RESEARCH ARTICLE Synergy of Omeprazole and Praziquantel In Vitro Treatment against Schistosoma mansoni Adult Worms

Background Treatment and morbidity control of schistosomiasis relies on a single drug, praziquantel (PZQ), and the selection of resistant worms under repeated treatment is a concern. There-fore, there is a pressing need to understand the molecular effects of PZQ on schistosomes and to investigate alternative or synergistic drugs against schistosomiasis. Methodology We used a custom-designed Schistosoma mansoni expression microarray to explore the effects of sublethal doses of PZQ on large-scale gene expression of adult paired males and females and unpaired mature females. We also assessed the efficacy of PZQ, omeprazole (OMP) or their combination against S.mansoni adult worms with a survival in vitro assay. Principal Findings We identified sets of genes that were affected by PZQ in paired and unpaired mature females, however with opposite gene expression patterns (up-regulated in paired and down-regulated in unpaired mature females), indicating that PZQ effects are heavily influ