PLGA-PEG-COOH nanoparticles are efficient systems for delivery of mefloquine to Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a severe disease caused by the infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis, the metacestode. As there is no actual curative drug therapy, recommendations to manage AE patients are based on radical surgery and prophylactic administration of albendazole or mebendazole during 2 years to prevent relapses. There is an urgent need for new therapeutic strategies for the management of AE, as the drugs in use are only parasitostatic, and can induce toxicity.

Endogenous IL-33 Accelerates Metacestode Growth during Late-Stage Alveolar Echinococcosis.

During the course of the infectious disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE), the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis develops in the liver, where an initial Th1/Th17 immune response may allow its elimination in resistant individuals. In patients susceptible to infection and disease, the Th2 response initiates later, inducing tolerance to the parasite. The role of interleukin 33 (IL-33), an alarmin released during necrosis and known to drive a Th2 immune response, has not yet been described during AE.