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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Using Eggs from Schistosoma mansoni as an In vivo Model of Helminth-induced Lung Inflammation
Published on: June 5, 2012
Leaky livers, portal shunting and immunity to schistosomes
1Department of Biology, University of York, York YO1 5DD, UK.
Abstract:
In mice, concomitant immunity to schistosomes seems to be largely dependent on factors that lack immunological specificity. In this review Alan Wilson describes the anatomical changes stimulated in the host's vasculature after the formation of granulomas around schistosome eggs in the liver. The blockage of portal venules by the granulomas leads to portal hypertension and the development of anastomoses that direct blood flow, schistosomula and eggs from the liver. An intact portal vasculature is required for schistosome maturation; some strains of mice appear to be resistant to schistosome infection because they have a predisposition to form anastomoses in the absence of infection.
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