In vitro culture of Taenia crassiceps larval cells and cyst regeneration after injection into mice

Taenia crassiceps cysticerci were disrupted through trypsinization to isolate cells which can be maintained in culture for up to 15 days. When injected intraperitoneally into susceptible BALB/cAnN mice, complete cysticerci were recovered in a number that is proportional to the quantity of injected cells. Thus, cysticerci contain cells which can reconstitute complete cysts, suggesting that individual cells play a role, independent to budding, during asexual multiplication of T. crassiceps cysticerci in the peritoneal cavity of mice. In contrast, injection of the cells into resistant C57BL/6J mice does not result in the recovery of complete cysts. These findings provide a new experimental model to identify resistance factors in the hosts, for the in vitro screening of anti-cysticerci drugs and for the genetic manipulation of cysticerci through recombinant DNA techniques.