Journal
PARASITOLOGY
Volume 126, Issue -, Pages 135-140Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182002002676
Keywords
schistosoma mansoni; tail loss; cercariae; invasion; concomitant immunity
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Schistosomiasis is initiated when cercarial larvae invade human skin. Contrary to long-held assumptions, most cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni do not shed their propulsive tails as they penetrate. Scanning electron microscopy studies and infection experiments with entire human skin and differentiated, stratum corneum-like, human keratinocyte cultures, have shown that most cercarial tails enter the skin along with their bodies. We propose that this behaviour is an adaptive trait linked with concomitant immunity.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available