The potential prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of progesterone and mifepristone on experimental trichinellosis with ultra-structural studies

Right up to now, there has not been an effective or safe therapy for trichinellosis. Thus, this study aimed to determine the efficacy of prophylactic and therapeutic regimens of progesterone and mifepristone on the intestinal and muscular phases of experimental Trichinella spiralis infection compared to albendazole. Seven distinct groups of mice were divided as follows: negative, positive, and drug control groups, as well as prophylactic and treatment groups using mifepristone and progesterone. Mice were sacrificed on the 7th and 37th days after infection. Treatment efficacy was evaluated using parasitological techniques, histopathological examination, immunohistochemical staining, and ultrastructural morphological analysis of adult worms by scanning electron microscopy. The mice groups received progesterone (300 ng/ml) and mifepristone (100 ng/ml). They demonstrated a significant improvement in intestinal and muscular inflammation and a statistically significant decline in the adult worm burden and encysted larvae (P < 0.001). Moreover, immunohistochemical staining of vascular endothelial growth factor and mucosal mast cell analyses were coincided with the obtained parasitological results. There was notable destruction and degeneration of the adult worm tegument by using both drugs. The current study pointed out that progesterone and mifepristone may provide new insights regarding the development of vaccines and drug protocols to treat trichinellosis through their combined action in reducing the inflammation, affecting the intestinal immune cell, and decreasing the adult worm burden, and larval capsule development.