Characterisation of cuticular inflation development and ultrastructure in Trichuris muris using correlative X-ray computed tomography and electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT: The parasitic nematode Trichuris trichiura is a significant burden on public health in developing countries, and currently available drugs exhibit a poor cure rate. Worms live within a specialised tunnel of host intestinal epithelial cells and have anterior-ventral projections of the cuticle termed "cuticular inflations", which are thought to be involved in host-parasite interactions. This work aimed to characterise structure and suggest a function of cuticular inflations in the most tractable and widely-used model of trichuriasis, Trichuris muris. Using scanning electron microscopy, we show for the first time that most cuticular inflations develop between the second and third larval moults. Correlative X-ray computed tomography (CT)-steered Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (

SUBMITTER: O'Sullivan JDB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7125116 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature