عنوان المقالة: Biological investigations on the freshwater snail Pirenella conica (Blainville, 1829) infected with the developmental stages of Heterophyes sp.
السيد طه رزق- شادية فريد حمادة- شريف رمضان عبدالغنى- أمانى محمد رامز
المؤلفون بالإنجليزي
El-Sayed T. Rizk1, Shadia F. Hamada, Sherif R. Abd-ElGhany and Amany M. Ramez
الملخص الانجليزي
Background: Heterophyiasis is an intestinal sickness promoted by infection with the heterophyid digenetic worms.
It is one of the major infectious diseases of public health in the developing countries.
Method: Single-cell gel eletrophoresis, or comet assay, was carried out for detecting DNA damage in the digestive
gland cells of Pirenella conica infected with Heterophyes larvae. Besides, apoptosis, some isoenzymes, and two
biogenic amines (neurotransmitters) were investigated using the flow cytometric analysis, the starch gel
electrophoresis, and the HPLC techniques respectively. Snails were collected from brackish water area around Port
Said province during the spring–summer periods of 2012–2013.
Results: The results showed that infection with the larval trematodes increased tail length (length of DNA
migration) in the digestive gland cells of infected snails. Meanwhile, the percentage of apoptosis was significantly
elevated (58.80%) in the snails infected with the larval trematodes as compared to that of uninfected snails (39.
59%). Apparent polymorphism was detected in the four enzymes obtained from the digestive gland extracts.
Conclusion: DNA damage and increase of apoptosis in the digestive glands of infected snails may end up with a
decrease of 5-HT (serotonin) and DA (dopamine) concentrations in all tissues through the course of infection.