H. Sato et al., ESTABLISHMENT AND SURVIVAL OF THE STROBILAR STAGE OF TAENIA-CRASSICEPS IN HAMSTERS, GERBILS, AND MICE, WITH REFERENCE TO DIFFERENT HELMINTHISOLATES, Parasitology research, 79(8), 1993, pp. 619-623
Following the oral administration of metacestodes of two isolates of T
aenia crassiceps, the enteral establishment and survival of the strobi
lar stage were examined in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), Mon
golian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and laboratory mice. The origin
of the isolates was Microtus montebelli caught in Japan in 1985 or Cl
ethrionomys rutilus captured on St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea, in 19
88 (abbreviated as JPN and SLI isolates), respectively. The enteral es
tablishment of the SLI isolate was distinctly higher than that of the
JPN isolate in golden hamsters and mice, whereas the difference was ma
rginal in Mongolian gerbils. All initially-established parasites survi
ved to become gravid adults in prednisolone-treated golden hamsters an
d Mongolian gerbils; the average recovery of cestodes of the SLI and J
PN isolates were 55.8%-76.7% vs 11.7%-35.0% in the former and 28.0%-52
.7% vs 25.8%-32.2% in the latter. The distinctly higher level of enter
al establishment of the SLI isolate in golden hamsters makes available
a model for quantitative studies on parasite-host relationships in ex
perimental taeniasis.