Phenotypic plasticity of male Schistosoma mansoni from the peritoneal cavity and hepatic portal system of laboratory mice and hamsters.

Morphometric analysis of Schistosoma mansoni male worms obtained from AKR/J and Swiss mice was carried out. Rodents infected by the intraperitoneal route with 80 cercariae of the schistosome (LE strain) were killed by cervical dislocation at 45 and 60 days post-infection and both peritoneal lavage and perfusion of the portal system were performed for the recovery of adult worms. Characteristics including total body length, the distance between oral and ventral suckers, extension of testicular mass and the number of testes were considered in the morphological analysis. Changes that occurred in S. mansoni recovered from the peritoneal cavity or from the portal system of AKR/J and Swiss mice included total body length and reproductive characteristics. Significant morphometric alterations were also observed when worms recovered from the portal system of both strains of mice were compared with the schistosomes obtained from hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), the vertebrate host in which the LE strain had been adapted and maintained by successive passages for more than four decades. The present results reinforce the idea that S. mansoni has high plastic potential and adaptive capacity.