Liver fluke development: a target for parasite control?

Recent studies have identified a population of proliferative cells within Fasciola hepatica (Fasciola proliferative cellsFPCs) that resemble neoblast-stem cells, both morphologically and behaviourally. These cells are the only proliferating cells in Fasciola hepatica and can be localised using thymidine analogue 5-Ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine (EdU).

This thesis further characterises these neoblast-like stem cells, investigating their dynamics, supportive roles in growth and development and identifying putative regulatory effectors. This study reports increased juvenile growth, which correlated with increased proliferation of these stem-like cells, in juveniles maintained in chicken serum supplemented media (CS+). The comparison of FPCs between in vitro maintained and ex vivo maintained juveniles further supports the link between FPCs and juvenile development, with the larger, more developed ex vivo juveniles exhibiting significantly more proliferating cells.