Trichuris suis

Fetterer, R.H. and Hill, D.E. (1993) The occurrence of phenol oxidase activity in female Trichuris suis. Journal of Parasitology 79, 155—159. 

Hall, GA., Rutter, J.M. and Beer, R.J. (1976) A comparative study of the histopathology of the large intestine of conventionally reared, specific pathogen free and gnotobiotic pigs infected with Trichuris suis. Journal of Comparative Pathology 86, 285—292. 

Larsen, M. N. and Roepstorff, A. (1999). Seasonal Variation in Development and Survival of Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis Eggs on Pastures. 17th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, Copenhagen. 

Exploiting the knowledge that has recently developed on the induction of regulatory immune pathways by helminths, clinical trials were and are being initiated to study the effect of these parasites on inflammatory diseases. Currently, Trichuris suis is being used to treat patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease, with promising initial results [44]. Future studies are planned to examine the effect of hookworms on allergic airway diseases [45] and of T. suis on MS [11]. 

Summers RW, Elliott DE, Urban JF Jr, Thompson RA, Weinstock JV Trichuris suis therapy for active ulcerative cohtis a randomized controlled trial. Gastroenterology 2005 128 825-832. 

Summers, R.W., Elliott, D.E., Qadir, K., Urban, J.F. Jr, Thompson, R. and Weinstock, J.V. (2003) Trichuris suis seems to be safe and possibly effective in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The American Journal of Gastroenterology 98, 2034-2041. 

The fact that most intestinal nematodes elicit a Th2 response in chronic infection has suggested the possibility to use experimental infections with such parasites for the treatment of Thl-mediated diseases, such as the inflammatory bowel diseases. Patients affected with Crohn s disease or ulcerative cohtis were treated with the ova of a porcine whipworm Trichuris suis, which resulted in clinical amehoration of both diseases. 

The mechanisms for the stabilization of nematode eggshells are known with less certainty than in trematodes. In A. suum, eggshells recovered from the host feces are brown and relatively insoluble compared to shells of eggs recovered from the uterus or laid in vitro. Phenols have been extracted from the eggshells of A. suum, but phenol oxidase has not been demonstrated (16). Phenols have also been demonstrated in the eggshell of Trichuris ovis (17) and the presence of phenol oxidase in female Trichuris suis has been demonstrated (18) and localized to the eggshell (Fetterer, unpublished observation). The role of sclerotinization or of other stabilization mechanisms for nematode eggshell proteins remains undefined. 

Crohn s disease Trichuris suis Ova Decreased disease symptoms. - ... 

Kradin RL, Badizadegan K, Auluck P et al. Iatrogenic Trichuris suis infection in a patient with Crohn disease. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2006 130 718-720. 

Figure 2. Trichuris suis adult male (cf) and female (9)worms. The insert shows a microscopic embryonated egg which is the form ingested by patients.

Beer RJ. The relationship between Trichutis trichiura (Linnaeus 1758) of man and Trichuris suis (Schrank 1788) of the pig. Research in Veterinary Science 1976 20(l) 47-54. 

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