Current applications of oogram methodology in experimental schistosomiasis; fecundity of female Schistosoma mansoni and egg release in the intestine of AKR/J mice following immunomodulatory treatment with pentoxifylline.

Oogram methodology permitted a direct assessment of the fecundity of Schistosoma mansoni and the passage of parasite eggs from mesenteric vessels into the intestinal lumen in AKR/J mice that had been infected via the intraperitoneal route with 60 cercariae of the trematode and later subjected to short-term subcutaneous treatments with pentoxifylline (PTX). The administration of PTX did not change oviposition kinetics, the individual fecundity of female parasites (as determined by the study of the ratio of second-stage S. mansoni eggs per g intestine/number of female parasites recovered from the portal system), nor the number of mature and dead eggs retained in the host tissue, though the drug has known immunomodulatory effects, as shown previously in experimental schistosomiasis. A better appraisal was also carried out, including the study of statistical parameters, concerning the utilization of the ratios of each stage of immature eggs (first to fourth) per g intestine/number of female worms from the portal system. The second-stage eggs had the lowest variability, confirming that the utilization of this stage as an indicator of the individual fecundity of parasite females is indeed viable. In the light of our findings, current uses of oogram methodology are discussed. Moreover, additional consideration is given to data obtained in the present study concerning intraperitoneal infection with S. mansoni cercariae in both untreated and treated mice of the AKR/J strain, such as the recovery of mature worms, eggs and free granulomas from the peritoneal cavity of these rodents.