Abstract
There is strong correlation between changes in abundance of specific bacterial species and several diseases including schistosomiasis. Several studies have described therapeutic effects of curcumin (CUR) which may arise from its regulative effects on intestinal microbiota. Thus, we examined the impact of CUR on the diversity of intestinal microbiota with/without infection by Schistosoma mansoni cercariae for 56 days. Enterobacteriaceae was dominating in a naive and S. mansoni infected mice group without CUR treatment, the most predominant species was Escherichia coli with relative density (R.D%) = 80.66% and the least one was Pseudomonas sp. (0.52%). The influence of CUR on murine microbiota composition was examined one week after oral administration of high (40) and low (20 mg/kg b.w.) CUR doses were administered three times, with two day intervals. CUR induced high variation in the Enterobacteriaceae family, characterized by a significant (p < 0.001) reduction in E. coli and asignificant (p < 0.001) increase in Pseudomonas sp. in both naïve and S. mansoni-infected mice, compared to untreated mice, in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, our study showed the effects of high CUR doses on S. mansoni infection immunological and parasitological parameters. These data support CUR’s ability to promote Pseudomonas sp. known to produce schistosomicidal toxins and offset the sequelae of murine schistosomiasis.
Highlights
A large number of parasitic worms and eggs reside in close interaction with gut capillaries, mucosa, and lumen, among these blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma (Digenean flatworms, trematodes) [1]
Blood fluke S. mansoni cercariae released from freshwater Biomphalaria snails penetrate human skin and change into schistosomula, which migrate via the blood and lymphatic system to the lung
Both naïve and infected mice were examined for the composition of gut microbiota
Summary
A large number of parasitic worms and eggs reside in close interaction with gut capillaries, mucosa, and lumen, among these blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma (Digenean flatworms, trematodes) [1]. Schistosoma causative agents of schistosomiasis include S. mansoni, S. haematobium, and S. japonicum. Schistosomiasis or snail fever, one of the major neglected diseases, causes hundreds of millions of infections in several countries of the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia, threatening the economy worldwide [3,4]. Blood fluke S. mansoni cercariae released from freshwater Biomphalaria snails penetrate human skin and change into schistosomula, which migrate via the blood and lymphatic system to the lung. The adult worms migrate into the mesenteries of Pathogens 2020, 9, 767; doi:10.3390/pathogens9090767 www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens
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