Korean J Parasitol.  2004 Mar;42(1):19-26. 10.3347/kjp.2004.42.1.19.

Development of resistance to reinfection by Clonorchis sinensis in rats

• Chung BS
• Zhang H
• Choi MH
• Jeon D
• Li S
• Lee M
• Hong ST

• KMID: 1720479
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2004.42.1.19

Abstract

We investigated the induction of resistance to Clonorchis sinensis infection by prior infection in rat and hamster models. Animals were challenged with C. sinensis metacercariae, then treated with praziquantel and reinfected. Worm recovery rate in reinfected animals was used to estimate resistance to reinfection. The determined resistance rates to reinfection in rats and hamsters were 97.7% and 10.3%, respectively. In rats, cure from the primary infection of C. sinensis increased resistant to reinfection, and the greatert the worm burden and the longer the duration of primary infection, the higher was the resistance rate. For primary infection doses of 10, 40 and 100 metacercariae per rat, the resistance rates were 87.4%, 93.8% and 98.4%, respectively. The resistance rates in rats after 2 or 8-week primary infection were 78.7% and 95.3%, respectively. All worms recovered from reinfected rats were immature. When cured rats were administered with methylprednisolone, resistance to reinfection became impaired. These findings indicate that rats develop a high degree of resistance to reinfection by C. sinensis after cure. The growths and maturations of reinfected worms were also impaired.

Keyword

Clonorchis sinensis; reinfection; rat; hamster; resistance

MeSH Terms

Animals
Anthelmintics/administration & dosage/therapeutic use
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration & dosage
Clonorchiasis/*immunology/parasitology/*pathology
Clonorchis sinensis/*pathogenicity
Disease Models, Animal
Female
Hamsters
Immunocompetence
Immunosuppression
Male
Mesocricetus
Methylprednisolone/administration & dosage
Praziquantel/administration & dosage/therapeutic use
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't