Figure 1.

TCT evokes footpad swelling via activation of ET_AR, ET_BR and B₂R. BALB/c mice (n = 5/group) were injected with 10 µL of Dm28c TCTs (10⁶) in PBS. As a control, the contralateral paw received the same volume of PBS. The specificity of B₂R responses was examined by injecting HOE-140 (100 µg·kg⁻¹) s.c. 1 h before parasite injection. Involvement of ETR in the induction of footpad oedema was examined by injecting TCT suspensions supplemented with BQ-123 (100 µg·kg⁻¹) and BQ-788 (100 µg·kg⁻¹). Oedema was measured with the aid of a plethysmometer 3 h after the injections and was expressed in µL (volume difference between the test and control paws). The results (media ± SD) are representative of three independent experiments (n = 5 mice/group). *P < 0.01.