In vitro Effects of Nitazoxanide on the Morphology of Nascent and Immature Adult Stages of Taenia solium - Abstract
The broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug nitazoxanide (NTZ) is one of the most successful parasitological treatments for humans with the diseases caused by the tapeworm Taenia solium: cysticercosis, caused by the larval muscular stage, and taeniasis, caused by the intestinal adult stage. NTZ is a 5-nitrothiazolyl derivative indicated as an alternative drug when an infection is resistant to other traditional drugs. In protozoans, it inhibits central physiological enzymes and produces lesions in the cell membrane and vacuolization. However, it is necessary to determine if these effects are also produced in helminths. Here, we present morphological evidence at the structural and ultrastructural levels of the in vitro effects of NTZ on trypsin-induced evaginated cysticerci of T. solium and the intestinal adult parasite stage. NTZ clearly produced important changes on the surfaces of the treated parasites, which affected the morphology of important structures, such as the pore of the invaginated scolex, the initial evagination process, the cephalic, neck, and the strobilar chains of the intestinal tapeworm. These effects may be related to the
impairment of glucose metabolism and the consequent loss of the capacity of T. solium taenias to become established in their hosts and to establish a successful infection.