Hepatic fibrosis is examined in mice infected with schistosome species pathogenic for man. Mouse strains developed markedly different degrees of hepatic fibrosis following infection with S. mansoni. T cells are important for the formation of granulomas in both S. mansoni and S. japonicum infectedmice, as detemrined from examination of athymic and B cell depleted mice. Current studies are focused on determining which subsets of T cells are involved in regulation of S. japonicum egg granulomas. The intensity of murine S. japonicum infection has been shown to have a profound effect on the regulation of hepatic pathology. More heavily infected mice have smaller circumoval granulomas and less fibrosis in relation to the number of eggs present in the liver, i.e. less fibrosis in relation to the number of eggs present in the liver, i.e. less fibrosis per egg.
