Pharmacology and potential physiological significance of schistosome multidrug resistance transporters

► This review article discusses the role schistosome multidrug resistance transporters may play in parasite susceptibility to praziquantel. ► The Schistosoma mansoni genome contains approximately 24 ABC transporter genes. ► Worms from single-sex infections, which have been shown to exhibit reduced susceptibility to praziquantel, express higher levels of RNA for SMDR2 and SmMRP1, two S. mansoni ABC transporters, than do worms from dual-sex infections. This finding is consistent with other results showing a correlation between higher SMDR2 SmMRP1 expression and reduced praziquantel susceptibility.