Morphometrical and immunopathological dissection of the hepatic Schistosoma haematobium granuloma in the murine host

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at identifying the immunopathological and morphometrical characteristics of liver granulomas induced by the parasite Schistosoma haematobium. The OF1 mouse is a susceptible host for experimental infection with the Egyptian NAMRU-3 strain of S. haematobium. Formation of liver granulomas started after 13-14 weeks of infection. These hepatic granulomas reached a maximum volume after 20 weeks of infection (MGV: 1.82 +/- 0.15 × 107 μm3) and regressed thereafter (1.55 +/- 0.16 × 107 μm3 after 24 weeks). Strong cellular upregulation of the adhesion molecules ICAM-1, LFA-1, syndecan-1, VLA-4, but not VLA-6 is seen, both in acute and chronic granulomas. Finally, pathological differences exist between hepatic S. mansoni and S. haematobium granulomas particularly at the level of extracellular matrix deposition. S. haematobium induced peri-ovular deposition of mainly fibronectin and to a lesser extent type I and IV collagen.