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Ultrastructure of early stages of infections in mice fed Toxoplasma gondii oocysts.

Transmission electron microscopy was used to study Toxoplasma gondii infections in the small intestines of Swiss-Webster mice at 2-48 h post-feeding of oocysts (p.f.). Sporozoites passed through intestinal epithelial cells (enterocytes and goblet cells) and infected all cells except red blood cells in the lamina propria. Parasites in intestinal epithelial cells or in cells in the lamina propria were located within a single type of parasitophorous vacuole, which contained exocytosed electron-dense material and well-developed tubulovesicular membranous networks. Sporozoites did not infect intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), but at 48 h p.f. IELs had become infected with tachyzoites arising from those that had developed in the lamina propria. At 48 h p.f., the lamina propria contained numerous tachyzoites, much cellular debris, and few intact cells. The intestinal epithelium exhibited limited cytopathological changes except for villar fusion, slight vacuolation, and cell separation at the bases of enterocytes.

Animals↗

Responses of inbred mouse strains to infection with intestinal nematodes.

Comparisons were made of the immune and inflammatory responses of four strains of inbred mice to infection with the intestinal nematodes Trichinella spiralis and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis to determine whether genetically determined 'high responsiveness' to infection, seen most clearly in intestinal responses, is independent of the parasite concerned and necessarily correlated with protection. The time course of infection was followed by counting adult worms at intervals after infection. Mucosal mast cells and Paneth cell numbers were determined as indices of the intestinal inflammatory response. Levels of IgG2a and IgG1 antibodies and of the cytokines IFN-gamma and IL-5 released from in vitro-stimulated mesenteric node lymphocytes were measured to assess type 1 and type 2 responses. NIH and CBA mice were the most resistant to T. spiralis and N. brasiliensis respectively, resistance in each case being correlated with the most intense intestinal inflammatory responses. C57BL/10 (B10) and B10.BR were the least resistant to T. spiralis, but were as resistant as CBA to N. brasiliensis, despite their intestinal inflammatory responses to both parasites being much lower than the other two strains. Mice infected with T. spiralis made the expected switch from a type 1 (IFN-gamma) to a type 2 (IL-5) response between days 2 and 8, and there were no significant differences in levels of these cytokines between the strains. In contrast, when infected with N. brasiliensis, CBA showed an IFN-gamma response at day 4, all strains switching to IL-5 by day 8 and NIH mice releasing the greatest amount of IL-5. The results indicate that the "high responder" phenotype to intestinal nematode infection is in part determined by host characteristics, but is also determined by the parasite concerned--seen most clearly by the differences between NIH and CBA when infected with T. spiralis and N. brasiliensis. The fact that "low responder" B10 background mice were more resistant to N. brasiliensis than "high responder" NIH implies that each parasite elicits a particular pattern of protective host responses, rather than parasites being differentially susceptible to the same response profile.

Animals↗

Sonographic features of intestinal and biliary ascariasis in childhood: case report and review of the literature.

Despite the fact that Ascaris lumbricoides is one of the commonest intestinal infections in developing countries, there are very few reports in the literature about the sonographic findings of intestinal and biliary ascariasis in childhood. The clinical manifestations, diagnostic procedures and imaging appearance of intestinal and biliary ascariasis in two patients are discussed with a brief review of the literature.

Animals↗

Isolation of Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999 parasite from the South American opossum (Didelphis albiventris) from Argentina.

Sarcocystis sporocysts from the intestines of 2 opossums (Didelphis albiventris) from Argentina were fed to gamma-interferon knockout (KO) and nude mice. Protozoal schizonts were seen in brain, liver, spleen, and adrenal glands of mice examined 33-64 days after feeding sporocysts. Sarcocysts were seen in skeletal muscles of KO mice 34-71 days after feeding sporocysts. Schizonts and sarcocysts were structurally similar to Sarcocystis speeri Dubey and Lindsay, 1999 seen in mice fed sporocysts from the North American opossum Didelphis virginiana from the United States.

Animals↗

Coccidial infections and gut microflora.

Oral inoculations of sporulated oocysts of Eimeria acervulina, E. necatrix, E. brunetti, E. tenella, or none were given to five groups of 4-wk-old chicks. Fecal samples were taken at 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, and 21 days postinoculation and total fecal aerobe, total fecal anaerobe, fecal lactobacilli, and fecal coliform concentrations were enumerated. Fecal aerobe concentrations increased 10-fold during the period from 3 to 8 days postinoculation. Fecal anaerobe concentrations had small increases from 3 to 6 days. Fecal lactobacilli concentrations increased with E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections but decreased with E. tenella infections. Fecal coliform concentrations increased most with the duodenal infections and increased less with posterior tract infections.

Animals↗

Morphological adaptations of intestinal helminths.

Nematodes, trematodes, cestodes, and acanthocephalans each have become adapted in different ways to the microenvironment of the vertebrate intestine. Life in this specialized habitat affords parasites a reliable source of nutrients, a relatively homeostatic environment, and protection from predators but, in exchange for these advantages, presents the special challenges of exposure to digestive enzymes, normal peristalsis, and host immune response to infection. Logically, the surface of the parasite should be the first part of the organism to encounter such challenges, and, for this reason, any response or reaction by the parasite is expected to be manifested at the parasite-host interface. Morphological adaptations of intestinal helminths to their microenvironment include modification of the tegumental surface that affords protection and increases absorptive surface area, development of specialized attachment organs, and, in some cases, complete loss of their own internal digestive system. Representative examples of such adaptations by helminths are described and discussed in terms of the parasite's nutritional requirements, site selection, and host specificity, and the possibility is suggested that some helminths may have adapted in ways that exploit host defensive mechanisms for their own benefit.

Animals↗

Ultrastructural study of the host-parasite interface of Moniliformis moniliformis (Archiacanthocephala) in laboratory-infected rats.

The fine structure of the host-parasite interface of Moniliformis moniliformis in rats is described, comprising investigations on the ontogenic development of the presomal tegument, on the lesions caused by the worms, and on the host cellular reactions at the points of attachment of the worm. The presomal tegument of the worm contained more fibrous elements than the metasomal tegument. The sclerotization increased with the ages of the worms and toward the tip of the proboscis. The presomal surface coat was more coarsely structured and osmiophilic than that of the metasoma and was neither continuous with the contents of the tegumental crypts nor supported by lipids from necrotic host tissue. The surface coat occasionally detached from the proboscis, probably due to the activity of the surrounding granulocytes of the host. The proboscis hooks lost their tegumental covering during their larval development. Hooks of all worms from rats were invested with a semiliquid lipid coat, apparently derived from tegumental excretions at the base of the hooks. The invaginated area of excretion around the base of the hooks was rich in endoplasmic reticulum. The hooks seemed to renew their lipid coats at certain intervals by dipping into the excreted lipid. In rats all worms, irrespective of their age, attached superficially, penetrating only the intestinal mucosa and the tunica propria. No fibrous connective tissue was found in the lesions caused by the worms, indicating that they frequently changed their site of attachment. At 3-10 days postinfection the host's defense cells observed in the lesions consisted mainly of granulocytes, whereas plasma cells were the predominant leukocytes in lesions of older infections.

Acanthocephala↗