APOPTOTIC AND VASCULAR CHANGES IN TRICHINELLA SPIRALIS IN FECTED MICE AFTER PARENTERAL ARTEMETHER TREATMENT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Departments of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt.

2 Departments of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt

3 Departments of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt

Abstract

Trichinosis is a parasitic disease, caused by a nematode worm of the genus Trichinella. Infection is caused by ingestion of undercooked contaminated meat with infective parasitic larvae. The study assessed the muscle apoptotic and vascular changes in T. spiralis infected mice after intra-muscular artemether injection. This study included 80 clean laboratory-bred Swiss albino mice orally infected with 200 T. spiralis larvae/mouse. Four groups of mice (20 mice each), GI: non-infected (control normal); GII: infected untreated (control infected); GIII: infected then treated with artemether injection 1.25mg/kg 45days post-infection (dpi) and GIV: infected then treated with artemether injection 25mg/kg 45dpi. On the 60th dpi, mice were sacrificed. All groups were evaluated parasitologically by assessing the number of intestinal worms and muscular encysted larvae, histopathological assessment of intestinal and muscle changes and immune-histochemical assessment of BAX marker for apoptotic changes and CD34 marker for vascular changes.

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