Question

In your own words please and be as detailed.

What is the significance of the tegument for trematode survival and for drug treatment targeted at trematodes?. When is the tegument formed during trematode development?

Answer 1

SIGNIFICANCE OF TEGUMENT IN TREMATODE SURVIVAL:

to know how it helps in survival, we should know its structure. The tegument is an outer covering of the bodies of several Platyhelminthes, including Trematode. It is a syncytium and is made up of three layers: a) Distal; which is the outer most layer, lined with the plasma membrane and is made of glycocalyx; b) Proximal; which is the mid layer and contains the cellular structures like the nucleus, mitochondria, ER, etc; c) Inner; which is made of connective tissues/Basal lamina. Several enzymes are found in the tegument.

The glycocalyx in the tegument helps its survival in the acidic environment of the stomach by inhibiting the host digestive enzymes.

During the drug treatment against trematodes, the parasite survives because of thick glycocalyx and fewer surface pits.

during trematode development, tegument is formed in two stages;

1. ectodermal cells crawl within a closed preexisting epithelium, forming nucleated tegument's syncytial boundary.

2. few mesenchymal cells differentiate into secretory cells, fuses with the layer to form the true tegument.