TABLE 3.

Key reports and findings focused on the mechanism of action of PZQ

Study design	Finding(s)	Reference(s)
Exposure of S. mansoni males in vitro	Muscular paralysis and rapid Ca2+ influx, removal of Ca2+ inhibited PZQ effect, tegument blebbing and disruption	67, 68
VOCCa β subunits expressed in Xenopus oocytes	Schistosome β subunits associated with drug sensitivity	69
Block VOCC, exposing schistosome to cytochalasin D	Inhibition of Ca2+ channels suppressed schistosomal activity	70, 71
Suppression of Dugesia japonica Ca2+ channel subunits by RNA interference	Suppression of Ca2+ channels of amputated parasite in two heads leads to inhibition of regeneration of two heads and tail	72, 73
Transcriptional response of S. mansoni to heat shock	>600 genes upregulated as possible targets of PZQ; schistosomes undergo oxidative-stress-like transcriptomic response	74
Gene expression in adult and juvenile S. mansoni cultured in PZQ	Juvenile schistosomes show enhanced transcriptomic elasticity	75
RNA interference-based silencing of CamKII	CamKII mitigated effect of PZQ by stabilizing Ca2+ fluxes within parasite muscles and tegument and might play role in mode of action	76, 77
Mass spectrometric characterization of surface lipids of schistosomes	Distinct chemical markers in female vs male responses to PZQ; PZQ may inhibit sphingomyelinase activity, impairing reproduction in females, whereas PZQ may impair activity of Na+/K+-ATPase in males	78, 79

^aVOCC, voltage-operated calcium channels.