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Long live the worms: methods for maintaining and assessing the viability of intestinal stages of Parascaris spp. in vitro

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2018

J. A. Scare Open the ORCID record for J. A. Scare [Opens in a new window] ,
A. E. Steuer ,
C. L. Shaffer ,
P. Slusarewicz ,
A. Mousley  and
M. K. Nielsen
J. A. Scare*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Science, M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
A. E. Steuer
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Science, M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
C. L. Shaffer
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Science, M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
P. Slusarewicz
Affiliation:
MEP Equine Solutions, 3905 English Oak Circle, Lexington, KY 40514, USA
A. Mousley
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland
M. K. Nielsen
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Science, M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
*
Author for correspondence: J. A. Scare, E-mail: Jessica.scare@uky.edu
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Abstract

In vitro maintenance of helminth parasites enables a variety of molecular, pharmaceutical and immunological analyses. Currently, the nutritional and environmental in vitro requirements of the equine ascarid parasite, Parascaris spp., have not been determined. Additionally, an objective method for assessing viability of Parascaris spp. intestinal stages does not exist. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the in vitro requirements of intestinal stages of Parascaris spp., and to develop a viability assessment method. A total of 1045 worms were maintained in a total of 212 cultures. Worms obtained from naturally infected foals at necropsy were immediately placed in culture flasks containing 200 mL of culture media. A variety of media types, nutrient supplementation and environmental conditions were examined. A motility-based scoring system was used to assess worm viability. Worms maintained in Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 had significantly better viability than any other media (P < 0.0001) and all media types supplemented with any of the nutrients examined (P < 0.0001). The use of a platform rocker also significantly improved viability (P = 0.0305). This is the first study to examine the requirements for maintaining Parascaris spp. intestinal stages in vitro and to evaluate their viability based on movement using an objective scoring system.

Keywords

Ascaridhelminthin vitromaintenanceParascarisviability
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 146 , Issue 5 , April 2019 , pp. 685 - 693
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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