Rediae of echinostomatid and heterophyid trematodes suppress phagocytosis of haemocytes in Littorina littorea (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia).

A modulation of the phagocytic activity of hemocytes from the common periwinkle Littorina littorea by secretory-excretory products (SEP) released by trematode rediae during axenic in vitro cultivation was studied. The SEP released by the parasites Himasthla elongata (Echinostomatidae) and Cryptocotyle lingua (Heterophyidae) were found to inhibit the phagocytosis of zymozan particles by periwinkle hemocytes. The specificity of SEP effects was assessed: SEP of Himasthla militaris and Cryptocotyle concavum, two trematodes belonging to the same genera but infecting another closely related prosobranch snail Hydrobia ulvae, were also shown to be able to suppress L.