Anti- Schistosomular Activity of Human Monocytes/Macrophages in Response to Interleukin-3 and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colonystimulating Factor Stimulation

Human monocytes, co-incubated for 7 days in culture with GM-CSF or IL-3 but not with IFN-γ, exerted a variable schistosotnulicidal effect on Schistosoma mansoni parasites when grown in 96-well round-bottomed plates but not in flat-bottomed plates. Addition of LPS or IFN-γ or both, for the last 48 h did not enhance the cidal effect. Addition of LPS but not IFN-γ to the pre-incubated cells with GM-CSF or IL-3 markedly stimulated TNF-α production by the cells but not their cidal activity. The variable cidal effects obtained with the monocytes/macrophages from different donors suggest that these effects may be genetically predetermined and are possibly linked to blood group markers or to MHC class I or II antigens

Three new species of Xiphidiocercariae from the thiarid snail Thiara tuberculata in Palakkad, Kerala, India

Three new species of Xiphidiocercous cercariae, Cercaria sp. IX Malabar n.sp., Cercaria sp. X Malabar n.sp. and Cercaria sp. XI Malabar n.sp. were recovered from the thiarid snail Thiara tuberculata collected from freshwater bodies in the Palakkad district of Kerala. The three new species are described in detail and compared with their related species to establish their systematic position