Functional visualization of the excretory system of adult Schistosoma mansoni by the fluorescent marker resorufin.
Excretion of metabolic wastes as well as xenobiotics is a major concern of all living organisms, and the Platyhelminthes including Schistosoma mansoni possess the protonephridial excretory system for their survival. Except for some ultra-structural and biochemical information, little is known about the protonephridium of platyhelminths due to a lack of established techniques for exploring the excretory activity. This study describes a new technique to assess the excretory activity of S. mansoni by use of the fluorescent marker resorufin, which is a potential substrate of the drug efflux pump, P-glycoprotein. After simple diffusion into the schistosome body, fluorescent resorufin was concentrated in the excretory tubules by an energy-dependent mechanism and excreted via the nephridiopore. The present technique of labelling functionally the excretory system was applicable to adult worms, but not schistosomula or cercariae. A variety of modulators known to interfere with mammalian P-glycoprotein function perturbed resorufin excretion from male adult schistosomes, including cyclosporin A, Ro11-2933, verapamil, or nifedipine. This technique of labelling the excretory system with fluorescent resorufin has enabled us to study aspects of the physiological function, hitherto unknown, of the protonephridial system of S. mansoni.[1]References
- Functional visualization of the excretory system of adult Schistosoma mansoni by the fluorescent marker resorufin. Sato, H., Kusel, J.R., Thornhill, J. Parasitology (2002) [Pubmed]
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