Metabolism of C(14)-acetate by some trematodes

The adult trematodes, Fasciola hepatica, Eurytrema pancreaticum and Paramphistomum cervi, employed in this experiment were obtained from the cattle slaughtered at the local abbatoir. The worms selected and washed several times in normal sterilized saline solution. Each about ten of intact F. hepatica, fourty of E. pancreaticum, and twenty of P. cervi were incubated in 50 cc volume of special incubation flasks with incubation medium consisting of 10 cc. of Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer(pH 7.4) The incubation medium was added C(14)-1-acetate and non-radioactive carrier Na-acetate so as to contain acetate concentration of 50 mg per cent . The worms were allowed to incubate for 5 hours in the Dubnoff metabolic shaking incubator at 38 C. After incubation period, respiratory CO(2) samples from central well of incubation flask were analysed for total CO(2) production rate and their specific activity of respiratory CO(2). The lactate and pyruvate appearance rates were determined by analyzing the lactate and pyruvate concentration in a medium after incubation. The glycogen samples isolated from worms were analyzed for the tissue concentration and their radioactivities in order to determine the turnover rate of glycogen pool. Radioactivities of these series of experiments were counted by an endwindow Geiger-Muller counter as an infinitely thin samples. The quantitative analysis of C(14)-acetate utilized by F. hepatica, E. pancreaticum and P. cervi were compared and discussed in this report. According to these data of the experiment, it is suggested that the fatty acid such as acetate may play a part of their oxidative process into the respiratory CO2 and the synthetic process into glycogen in the above species of trematodes.

Metabolism of C(14)-acetate by cestodes

The adult worm and plerocercoid larva(sparganum) of Diphyllobothrium mansoni and Moniezia expansa employed in this experiment. The adult worms were divided into three portions, i.e. immature, mature and gravid proglottids, and each proglottids were incubated in 50 cc or 250 cc volume of special incubation flasks with incubation medium consisting of 10 cc of 25 cc of Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The incubation medium was added C(14)-acetate and non-radioactive carrier Na-acetate so as to contain acetate concentration of 50 mg per cent. The worms were allowed to incubate for 5 hours in the Dubnoff metabolic shaking incubator at 38 C. After incubation period, the lactate and pyruvate appearance rate, total CO(2) production tate, the turnover rates were employed as pervious report(Seo et al., 1965). The quantitative analysis of C(14)-acetate utilized by the adult worm and plerocercoid larva of D. mansoni and M. expansa were compared and discussed in this report. According to these data of the experiment, it is impressed that the fatty acid such as acetate may play a role of major part of their metabolism in the adult worm and plerocercoid larva of D. mansoni , whereas minor part of acetate participated in the metabolism by M. expansa.