Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Student: Karolína Lukačiková Supervisor: PharmDr. Ivan Vokřál, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: Effect of mebendazole on the activity of selected enzymes in tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta The resistance of parasitic helminths to anthelmintic drugs is a growing worldwide phenomenon and a concerning issue. Xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes play an important role in drug resistance development as they can lower the concentration of the anthelmintics in the parasite's body and therefore protect the parasite from the anthelmintic effect. The role of drug metabolizing enzymes in drug resistance development has been already described in the group of roundworms and flukes. Limited information is available about this topic in tapeworms. In our study we decided to test the possibility of the anthelmintic mebendazole to affect the activity of these enzymes and possibly to influence the drug resistance development in rat tapeworm (Hymenolepis diminuta). Our first goal was the isolation of adult tapeworms from the definitive host (rat, Rattus norvegicus). We used mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) as an intermediate host. After the successful isolation, adult tapeworms were incubated with the mebendazole (1 and 10µM) in...

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Student: Dominik Jandura Supervisor: PharmDr. Ivan Vokřál, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: In vitro cultivation of tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta - 2 Aim of this diploma thesis was to obtain cycticercoids of the rat tapeworm (Hymenolepis diminuta), excyst them and find out the conditions for the maximal in vitro incubation period. As the intermediate host mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) infected by the rat feces containing tapeworm eggs was used. Excystment was done using L-cystein and sodium tauroglycocholate. Excysted larvae were cultured in vitro (37 řC, 5 % CO2) in RPMI 1640 medium enriched with other substances chosen according previously published methods. Mainly sheep, mouse or rat liver extracts eventually in combination with yeast extract and sheep bile were used. The effect of tested substances on the cultivation was evaluated by measuring of the tapeworm's growth. The best effect on the grow of the tapeworms was observed using medium containing serum, yeast extract and sheep liver extract where tapeworms achieved length of 1561 µm after 16 days of incubation. The further growth was limited by appearance of pathologic formations.

A balance of iodine within the rats is important for the maintenance of normal thyroid function. Because of Hymenolepis d[imi]nuta's affinity for certain nutrients, it may upset norma[l] iodine balance in the rat. To determine this, tapeworm-infected and non-infected rats were given 125Iodide orally and the percent uptake of iodide by the thyroid and the amount of radioac[tiv]ity in the tapeworms was determined. The percent distribution of the radio-iodinated compounds in the thyroid, tapeworms and feces was also determined. These procedures were repeated except 125Thyroxine was administered orally. There was a decrease in percent iod[id]e uptake by thyroids of tapeworm-infected rats receiving 125I; however, there was no indication of a hypothyroid condition. Iodide, T4, and T3 were present in the worms, but not enough to account for the decrease in thyroid uptake. The more tapeworms present in the rat, the greater fecal excretion of iodide and T4. Due to this, tapeworms may cause a hypothyroid condition over a longer period of time than this study. The data indicated that T4 was metabolized by the tapeworms.

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In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effect of excretory/secretory products, crude adult extracts and crude larvae extracts from Hymenolepis diminuta on the intestinal epithelilal cell line from a rat. For determination of the immunomodulation effect of all H. diminuta extracts was used relative gene expression of TNFa, IL-17re and IL-33 from epithelial cells and it was tested using real-time PCR. Our result showed that excretory/secretory products had the strongest antiinflammatory effect on the epithelial cells. We assume that crude adult extracts play an important role in increase of gene expression of IL-33 and also in the immunomodulatory ability of H. diminuta in the host organism.