Modulation of migration of Oesophagostomum dentatum larvae by inhibitors and products of eicosanoid metabolism.

The effects of eicosanoids and of inhibitors of eicosanoid synthesis on the migration of third-stage larvae (L3) of Oesophagostomum dentatum were studied in an in vitro migration assay procedure. The L3 were incubated with diethylcarbamazine (DEC), indomethacin (INDO) or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Incubation with these inhibitors of eicosanoid metabolism resulted in a dose-dependent reversible inhibition of migration. The antimigratory effect of DEC could be completely reversed by treatment of the L3 with the lipoxygenase (LOX)-products leukotriene (LT) B4 or LTC4. LTD4 had a less distinct but similar effect, while LTE4 failed to reverse migration inhibition. Treatment with combinations of cyclooxygenase (COX)-products (prostaglandin, PG) partially restored the migration ability of ASA-treated L3, while PGD2, PGE2, PGF2 alpha or PGI2 exerted no distinct effect on ASA-treated L3 when given separately. The suppression of L3 migration by compounds that are known as antagonists of eicosanoid synthesis and the stimulation of migration of inhibitor-treated L3 by simultaneous application of eicosanoids indicate that these lipid mediators may play a significant role in physiological processes that interact with worm motility.