Development of a chemotherapeutic model for the in vitro screening of drugs against Echinococcus granulosus cysts: the effects of an albendazole-albendazole sulphoxide combination

• Published in: International journal for parasitology Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 59 - 65
• Main Authors: Casado, N., Pérez-Serrano, J., Denegri, G., Rodríguez-Caabeiro, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1996; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: albendazole; albendazole sulphoxide; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiparasitic agents; Biological and medical sciences; Echinococcus granulosus; hydatid cyst; in vitro treatment; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; ultrastructure; hydatid cyst; albendazole sulphoxide; ultrastructure; albendazole; in vitro treatment; Echinococcus granulosus; Anthelmintic; Plathelmintha; Parasite; Parasitosis; Cestoda; Hydatid cyst; Helminthiasis; In vitro; Cestode disease; Infection; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Ultrastructure; Parasiticid; Helmintha; Models; Invertebrata; Echinococciasis
• ISSN: 0020-7519; 1879-0135
• DOI: 10.1016/0020-7519(95)00095-X

This paper describes a novel experimental model for the screening of putative drugs against the metacestode stage of E. granulosus using hydatid cysts derived from in vitro culture of protoscoleces. The effects of an ABZ+ABZ.SO combination against cultured and murine cysts were studied with this in vitro model system. This treatment produced loss of turgidity of the cultured cysts in less time than in the murine cysts but the ultrastructural tissue damage observed in both cultured and murine cysts was similar. The ultrastructural changes induced by ABZ+ABZ.SO were: (i) vacuolation of the distal cytoplasm that extended to the tegumentary cells of the germinal membrane; (ii) increased number of mitochondria; (iii) partial loss of microtriches; (iv) increased number of autophagosomes; and (v) an increase in lipid deposits.