Estudo das características físico-químicas e propriedades magnéticas da superfície do ovo de Schistosoma mansoni e Schistosoma japonicum

• Ano de defesa: 2014
• Autor(a) principal: Candido, Renata Russo Frasca
• Orientador(a): Graeff-Teixeira, Carlos
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular
• Departamento: Faculdade de Biociências
• País: Brasil
• Palavras-chave em Português: BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR; BIOLOGIA CELULAR; ESQUISTOSSOMOSE; PARASITOLOGIA MÉDICA
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS
• Link de acesso: http://tede2.pucrs.br/tede2/handle/tede/5912

Schistososmiasis is a chronic endemic infection caused by parasites of the genus Schistosoma, and it occurs in 74 countries in Africa, South America and Asia. The three main agents of this infection in humans are: Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum, that cause the hepatic-intestinal disease, and Schistosoma haematobium, responsible for the genitourinary infection. Despite the effective treatment like praziquantel, schistososmiasis remains as the second most prevalent parasitic disease in the world. Diagnosis of the intestinal schistososmiasis is achieved through the direct visualization of the eggs in fecal samples. The current method recommended by the World Health Organization in epidemiological studies is the Kato-Katz method. Despite it being simple and cheap, in areas of low endemicity this technique loose sensibility, leading to the occurrence of false-negative cases and underestimation of the prevalence in the studied area. Helmintex™ is a coproparasitological method highly sensitive that allows the isolation of Schistosoma eggs from 30 grams of feces, based in the interaction between the eggs and paramagnetic microspheres in a magnetic field. However, this method demands time and specialized equipment, being of difficult manipulation in work field. The mechanism that promotes the interaction between the paramagnetic spheres with the Schistosoma eggs is not known. Considering the necessity of sensitive diagnostic tools of easy applicability in epidemiological studies in low endemicity areas, this work has the purpose to study the surface physical-chemical characteristics of S. mansoni and S. japonicum eggs, in order to enhance the efficiency of the Helmintex™ method. S. mansoni and S. japonicum eggs were isolated from livers of experimentally infected mice. The eggs were submitted to morphological and structural analysis using Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy and elemental analysis using Energy Disperssion Spectroscopy. The magnetic susceptibility was determined using SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) and the concentration of the chemical elements was determined through Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. Experiments to elucidate the interaction properties of the eggs of the eggs and the microspheres were conducted incubating the eggs from both species with different paramagnetic microspheres. The results show that the egg surface of both species is recovered by a dense layer of microspines, being those shorter and less spaced in S. mansoni. The eggs spontaneously bind the particles, with a greater preference for magnetic material. S. japonicum eggs have a higher affinity for paramagnetic microspheres than S. mansoni eggs. The presence of streptavidin in the surface of the microspheres enhances the affinity of both species for non-magnetic material, however it decreases the affinity for paramagnetic microspheres. Despite the presence of iron in the eggshell of S. mansoni and S. japonicum, the origin of the interaction does not seem to be magnetic, but, based in the difference of electrostatic charges present in the surface of the eggs and the microspheres. The continuity of this study is important to determine the physical-chemical characteristics of eggs from human feces, and it can lead to the upgrading and optimization of the Helmintex™ method. Studies using Atomic Force Microscopy are in progress.