From field to laboratory: isolation, genetic assessment, and parasitological behavior of Schistosoma mansoni obtained from naturally infected wild rodent Holochilus sciureus (Rodentia, Cricetidae), collected in Northeastern Brazil.

Wild rodent species are naturally infected by Schistosoma mansoni; however, the genetic characterization of the parasite, its parasitological features, and its role in human schistosomiasis are poorly understood. In this study, we isolated and characterized Schistosoma from naturally infected Holochilus sciureus, called HS strain, collected from a schistosomiasis endemic region in Maranhão State, Brazil. To isolate the parasite, miracidia obtained from the livers of H. sciureus were used to infect Biomphalaria glabrata of sympatric (called SB) and allopatric (called BH) strains, and the produced cercariae were subcutaneously inoculated into hamsters and/or BALB/c mice. Parasitological kinetics in experimentally infected hosts were evaluated, and the tRNACys-12S (referred to as 16S herein) and cox 1 regions of mtDNA from isolated worms were amplified and sequenced. Only miracidia obtained from infected mice, but not from hamsters, were capable of infecting B. glabrata, allowing maintenance of the isolated parasite. Cox1 and 16S mtDNA sequences showed 100% similarity with S. mansoni, and phylogenetic analysis showed that the HS strain of S. mansoni forms an assemblage with isolates from America and Kenya, confirming the conspecificity. Experimental infection of B. glabrata SB with S. mansoni HS resulted in two peaks of cercariae shedding at 45 and 70 days post-infection (dpi) and caused higher mortality than in B. glabrata BH. The worm recovery rate in mice was approximately 13%, and the peak of egg elimination occurred at the 10th week post-infection. Therefore, S. mansoni obtained from H. sciureus was successfully isolated, genetically characterized, and maintained in mice, allowing further study of this schistosome strain.