Mechanisms of Resistance to Schistosoma japonicum Infection in Microtus fortis, the Natural Non-permissive Host

Jia Shen; Suoyu Xiang; Mei Peng; Zhijun Zhou; Zhongdao Wu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.02092

Mechanisms of Resistance to Schistosoma japonicum Infection in Microtus fortis, the Natural Non-permissive Host

Front Microbiol. 2020 Sep 3:11:2092. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02092. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jia Shen^{1

2

3}, Suoyu Xiang^{1

2

3}, Mei Peng^{1

2

3}, Zhijun Zhou^{4

5}, Zhongdao Wu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (SYSU), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
³ Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Biological Vector Control, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Animal Science, Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁵ Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models for Human Diseases, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Human schistosomiasis, which is caused by schistosomes, is a zoonosis that is difficult to control because of the many reservoir hosts. However, Microtus fortis is the only mammal that is naturally resistant to Schistosoma japonicum infection known in China, in which S. japonicum growth and development were arrested on day 12, and the worms eliminated on day 20 post-infection. In this review, we present an overview of the established and purported mechanisms of resistance to S. japonicum infection in M. fortis in comparison to Rattus norvegicus, a semi-permissive host. Clarifying the mechanism of this efficient resistance can help us to better understand host-parasite interaction and to provide better methods to control schistosomiasis.

Keywords: M. fortis; Schistosoma japonicum; anti-infective factors; non-permissive host; resistance to infection.

Publication types

Review