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Biomedical subjects

L H Chappell

Publications and source records attributed to L H Chappell.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Chitin in egg shells of Onchocerca gibsoni and Onchocerca volvulus.

Chemical analysis of adult females of Onchocerca gibsoni gave estimated chitin contents of 200-500 micrograms (g dry weight)-1. Egg shells from both O. gibsoni and Onchocerca volvulus stained with Calcofluor white and with fluorescent wheat germ agglutinin as shown by fluorescent light microscopy, and bound gold-labelled wheat germ agglutinin as shown by electron microscopy, under conditions specific for chitin. The egg shells appeared as single electron dense layers from 50 to 85 nm in thickness. Purified chitinase digested these egg shells, leaving coiled microfilariae unattacked. We conclude that chitin is a major component of the egg shells.

Animals↗

Dosage, timing, and route of administration of cyclosporin A and nonimmunosuppressive derivatives of dihydrocyclosporin A and cyclosporin C against Schistosoma mansoni in vivo and in vitro.

The prophylactic and therapeutic effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) against percutaneous Schistosoma mansoni infection in MF1 mice were dose related and dependent on the temporal relationship between drug administration and infection. Antischistosomal activity, assessed by worm recovery from the host 6 weeks after infection, was most effective (complete worm elimination) when CsA was administered at the time of infection. Oral administration of CsA was less effective than subcutaneous injection, and no prophylactic activity was demonstrated by the former route. Derivatives of dihydrocyclosporin A and cyclosporin C, which have been reported to exert only poor immunosuppressive activity, exhibited efficacy against S. mansoni similar to that of CsA and were also less effective when given orally. Subcutaneous, but not oral CsA reduced cercarial skin penetration and transformation success; the derivative of dihydrocyclosporin A, however, was without effect. Moreover, CsA, but not the derivative of dihydrocyclosporin A, reduced the number of worms established after intraperitoneal injection of cercariae. These data provide further insight into the antischistosomal activity of cyclosporins, which appears to be distinct from their immunomodulatory properties, since parasite killing was retained both in immunologically disparate mice and with poorly immunosuppressive cyclosporin derivatives.

Animals↗

Schistosoma mansoni: uptake in vitro and incorporation of adenine by adults.

The rates of adenine uptake and incorporation into nucleic acids by adult male and female Schistosoma mansoni were determined during periods of up to 10 days in vitro, and comparisons were made between paired and separated worms. Adenine uptake by separated males and females exceeded that exhibited by equivalent paired worms. The rate of incorporation of adenine into nucleic acids was higher in separated females than in paired females. In contrast, the state of pairing had little effect on adenine incorporation by male S. mansoni. There was no correlation between rates of adenine uptake and incorporation and the reproductive activity of S. mansoni adults in vitro. Uptake and incorporation rates appeared to reflect the changing somatic requirements of both male and female worms.

Adenine↗

Diplostomum spathaceum (Rud. 1819): effects of physical factors on the infection of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) by cercariae.

The relationship between infection rates of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) by Diplostomum spathaceum and cercarial concentration, water flow rate and temperature were investigated by means of controlled infections within a flume. A linear relationship was obtained between cercarial concentration and mean abundance of metacercariae/fish. A biphasic relationship occurred between flow rate and abundance of metacercariae. Within the confines of the flume, it was possible to control the infection rate of trout with D. spathaceum cercariae by manipulating flow rate, suggesting that it may be a possible method of controlling diplostomiasis on fish farms. No infection occurred in fish infected and maintained below 10 degrees C and the optimum infection temperature was approximately 17.5 degrees C. Infections became established in fish infected at 7.5 and 5 degrees C but maintained at 15 degrees C prior to examination. Trout were infected at 7.5 degrees C for 10-50 min and all attached cercariae were washed off and removed from the flume. Following infection, fish were either maintained at 7.5 degrees C or 15 degrees C prior to examination. Using this method, it was possible to ascertain that it was migration and not penetration which was inhibited at water temperatures below 10 degrees C.

Animals↗

The epidemiology of diplostomiasis in farmed rainbow trout from north-east Scotland.

