A rodent model for Dirofilaria immitis, canine heartworm: parasite growth, development, and drug sensitivity in NSG mice.

ABSTRACT: Heartworm disease, caused by Dirofilaria immitis, remains a significant threat to canines and felines. The development of parasites resistant to macrocyclic lactones (ML) has created a significant challenge to the control of the infection. The goal of this study was to determine if mice lacking a functional immune response would be susceptible to D. immitis. Immunodeficient NSG mice were susceptible to the infection, sustaining parasites for at least 15 weeks, with infective third-stage larvae molting and developing into the late fourth-stage larvae. Proteomic analysis of host responses to the infection revealed a complex pattern of changes after infection, with at least some of the responses directed at reducing immune control mechanisms that remain in NSG mice. NSG mice were infected wit

SUBMITTER: Hess JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9849205 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature