Lactate as a Novel Quantitative Measure of Viability in Schistosoma mansoni Drug Sensitivity Assays

Whole-organism compound sensitivity assays are a valuable strategy in infectious diseases to identify active molecules. In schistosomiasis drug discovery, larval-stageSchistosoma allows the use of a certain degree of automation in the screening of compounds. Unfortunately, the throughput is limited, as drug activity is determined by manual assessment ofSchistosoma viability by microscopy. To develop a simple and quantifiable surrogate marker for viability, we targeted glucose metabolism, which is central toSchistosoma survival. Lactate is the end product of glycolysis in humanSchistosoma stages and can be detected in the supernatant. We assessed lactate as a surrogate marker for viability inSchistosoma drug screening assays. We thoroughly investigated parameters of lactate measurement and performed drug sensitivity assays by applying schistosomula and adult worms to establish a proof of concept. Lactate levels clearly reflected the viability of schistosomula and correlated with schistosomulum numbers. Compounds with reported potencies were tested, and activities were determined by lactate assay and by microscopy. We conclude that lactate is a sensitive and simple surrogate marker to be measured to determineSchistosoma viability in compound screening assays. Low numbers of schistosomula and the commercial availability of lactate assay reagents make the assay particularly attractive to throughput approaches. Furthermore, standardization of procedures and quantitative evaluation of compound activities facilitate interassay comparisons of potencies and, thus, concerted drug discovery approaches.