Repercussões maternas da infecção por Strongyloides venezuelensis na prenhez de ratas

Abstract

Strongyloidiasis is a helminthiasis with a wide global distribution, whose etiological agent is Strongyloides stercoralis in humans. Even with its widespread spread, the effects of this infection during pregnancy have not yet been well elucidated. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the maternal repercussions of Strongyloides venezuelensis infection on pregnancy in rats. Wistar rats were mated and randomly distributed into two experimental groups (n=12 rats/group): Control and Infected. After mating, 2000 L3 larvae of S. venezuelensis were inoculated subcutaneously (day 0 of pregnancy). During pregnancy, the number of eggs per gram of feces (OPG), body weight and water and feed consumption were monitored daily. On day 21 of pregnancy, the rats were anesthetized and laparotomy was performed, where blood was collected for biochemical analyzes and maternal organs were removed for weighing. Removal of the uterine horns was performed to obtain data on maternal reproductive performance. The rats in the infected group showed a peak in OPG on day nine of pregnancy, which corresponds to the ninth dpi. Infection with S. venezuelensis during the pregnancy period caused changes in maternal metabolism, such as changes in water consumption and in some biochemical parameters. It was possible to observe an increase in the weight of the heart, kidneys and spleen, and a decrease in maternal weight gain. These changes may have contributed to the impairment of maternal reproductive performance, demonstrated by the increase in post-implantation losses. With these findings, it was possible to conclude that strongyloidiasis causes negative changes in the maternal parameters analyzed, which refers to post-implantation losses, which showed an increase.