Ultrastructural changes in Ascaris suum intestine after mebendazole treatment in vivo

The effect of in vivo treatment with mebendazole on the ultrastructural morphology of Ascaris suum intestine was investigated. Pigs, infected with A. suum, were fed ad libitum a medicated food containing mebendazole at a concentration of 30 ppm. Control and treated animals were killed 6, 9, 15, and 24 hr after the onset of feeding. The parasites were quickly collected from the pig intestinal tract and prepared for ultrastructural and cytochemical examination. Absence of secretory granules in the terminal web, accumulation of secretory granules in the Golgi region, formation of autophagic vacuoles in the apical cell part, and loss of glycogen were the characteristic changes observed after 6 and 9 hr of treatment. Degenerative changes were very pronounced after 15 and 24 hr and involved almost the entire cytoplasm. Microvilli were decreased in number and appeared swollen in the majority of absorptive cells. Some more severely altered cells were completely devoid of microvilli. Cytochemistry revealed that the accumulated secretory granules in the Golgi area contained glycoproteins or polysaccharides. Microvilli, lysosomes, and Golgi apparatus were reactive for acid phosphatase in the control intestinal cells. After treatment, the enzyme activity was localized in numerous autophagic vacuoles, whereas the secretory granules remained unstained. The acid phosphatase activity in the microvilli decreased or was completely absent. The possible significance of these modifications in view of mebendazole's anthelmintic activity is discussed.