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Biochemical profile of Biomphalaria glabrata (Mollusca: Gastropoda) after infection by Echinostoma paraensei (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae)

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Abstract

The effect of infection by Echinostoma paraensei on the activity of the enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the concentration of total proteins, uric acid and urea in the hemolymph of Biomphalaria glabrata were investigated after exposure to five or 50 miracidia. The biochemical concentrations were measured weekly until the end of the fourth week after exposure. There was a significant decrease in the concentrations of total proteins in the snails exposed both to five and 50 miracidia, as well as an increase in the nitrogenous products of excretion, ALT and AST activities. The higher ALT activity in the hemolymph of the snails after infection with 50 miracidia suggests highest energetic requirement in these snails in relation to snails exposed to five miracidia. The results also suggest an increase in the use of total proteins, since there was increased formation of nitrogenous catabolites, in conformity with an increase in the aminotransferase activities, frequently associated with tissue damages. This can be explained by damage due to penetration by the miracidia and subsequent development of intramolluscan sporocysts and rediae.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by Conselho Nacional para o Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). The authors thank M.Sc. Juberlan Silva Garcia for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Área de Biofísica, Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Biologia, UFRuralRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Victor M. Tunholi, Danilo Lustrino, Vinícius M. Tunholi-Alves & Jairo Pinheiro

  2. Curso de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Veterinária, UFRuralRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Victor M. Tunholi, Vinícius M. Tunholi-Alves & Maria de Lurdes de A. Rodrigues

  3. Laboratório de Esquistossomose Experimental, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Clélia C. C. Mello-Silva

  4. Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Arnaldo Maldonado Jr.

Authors
  1. Victor M. Tunholi
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  2. Danilo Lustrino
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  3. Vinícius M. Tunholi-Alves
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  4. Clélia C. C. Mello-Silva
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  5. Arnaldo Maldonado Jr.
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  6. Jairo Pinheiro
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  7. Maria de Lurdes de A. Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Jairo Pinheiro.

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Tunholi, V.M., Lustrino, D., Tunholi-Alves, V.M. et al. Biochemical profile of Biomphalaria glabrata (Mollusca: Gastropoda) after infection by Echinostoma paraensei (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae). Parasitol Res 109, 885–891 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2330-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2330-7

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