Host nutritional status as a contributory factor to the remodeling of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis

Autor: Eridan M Coutinho, Andréia F Barros, Aryon Barbosa Jr, Sheilla A Oliveira, Luciana M Silva, Roni E Araújo, Zilton A Andrade
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol 98, Iss 7, Pp 919-925 (2003)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0074-0276
1678-8060
DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02762003000700011
Popis: Weaning Swiss mice were percutaneously infected with 30 cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni and submitted to a shifting either from a deficient to a balanced diet or vice-versa, for 24 weeks. The nutritional status was weekly evaluated by measurements of growth curves and food intake. Hepatic fibrosis and periovular granulomas were studied by histological, morphometric and biochemical methods. All mice fed on a deficient diet failed to develop periportal "pipestem" fibrosis after chronic infection. An unexpected finding was the absence of pipestem fibrosis in mice on normal diet, probably related to the sample size. The lower values for nutritional parameters were mainly due to the deficient diet, rather than to infection. Liver/body weight ratio was higher in "early undernutrition" group, after shifting to the balanced diet. Volume density and numerical density of egg granulomas reached lowest values in undernourished animals. The amount of collagen was reduced in undernourished mice, attaining higher concentrations in well-fed controls and in "late undernutrition" (balanced diet shifted to a deficient one), where collagen deposition appeared increased in granulomas. That finding suggested interference with collagen degradation and resorption in "late" undernourished animals. Thus, host nutritional status plays a role in connective tissue changes of hepatic schistosomiasis in mice.
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