In vitro studies on the effects of flubendazole against Toxocara canis and Ascaris suum

Abstract

Adult Toxocara canis and Ascaris suum were incubated in vitro in media containing 0.1, 1, 10 or 100 micro g/ml flubendazole in order to study drug-derived effects. This incubation was done for 8 h and repeated (in some groups) after 24 h for another 8 h. The onset and intensity of flubendazole-derived effects were dosage-dependent and time-dependent, i.e. the same grade of damage was reached when incubating for a longer period at a low dosage or for a shorter period in medium containing a high amount (10 or 100 micro g/ml) of flubendazole. A repeated incubation in drug-containing medium was superior to a single exposure. Flubendazole is apparently able to penetrate into the worm's interior via the cuticle. This became evident in worms with sealed orifices, which showed identical damage to worms which were not sealed. The type of tissue damage due to flubendazole was identical in both worm species when exposed to any of the drug dosages used. The principal mode of action of flubendazole was based on the complete reduction of microtubuli-polymerisation inside the parasite's cells. This apparently led to the complete destruction of the hypodermis, muscle layer and intestine. Flubendazole also stopped the formation of gametes. Summarising, even low concentrations of flubendazole (0.1 micro g/ml) led to significant and irreversible damage in all worms studied.

Molecular mechanism of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1cα–PP1r7) in spermatogenesis of Toxocara canis

“…The adult worms were collected from the intestines according to methodologies described elsewhere (Hanser, 2003). The adult male T. canis were identified based on their morphological features according to the guidelines of Veterinary Parasitology (Urquhart et al, 2003), and washed with 1.0% formaldehyde in PBS to eliminate or minimize contamination.…”

Body Surface Changes in Gastrointestinal Helminthes Following in vitro Treatment with Allium sativum Oil

“…After recovery, the worms were washed and transferred to Ringer solution, as recommended by Hanser et al [10] containing ASO at concentrations of 10, 50 and 100 µg/ml. The worms were incubated for 24 h at 37°C in an atmosphere of 5% CO 2 .…”

Profiling the macrofilaricidal effects of flubendazole on adult female Brugia malayi using RNAseq

“…Further exposure resulted in decreased glycogen content, accumulation of secretory granules near the Golgi and swelling and disruption of microvilli (Borgers and De Nollin, 1975, Borgers et al., 1975, Atkinson et al., 1980). Studies on the exposure of Toxocara canis and A. suum to FLBZ reported vacuolization of muscle, gonadal tissue, intestine and hypodermis (Hanser et al., 2003). FLBZ-induced damage to reproductive organs of filariae has also been reported (Howells and Delves, 1985, Cárdenas et al., 2010).…”