Abstract
A bench scientist studying schistosomiasis must make a large commitment to maintain the parasite's life cycle, which necessarily involves a mammalian (definitive) host and the appropriate species of snail (intermediate host). This is often a difficult and expensive commitment to make, especially in the face of ever-tightening funds for tropical disease research. In addition to funding concerns, investigators usually face additional problems in the allocation of sufficient lab space to this effort (especially for snail rearing) and the limited availability of personnel experienced with life cycle upkeep. These problems can be especially daunting for the new investigator entering the field. Over 40 years ago, the National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH-NIAID) had the foresight to establish a resource from which investigators could obtain various schistosome life stages without having to expend the effort and funds necessary to maintain the entire life cycle on their own. This centralized resource translated into cost savings to both NIH-NIAID and to principal investigators by freeing up personnel costs on grants and allowing investigators to divert more funds to targeted research goals. Many investigators, especially those new to the field of tropical medicine, are only vaguely, if at all, aware of the scope of materials and support provided by this resource. This review is intended to help remedy that situation. Following a short history of the contract, we will give a brief description of the schistosome species provided, provide an estimate of the impact the resource has had on the research community, and describe some new additions and potential benefits the resource center might have for the ever-changing research interests of investigators.
Highlights
A bench scientist studying schistosomiasis must make a large commitment to maintain the parasite’s life cycle, which necessarily involves a mammalian host and the appropriate species of snail
Schistosoma haematobium S. haematobium is of wide-ranging clinical importance throughout much of Africa and the Middle East, significantly fewer requests have been made for this species from this resource than for S. mansoni or S. japonicum
This is probably because studying S. haematobium infections in the laboratory is complicated by the absence of a small laboratory animal model in which pathology resembles the human infection with this parasite
Summary
Schistosoma mansoni Of the three schistosome species provided by this resource, S. Schistosoma haematobium S. haematobium is of wide-ranging clinical importance throughout much of Africa and the Middle East, significantly fewer requests have been made for this species from this resource than for S. mansoni or S. japonicum This is probably because studying S. haematobium infections in the laboratory is complicated by the absence of a small laboratory animal model in which pathology resembles the human infection with this parasite. The snail hosts for laboratory maintenance of this parasite, members of the genus Bulinus, are relatively easy to propagate in the laboratory, and their requirements for successful maintenance are much like those for Biomphalaria This resource provides an Egyptian isolate of S. haematobium, maintained in Bulinus truncatus truncatus snails and in hamsters
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