Fecal-oral transmission of the cyst form of Blastocystis hominis in rats (original) (raw)

Abstract

The infectivity of two Blastocystis hominis strains, RN94-9 and NIH:1295:1, was examined in 3-week-old SPF Wistar rats. The NIH:1295:1 strain, originally isolated from a guinea pig, was only able to infect rats via intracecal inoculation of the cultured organisms, while the RN94-9 strain, originally isolated from a laboratory rat, was able to infect rats by oral inoculation of the cultures due to the presence of a cystic form in the in vitro culture. Since many cysts were discharged in the feces of the infected rats, the infectivity of the concentrated cysts was compared between the two strains. Successful oral infection was observed in rats inoculated with 1×102–1×106 cysts of the RN94-9 and NIH:1295:1 strains. The infectivity of the ten cysts varied in the three experiments of ten rats, being 20–100% and 30–100% in the RN94-9 and NIH:1295:1 strains, respectively. When an uninfected normal rat was housed with five experimentally inoculated rats, the normal rat became infected, demonstrating the fecal-oral transmission of the cyst form of this parasite. These results show that the Wistar rat is an ideal host for the propagation of strains RN94-9 and NIH:1295:1 of B. hominis, and demonstrate that the cyst form is the only transmissible form of this parasite.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to H.Y. (C-16590338). All the experiments described comply with the current laws of the country in which the experiments were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Nara Women’s University, Kitauoya-Nishimachi, 630-8506, Nara, Japan
   Hisao Yoshikawa, Kumi Yoshida, Ayumi Nakajima & Kimie Yamanari
2. Department of Medical Zoology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Asahimachi, Abeno, 545-8585, Osaka , Japan
   Satoru Iwatani & Isao Kimata

Authors

1. Hisao Yoshikawa
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2. Kumi Yoshida
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3. Ayumi Nakajima
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4. Kimie Yamanari
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5. Satoru Iwatani
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6. Isao Kimata
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Correspondence toHisao Yoshikawa.

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Yoshikawa, H., Yoshida, K., Nakajima, A. et al. Fecal-oral transmission of the cyst form of Blastocystis hominis in rats.Parasitol Res 94, 391–396 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1230-5

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• Received: 29 August 2004
• Accepted: 08 September 2004
• Published: 09 October 2004
• Issue Date: December 2004
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1230-5

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