Worms as a Service
Supply of worm materials / snails and antibodies
- Live or fixed Schistosoma mansoni worms of all developmental stages including miracidiae and cercariae.
- Adult worm antigens, soluble egg antigens, miracidial and cercarial extracts, monoclonal antibodies (prices).
- Schistosome-infected and uninfected Biomphalaria glabrata and Bulinus truncatus snails.
- Single sex-infected snails releasing either male or female cercariae only.
Custom testing of in vitro schistosomes for research purposes and vaccine development
Most high-throughput screening procedures are based on biochemical assays focusing on isolated interactions between single molecules. This artificial scenario, however, can only distantly reflect what is going on in a live organism. helminGuard's in vitro-cultured worms, by contrast, represent a MINI ANIMAL MODEL that delivers highly relevant in vivo information.
- Schistosoma mansoni (Puerto Rican strain or Liberian strain) are treated according to customers' demands.
- Mixed sex / couples or single sex (males, females).
- Testing can be performed on every developmental stage of the parasites.
Assessment of immunomodulatory side effects of drugs
- Effects on human blood cells present in the culture such as promotion or suppression of immune cell proliferation and cluster formation reveal immunomodulatory drug properties: see effects of praziquantel or antineoplastic drugs. This information helps predicting side effects of ANY kind of drug.
- Effects on phylogenetically conserved biological pathways in the worms can point at possible consequences of treatment with the respective compound in higher animals / humans.
Price List Prices on request. Delivery methods and timings by agreement.
