Morphological alterations of Schistosoma japonicum associated with the administration of amoscanate.

Morphological alterations of Schistosoma japonicum induced by the administration of a curative dose (20 mg/kg) of the schistosomicide, amoscanate (4-isothiocyanate-4'-nitrodiphenylamine, CGP4540), were studied. Worms from amoscanate-treated ddY mice exhibited remarkable changes on the surface of male and female worms, as well as in the vitelline cells of females. Various types of lesions, such as swelling and ballooning of the tegument, constriction of folds and channels, disruption of sensory receptors and exfoliation of surface layers, were prominent in many areas of the worm body. These alterations were variable in different worms recovered from the same host. The extent of the lesions was not dependent on the period of recovery after treatment.