Figure 4.

Morphology of S. mansoni couples after treatment with the Frizzled-Dvl inhibitor 3289-8625 in vitro. S. mansoni couples were cultured in vitro for 96 h with different concentrations of the Frizzled-Dvl inhibitor 3289-8625 and subsequently studied by bright field microscopy and CLSM for morphological changes. Whereas no morphological alterations were seen in control worms (A–C), inhibitor treatment (500 μM) led to a reduced vitality accompanied by a separation of couples (D). Furthermore, CLSM-analyses revealed severe effects of the inhibitor on the morphology of the gonads. The testes of treated males contained large pore-like structures (E, arrows) whereas ovaries of females were mostly affected in the anterior part containing several damaged cells and cell fragments (F, arrows). [te, testes; sv, seminal vesicle; ov, ovary; io, immature oocytes; mo, mature oocytes; ♂, male; ♀, female].