Schistosoma japonicum and S. mansoni: comparison of larval migration patterns in mice

Mice were infected percutaneously with cercariae of Schistosoma japonicum or S. mansoni and parasites recovered by tissue-mincing from the skin or lungs or by perfusion of the mesenteric veins. S. japonicum had a narrow peak of recovery (up to 30%) from the lungs 3 days after infection, whereas lung recovery of S. mansoni peaked only on day 6 and levelled off during the following week. Infection with S. japonicum induced lung petechiae, but only after most of the parasites had left the lungs. The axillary lymph nodes draining the infection site increased in weight after infection and this effect was much greater and longer with S. mansoni than with S. japonicum. S. japonicum was perfusable from the mesenteric veins earlier (from day 3 onwards) and in higher number (40-60% from days 6 to 10) than S. mansoni (20% on day 20). The percentage of cercariae developing to adult worms was 57% for S. japonicum and 33% for S. mansoni. The data demonstrate that S. japonicum might escape from local tissue reactions in the skin and lungs and, due to its rapid migration, might induce only poor lymphocyte proliferation. As a possible consequence, S. japonicum may establish more efficiently in mice than S. mansoni.