Experimental murine schistosomiasis and thyroid function.

In humans the hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis may be associated with some degree of somatosexual underdevelopment. In the present study we induced an experimental hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis by infecting 21-day-old mice with the São Lourenço da Mata-PE strain of Schistosoma mansoni and evaluated thyroid function and its relationship with somatosexual development. Plasma levels of T3 and T4 were determined in 115-day old male albino Swiss mice by radioimmunoassay as a measure of thyroid function. Prepuberal infection with S. mansoni resulted in significant increases in liver (74%) and spleen (138%) weights, although there were no changes in animal growth or plasma T3 and T4 concentrations under the experimental conditions used. The present study demonstrates that prepuberal infection of mice with S. mansoni induces the development of a hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis during adult life with apparently normal thyroid function.