Rizvi A, Zaidi Z A, Alam M M, Zafar A, Shareef P A A, Saifullah M K, Saleemuddin M, Abidi S M A
Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.
Department of Ophthalmology, Nizwa Hospital, PO Box 1222, PC 611, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman.
J Helminthol. 2014 Mar;88(1):69-73. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X12000752. Epub 2012 Dec 11.
Clinostomum complanatum is a digenetic trematode that causes yellow grub disease in some fish species and also shows zoonotic potential by sporadically infecting humans. In this study, progenetic metacercariae of C. complanatum were obtained from the fish Trichogaster fasciatus, and were aseptically placed in conjunctival incisions made in the superior and inferior fornices of the eye of rabbits, which served as the experimental hosts. Worms were harvested without necropsy of the host on days 4 and 8 post infection, to observe in vivo transformation of the progenetic metacercariae into ovigerous adult worms. The worms appeared to cause minimal damage to the host although they were tenaciously attached. In vivo maturation was evident by the development of the vitellaria, enlargement of gonads, the presence of a large number of shelled eggs in a distended uterus and ramifications of the intestinal caeca. Obtaining mature ovigerous worms without sacrificing the host clearly gives the rabbit eye model an advantage over those described previously. Due to the relative advantage of the short time required for maturation and the prolific egg production by C. complanatum, it is suggested that this host-parasite system could be used as an excellent model for classroom teaching of trematode biology and to investigate the cues involved in in vivo transformation and host-parasite interactions.
扁体 Clinostomum complanatum 是一种双殖吸虫，可在某些鱼类中引起黄蛆病，还偶发感染人类，具有人畜共患病潜力。在本研究中，从条纹毛足鲈中获得了 C. complanatum 的早熟后尾蚴，并将其无菌放置在作为实验宿主的家兔眼上下穹窿结膜切口处。在感染后第 4 天和第 8 天，在不解剖宿主的情况下采集虫体，以观察早熟后尾蚴在体内转化为产卵成虫的过程。尽管虫体紧紧附着，但似乎对宿主造成的损害最小。通过卵黄腺的发育、性腺的增大、扩张子宫内大量带壳卵的存在以及肠盲囊的分支，可以明显看出虫体在体内成熟。在不牺牲宿主的情况下获得成熟的产卵虫体，显然使家兔眼模型比之前描述的模型更具优势。由于 C. complanatum 成熟所需时间短且产卵量大的相对优势，建议该宿主 - 寄生虫系统可作为吸虫生物学课堂教学以及研究体内转化和宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用相关线索的优秀模型。