An epidemiological survey of the distribution and abundance of Diplostomum spathaceum in farmed rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) from Mill of Cantray trout farm (Nairn, Morayshire) involved monthly sampling of fish over a 3-year period. Diplostomum metacercariae were present in both the lens and aqueous humour of infected fish, and these have been treated separately throughout the study. The infection period was normally between May and September each year and transmission of the parasite from snail to fish did not occur at temperatures below 10 degrees C. The prevalence and abundance of both lens and humour metacercariae reached a maximum in September. The cleansing and application of a molluscicide (copper sulphate) to the raceways in spring resulted in a 56% reduction in the numbers of metacercariae infecting trout during the following summer. However, no further improvement in parasite control was recorded when the treatment was repeated in the following year. Experiments using caged fish indicated that diplostomiasis was confined to certain areas of the farm only and that the infection rate of rainbow trout with D. spathaceum cercariae was correlated (P less than 0.01) with water temperature. The results of the study indicated that it is possible by regular cleaning and use of molluscicides to keep the intensity of diplostomiasis at such a level that rainbow trout do not become severely affected. However, as with other parasitic diseases, a combination of control methods will probably be required to eradicate the disease completely from trout farms.

Animals↗

Schistosoma mansoni: effect of maintenance in vitro on the uptake and incorporation of leucine by adult worms.

The rates of leucine uptake and incorporation into protein by adult male and female Schistosoma mansoni were not affected by maintenance in vitro for up to 10 days' duration, despite the decline in the protein content of male and female worms of approximately 35 and 55%, respectively, during this period. The effect of maintenance in vitro was obscured in paired female schistosomes by the apparent shielding of the female tegument within the gynaecophoral canal of the male. Incorporation rates were reduced by 50% in the presence of 2 mM cycloheximide whereas uptake rates were unaffected. Adult schistosomes are unable to maintain their in vivo protein levels purely by recourse to exogenous amino acids absorbed across the tegument in vitro, and the rates of uptake and incorporation of leucine appear to reflect the changing somatic requirements of the worms and are probably not correlated with the reproductive activity of adult worms in vitro. The possible role of alimentary rather than tegumental nutrition in egg production in vivo is discussed.

Alanine↗

Schistosoma mansoni: effect of maintenance in vitro on the physiology and biochemistry of adult worms.

In Medium 199 supplemented with calf serum (+10%), adult Schistosoma mansoni produced a mean total of 400 eggs/worm pair during maintenance for 10 days in vitro. During the period of egg deposition in vitro, the dry weight of worm pairs decreased by 35%. Biomass decreases were proportionally greater in female worms than in males. Declines in the dry weight of female worms were mainly due to decreases in protein content, while biomass decreases in males resulted from losses of both protein and glycogen. Glucose was depleted from the maintenance medium at a rate of approximately 200 micrograms/worm pair/day during each of the first 3 days in vitro, while concentrations of glucose in the medium of above 1 g/litre did not affect the degree of glycogen depletion observed in adult S. mansoni during culture for 24 h. The contribution of the loss of schistosome gut contents in vitro to the observed changes is discussed. The work described represents part of an attempt at logical design of in vitro culture.

Animals↗

Schistosoma mansoni: incorporation and metabolism of protein amino acids in vitro.

1. The amino acid composition of total proteins in six stages of the life cycle of Schistosoma mansoni was determined by routine autoanalysis of acid hydrolysates. Aspartate, glutamate and glycine were consistently the most abundant protein amino acids in all stages. 2. Incorporation of each of the protein amino acids into adult and egg proteins was determined using 72 hr cultures in complex media. Incorporation rates varied widely and there was no correlation between abundance in protein and the rate of incorporation. 3. Only five amino acids were interconverted to other amino acids which were themselves incorporated into worm and egg proteins (ala, arg, asp, gly, ser); of these only two (glu from ala and pro from arg) appeared to be of quantitative significance. Exogenous glucose yielded only three protein amino acids (ala, asp, glu). 4. The data are considered in the light of differences in egg and adult protein synthesis and with particular regard to potential chemotherapy at this level.

Amino Acids↗

Schistosoma mansoni: in vitro uptake and incorporation of glycine by adult worms.

1. The uptake of [3H]glycine into an ethanol-extractable intracellular pool and its simultaneous incorporation into protein (TCA insoluble fraction) have been measured in adult male and female Schistosoma mansoni incubated, in vitro, in complex media. 2. The patterns of uptake and incorporation were similar in male and female schistosomes incubated in media containing serum, and also in male worms incubated in the presence or absence of serum. 3. The amounts of [3H]glycine uptake and incorporation were directly proportional to the extracellular glycine concentration and were identical in male worms (in the presence or absence of serum) and female worms. 4. Emetine at a concentration producing a 95% inhibition of protein synthesis was without effect on the uptake of [3H]glycine into the ethanol-extractable pool in male worms.

Animals↗