The tegument of Schistosoma mansoni: a histochemical investigation.

The main components of the schistome tegument were found to be neutral glycoprotein and phospholipid; a small quantity of glycolipid was observed in the male dorsal tegument. The tegument can be differentiated from other schisotsome tissues on the basis of enzyme content; three hydrolytic enzymes were shown to be specifically localized in the tegument: alkaline phosphatase, adenosine triphosphatase and indoxyl esterase. It is suggested that these enzymes could be used as intrinsic markers for tegument structures. The subtegumental cells appear to be the major sites of biosynthetic activity since they contain large amounts of RNA and mitochondrial enzymes.