Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Department of Tropical Pathology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Department of Helminthology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 8;17(3):e0264766. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264766. eCollection 2022.
Human gnathostomiasis is a food-borne zoonotic helminthic infection widely reported in Latin America, Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand. There are increasing reports of the parasite in countries where it is not endemic. A study of the survival drug-treated immature stage (STIM) of Gnathostoma spinigerum recovered from infected patients focused on their integument surface using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). STIM displayed a specific, characteristic head bulb, with a pair of large thick equal-sized trilobulated lips in the centre. Cephalic spines had eight transverse rows on the head bulb with single-ended tips curved posteriorly. Body cuticular spines on the anterior half of the STIM were not sharp-pointed but distributed more densely, with multi-dentated-cuticular spines, irregularly arranged in a lining pattern of velvety cuticular folds. The length of cuticular spines increased caudally. The size of spines became gradually smaller, and numbers decreased towards the posterior end. Spines were still widely dispersed posteriorly as their density dropped. The morphology of STIM of G. spinigerum are described in detail for the first time. These specimens showed structural adaptation based on changes on integument surfaces, probably to protect against damage induced by the toxic effects of albendazole.
人体颚口线虫病是一种食源性人畜共患的寄生虫感染，在拉丁美洲、亚洲和东南亚广泛报道，特别是在泰国。在非流行地区，寄生虫的报告越来越多。本研究采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）对从感染患者中回收的未成熟期（STIM）的棘颚口线虫进行了研究，重点研究了它们的表皮表面。STIM 显示出一个特定的、特征性的头部灯泡，在中心有一对大的、厚的、等大小的三叶状嘴唇。头部灯泡上有 8 个横向的头棘列，末端向后弯曲。STIM 前半部分的体表皮刺不是尖的，但分布更密集，有多齿状皮刺，呈绒毛状皮褶的不规则排列。皮刺的长度向尾端逐渐增加。刺的大小逐渐变小，数量向后端减少。随着密度的降低，刺仍然广泛地向后分散。棘颚口线虫的 STIM 形态特征首次被详细描述。这些标本显示出基于表皮表面变化的结构适应，可能是为了防止阿苯达唑的毒性作用引起的损伤。
