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Angiostrongylus cantonensis: morphological and behavioral investigation within the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata

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Abstract

An infection with Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the main causative agent for human eosinophilic encephalitis, can be acquired through the consumption of the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata. This snail also provides a suitable model to study the developmental morphology and behavior of A. cantonensis larvae, facilitated by the snail’s distinct lung structure. We used microanatomy for studying the natural appearance and behavior of A. cantonensis larvae while developing within P. canaliculata. The distribution of refractile granules in the larval body and characteristic head structures changed during the developmental cycle. Two well-developed, rod-like structures with expanded knob-like tips at the anterior part were observed under the buccal cavity as early as the late second developmental stage. A “T”-shaped structure at the anterior end and its tenacity distinguished the outer sheath from that shed during the second molting. Early first-stage larvae obtained from fresh rat feces are free moving and characterized by a coiled tail, whereas a mellifluous “Q”-movement was the behavioral trait of third-stage A. cantonensis larvae outside the host tissue. In combination, the distribution of refractive granules, distinct head features, variations in sheaths, and behavioral characteristics can be utilized for differentiation of larval stages, and for distinguishing A. cantonensis larvae from those of other free-living nematodes.

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Acknowledgments

This study received financial support from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (grant no. 2003BA712A09-01). Specimens were collected in Fujian province with the assistance of Drs. Jin-Xiang Lin and Li-Sha Li and their team at the Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Fuzhou. SL is the recipient of a stipend from the “Stipendienkommission für Nachwuchskräfte aus Entwicklungsländern” from the Canton of Basel-Stadt. PS and JU gratefully acknowledge support by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project no. PBBSP3-123193 for PS and project no. PPOOB-102883 and PPOOB-119129 for JU). The execution of the experiments described in this article complied with all applicable laws of the People’s Republic of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Swiss Tropical Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland

    Shan Lv, Peter Steinmann & Jürg Utzinger

  2. National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 200025, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Shan Lv, Yi Zhang, He-Xiang Liu, Chao-Wei Zhang, Peter Steinmann & Xiao-Nong Zhou

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  1. Shan Lv
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  2. Yi Zhang
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  3. He-Xiang Liu
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  4. Chao-Wei Zhang
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  5. Peter Steinmann
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  6. Xiao-Nong Zhou
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  7. Jürg Utzinger
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Correspondence to Jürg Utzinger.

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Lv, S., Zhang, Y., Liu, HX. et al. Angiostrongylus cantonensis: morphological and behavioral investigation within the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata . Parasitol Res 104, 1351–1359 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1334-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1334-z

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