Ambiti di Ricerca

My work is aimed at understanding some aspects of Acanthocephala biology. I started my research on this group in 1986 and have been examining acanthocephalan parasites of brackish and freshwater fishes. To date our work has focused on the life cycle, morphology and histopathology of this group. We use laboratory and field experiments in our investigations and have conducted work in many streams and rivers of North Italy. Concerning the life cycle, we determined the life cycle of four acanthocephalan species which use different crustaceans (Amphipoda, Isopoda, Ostracoda) as their intermediate host (see references). With reference to the life cycle, the ecological aspects of infection (temperature, seasonal and annual cycle) are of great interest. Moreover, we also conducted an investigation of alteration of intermediate host behavior (see reference). In reference to the morphology, often we use scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allows one to observe minute details of an organism’s external features (see photo of Polyacathorhynchus kenyensis). One of our current research projects is a morphological revision of the cement glands in acanthocephalan species belong to different classes (Dezfuli 2000; Dezfuli et al. 2001 b). We produced an antibody against a protein which is the main component of cement in glands of Pomphorhynchus laevis (see Dezfuli et al. 1998, 1999).In collaboration, we carry out investigations on species associations among larval helminths in crustacean intermediate host ( Dezfuli et al. 2000c, 2001a) and the adult parasites in fish (2001c). Regarding the histopathology, our study has mainly focused on the damages caused by helminths in fish and other Vertebrates definitive hosts. For this purpose we use immunohistochemistry methods and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, research on damages caused by acanthocephalans to crustacean intermediate host are in progress. Currently, in collaboration, we carry out molecular investigations on different acanthocephalan species (larvae and adults) for identification purposes. Moreover, with immunological methods we detect the occurrence and role of some neuromodulators in fish infected with intestinal helminths (Dezfuli et al. 2000a). Another our current research is investigation on presence and role of rodlet cells in fish (see picture). They were discovered for the first time in 1892 by Thélohan and since that time the exact nature and function has been subject of controversy. One of our goal is to detect and compare the occurrence of rodlet cells, mast cells and neutrophils in healthy and fish infected with helminths (see Dezfuli et al. 2000b until 2011).