EFFECTS OF PARASITE AND HOST SECRETED FACTORS ON GROWTH, ASEXUAL MULTIPLICATION AND SURVIVAL OF TAENIA CRASSICEPS CYSTICERCI

GARCÍA LUCÍA; PEREZ M; ANCAROLA ME; ROSENZVIT M; CUCHER M

Simposio; Host pathogen interaction Meeting; 2021

INTRODUCTION: The zoonoses caused by cestode parasites are associated with poverty and deficient hygiene conditions. In particular, cysticercosis is caused by the metacestode larval stage (cysticercus) of Taenia solium and is classified by the WHO within the priority neglected tropical diseases. The most critical manifestation of the disease is called neurocysticercosis, which occurs when cysticerci establish in the nervous system. OBJECTIVE: Identify the optimal in vitro culture conditions for the growth and asexual multiplication of T. crassiceps cysticerci, an experimental model for the study of cysticercosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this, we incubated cysticerci in different media with antibiotics DMEM (A), DMEM + 10% FBS (B), DMEM + 10% FBS + excretion/secretion products of a hepatoma cell line (C) and DMEM + 10% FBS + excretion/secretion products of a lung carcinoma cell line (D). Also, we analysed the effect of parasite density by incubating 1 (1C) and 10 (10C) cysticerci per well. We counted the number of buddings to evaluate asexual multiplication and we measured cysticerci diameter to evaluate parasite growth. Vitality was determined by trypan blue staining and morphology analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Regarding cysticerci diameter, we observed that in 1C cultures only medium C produced a significant increase (P < 0.01), while in 10C cultures this effect was observed with medium A and C (P < 0.001). Also, medium C induced asexual multiplication in both 1C and 10C cultures producing the highest number of buds compared to the other media. Interestingly, in the presence of medium A (absence of host stimulus), 10C cultures produced a higher number of buds than 1C cultures. In the presence of medium B, heterogeneous results were obtained in both 1C and 10C cultures on both growth and asexual multiplication. Finally, parasites from cultures 1C and 10C showed high vitality in media C and D compared to the other media. These results show that both parasite density and culture medium composition influence the growth, asexual multiplication and survival of T. crassiceps in vitro and set the basis for the long-term in vitro culture of this parasite.