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A transmission electron microscope study on the route of entry of triclabendazole into the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2009

E. TONER ,
G. P. BRENNAN ,
F. McCONVERY ,
M. MEANEY  and
I. FAIRWEATHER
E. TONER
Affiliation:
Parasite Therapeutics Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, The Queen's University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BelfastBT9 7BL, Northern Ireland
G. P. BRENNAN
Affiliation:
Parasite Therapeutics Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, The Queen's University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BelfastBT9 7BL, Northern Ireland
F. McCONVERY
Affiliation:
Parasite Therapeutics Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, The Queen's University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BelfastBT9 7BL, Northern Ireland
M. MEANEY
Affiliation:
Parasite Therapeutics Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, The Queen's University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BelfastBT9 7BL, Northern Ireland
I. FAIRWEATHER*
Affiliation:
Parasite Therapeutics Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, The Queen's University of Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BelfastBT9 7BL, Northern Ireland
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +44-28-90972298. Fax: +44-28-90975877. E-mail: i.fairweather@qub.ac.uk
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Summary

Uptake of triclabendazole by the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica has been studied by experiments designed to block either oral uptake of drug, by use of ligatures, or trans-tegumental diffusion, by allowing the drug to bind to an excess of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the medium. Changes to the tegumental system, musculature and gut were assessed using transmission electron microscopy. Flukes were incubated in vitro for 24 h in TCBZ.SO (15 μg/ml). Disruption to the tegument and muscle was similar in ligatured and non-ligatured flukes, suggesting that closing the oral route did not affect drug uptake. The ultrastructure of the gastrodermal cells remained unchanged. Non-ligatured flukes were also incubated for 24 h in vitro in TCBZ.SO (15 μg/ml) in the presence of red blood cells (RBCs). Oral uptake of blood was demonstrated, but gut ultrastructure remained normal, whereas the tegument was severely disrupted. In separate experiments, ligatured and non-ligatured flukes were incubated in TCBZ.SO (15 μg/ml) in the presence of BSA (30 mg/ml) for 24 h in vitro. There was a marked decrease in the degree of tegumental disruption observed compared with TCBZ.SO action alone; again, the gut remained normal. The findings support previous morphological and pharmacological studies indicating that trans-tegumental uptake of triclabendazole predominates in the liver fluke.

Keywords

Fasciola hepaticatriclabendazoledrug uptakeligaturebovine serum albuminred blood cellstransmission electron microscopy
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 5 , April 2010 , pp. 855 - 870
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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