A novel cell-free method to culture Schistosoma mansoni from cercariae to juvenile worm stages for in vitro drug testing.
Sören FrahmAnisuzzaman AnisuzzamanUlrich Fabien ProdjinothoNermina VejzagićAdmar VerschoorClarissa Prazeres da CostaPublished in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases (2019)
With this robust and highly standardized in vitro assay, important developmental stages of S. mansoni up to LiS worms can be generated and maintained over prolonged periods of time. The phenotype of LiS worms, when exposed to reference drugs, was comparable to most previously published works for ex vivo harvested adult worms. Therefore, this in vitro assay can help reduce reliance on animal experiments in search for new anti-schistosomal drugs.