Biochemical Aspects of Schistosome Behaviour

Abstract

The haematophagous blood trematodes that comprise the genus SchistosomJJ live in a stable environment with an adequate food supply and an efficient waste disposal system. The main food is glucose obtained from the host blood and assimilated through the tegument Other dietary factors are assimilated through the tegument or the gut epithelium. The male fluke supplements and augments the diet of the female who is thus able to concentrate on egg production. Live flukes resist attack by the host by secreting an immunologically inert envelope and by incorporating unchanged host serum protein into their structures. They can also incorporate host structural fatty acids unchanged.

Alterations in blood glucose concentration in wild rodents, Holochilus sciureus, naturally infected with Schistosoma mansoni

“…The main mechanisms proposed to improve glucose tolerance and sensitivity are associated with the metabolism of adult schistosomes and the immune response induced by the infection. Adult worms can consume host glucose for survival (Bueding, 1950;Cornford et al, 1983), via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway (Bueding & MacKinnon, 1955;Fripp, 1972), which may contribute to lowering blood glucose levels. Furthermore, schistosomiasis infection induces a potent type 2 and regulatory immune response (Hesse et al, 2004;Burke et al, 2009;McManus et al, 2018) which can reduce chronic inflammation associated with metabolic disorders such as obesity (Hussaarts et al, 2015), improving homeostasis associated with glucose concentration.…”