We evaluated the in vitro effects of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone on the molting process, which is the initial and crucial step in the development of the muscular larvae (ML or L1) to adult worm. Testosterone had no significative effect on the molting rate of the parasite, however, progesterone decreased the molting rate about a 50% in a concentration- and time-independent pattern, while estradiol had a slight effect (10%). The gene expression of caveolin-1, a specific gene used as a marker of parasite development, showed that progesterone and estradiol downregulated its expression, while protein expression was unaffected. By using flow citometry, a possible protein that is recognized by a commercial antiprogesterone receptor antibody was detected. These findings may have strong implications in the host-parasite coevolution, in the sex-associated susceptibility to this infection and could point out to possibilities to use antihormones to inhibit parasite development. © 2011 Romel Hernndez-Bello et al.
CITATION STYLE
Hernández-Bello, R., Ramirez-Nieto, R., Muñiz-Hernández, S., Nava-Castro, K., Pavón, L., Sánchez-Acosta, A. G., & Morales-Montor, J. (2011). Sex steroids effects on the molting process of the helminth human parasite trichinella spiralis. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/625380
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.