School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham,Boots Sciences Building,University Park,Nottingham, NG7 2RD,UK.
Parasitology. 2019 Mar;146(3):314-320. doi: 10.1017/S0031182018001518. Epub 2018 Oct 25.
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living nematode that resides in soil and typically feeds on bacteria. We postulate that haematophagic C. elegans could provide a model to evaluate vaccine responses to intestinal proteins from hematophagous nematode parasites, such as Necator americanus. Human erythrocytes, fluorescently labelled with tetramethylrhodamine succinimidyl ester, demonstrated a stable bright emission and facilitated visualization of feeding events with fluorescent microscopy. C. elegans were observed feeding on erythrocytes and were shown to rupture red blood cells upon capture to release and ingest their contents. In addition, C. elegans survived equally on a diet of erythrocytes. There was no statistically significant difference in survival when compared with a diet of Escherichia coli OP50. The enzymes responsible for the digestion and detoxification of haem and haemoglobin, which are key components of the hookworm vaccine, were found in the C. elegans intestine. These findings support our postulate that free-living nematodes could provide a model for the assessment of neutralizing antibodies to current and future hematophagous parasite vaccine candidates.
秀丽隐杆线虫是一种自由生活的线虫，生活在土壤中，通常以细菌为食。我们假设食血性秀丽隐杆线虫可以为评估抗肠道蛋白疫苗的反应提供一种模型，这些肠道蛋白来自于血食性线虫寄生虫，如美洲钩虫。用四甲基罗丹明琥珀酰亚胺酯荧光标记的人红细胞表现出稳定的明亮发射，便于通过荧光显微镜观察摄食事件。我们观察到秀丽隐杆线虫以红细胞为食，并在捕获后破裂红细胞以释放和摄取其内容物。此外，秀丽隐杆线虫在以红细胞为食的情况下也能存活。与以大肠杆菌 OP50 为食相比，其存活率没有统计学上的显著差异。秀丽隐杆线虫的肠道中发现了负责消化和解毒血红素和血红蛋白的酶，这些血红素和血红蛋白是钩虫疫苗的关键成分。这些发现支持我们的假设，即自由生活的线虫可以为评估当前和未来血食性寄生虫疫苗候选物的中和抗体提供一种模型。
