An ultrastructural study of the early development and tissue cyst formation of Toxoplasma gondii in the brains of mice (original) (raw)
Abstract
The ultrastructural features of the early development and tissue cyst formation of Toxoplasma gondii were examined in the brains of mice at various intervals from 7 days to 22 months post inoculation (PI). At 11 days PI toxoplasms, with the ultrastructural features of the proliferative (endozoite) form, were identified undergoing multiplication within both inflammatory and neural cells. Early tissue cyst formation was also observed, predominantly within neurons. By 21 days PI the proliferative forms had disappeared and only developing tissue cysts containing densely packed cystozoites were present. The proportion of dividing cystozoites decreased with increasing size and age of the cysts. The wall of the tissue cyst developed as an adaptation of the lining of the parasitophorous vacuole. In the majority of older cysts, numerous tubular structures were present beneath the cyst wall. All the cysts observed were retained within intact host cells. The only morphological change with increasing age was that a proportion of the older cysts contained loosely packed cystozoites in an electron lucent ground substance. There was no evidence of any degenerative changes within the cystozoites.
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Abbreviations
C :
conoid
Cy :
cystozoite
D :
daughter anlage
En :
endozoite
HC :
host cell cytoplasm
HE :
host cell rough endoplasmic reticulum
HM :
host cell mitochondrion
HN :
host cell nucleus
M :
micronene
Me :
limiting membrane of parasitophorous vacuole/cyst wall
MP :
micropore
MT :
subpellicular microtubule
MV :
microvilli
N :
nucleus
NV :
neurosecretory vesicle
P :
polysaccharide granule
PL :
pellicle
PV :
parasitophorous vacuole
R :
rhoptry
Ri :
ribosome
S :
synapse
T :
tubular structure
K:
vesicle
W :
cyst wall
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Authors and Affiliations
- Nuffield Department of Pathology, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
D. J. P. Ferguson - Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Biology Division, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
W. M. Hutchison
Authors
- D. J. P. Ferguson
- W. M. Hutchison
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Ferguson, D.J.P., Hutchison, W.M. An ultrastructural study of the early development and tissue cyst formation of Toxoplasma gondii in the brains of mice.Parasitol Res 73, 483–491 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00535321
- Accepted: 18 May 1987
- Issue date: November 1987
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00535321