rat serum was injected. Ablastin does not have any effect on the development or morphology of the S. mansoni worms as tested in this study. Although ablastin inhibits glycolytic pathway enzymes in young trypanosomes, it does not seem to affect those of the blood fluke. Effects of schistosome membrane function must also be ruled out as no reduction in worm burden and no morphological abnormalities were observed. Both immune and normal rat serum caused an increase in the number of worms recovered. This is most probably due to a serum sickness type reaction in the mice, caused by the foreign rat protein. This is supported by preliminary experiments which showed that mice given immune rat serum every third day died of anaphylactic shock on the twelfth day, a few minutes after the fifth injection was given. Starting both T. musculi and S. mansoni infections at the same time as well as establishing a high titer of ablastin by introducing the T. musculi infection 8 to 10 days prior to the schistosome infection. would establish the effect of ablastin on the penetration of S. mansoni cercariae.
Animal Experimentation and Research, Microbiology, Parasitology, Microbiology; Schistosoma mansoni; Trypanosoma
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