The fine structure of Leucocytozoon simondi. VI. Hepatic schizogony

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 605-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwin S. Desser

Most of the maturing schizonts in hepatic parenchymal cells consist of large electron-dense, multinucleate cytomeres. These are bounded by a trilaminar plasma membrane and lie within membrane-bounded vacuoles in the host cytoplasm. Extensive invagination and multiple cleavage of the cytomeres culminate in the production of uninucleate merozoitcs. Each merozoite is bounded by a single trilaminar plasmalemma and contains a large central nucleus, a mitochondrion, electron-dense paired rhoptries, and several smaller micronemes. Occasionally a second type of schizont has been observed, in which many small parasite inclusions are scattered in the hepatocyte cytoplasm. Clearly defined differences are apparent between comparable stages of development of Leucocytozoon and the more closely related Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. These differences include the location of the schizont in their host cells, the formation of merozoitcs, and the nature of the membranes that invest the merozoites. On the basis of these differences it is proposed that the inclusion of Leucocytozoon spp. into a separate family is warranted.

1959 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Rudzinska ◽  
William Trager

Blood collected from rats infected with Plasmodium berghei was centrifuged and the pellet was fixed for 1 hour in 1 per cent buffered OsO4 with 4.9 per cent sucrose. The material was embedded in n-butyl methacrylate and the resulting blocks sectioned for electron microscopy. The parasites were found to contain, in almost all sections, oval bodies of the same density and structure as the host cytoplasm. Continuity between these bodies and the host cytoplasm was found in a number of electron micrographs, showing that the bodies are formed by invagination of the double plasma membrane of the parasite. In this way the host cell is incorporated by phagotrophy into food vacuoles within the parasite. Hematin, the residue of hemoglobin digestion, was never observed inside the food vacuole but in small vesicles lying around it and sometimes connected with it. The vesicles are pinched off from the food vacuole proper and are the site of hemoglobin digestion. The active double limiting membrane is responsible not only for the formation of food vacuoles but also for the presence of two new structures. One is composed of two to six concentric double wavy membranes originating from the plasma membrane. Since no typical mitochondria were found in P. berghei, it is assumed that the concentric structure performs mitochondrial functions. The other structure appears as a sausage-shaped vacuole surrounded by two membranes of the same thickness, density, and spacing as the limiting membrane of the body. The cytoplasm of the parasite is rich in vesicles of endoplasmic reticulum and Palade's small particles. Its nucleus is of low density and encased in a double membrane. The host cells (reticulocytes) have mitochondria with numerous cristae mitochondriales. In many infected and intact reticulocytes ferritin was found in vacuoles, mitochondria, canaliculi, or scattered in the cytoplasm.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izumi Yanatori ◽  
Koshiro Miura ◽  
Yi-Shan Chen ◽  
Raphael H. Valdivia ◽  
Fumio Kishi

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a Gram-negative, obligate intracellular pathogen that causes community-acquired respiratory infections. C. pneumoniae uses a cell contact-dependent type-III secretion (T3S) system to translocate pathogen effector proteins that manipulate host cellular functions. While several C. pneumoniae T3S effectors have been proposed, few have been experimentally confirmed in Chlamydia. In this study, we expressed 382 C. pneumoniae genes in C. trachomatis as fusion proteins to an epitope tag derived from glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) which is the target of phosphorylation by mammalian kinases. Based on the detection of the tagged C. pneumoniae protein with anti-phospho GSK3β antibodies, we identified 49 novel C. pneumoniae-specific proteins that are translocated by C. trachomatis into the host cytoplasm and thus likely play a role as modifiers of host cellular functions. In this manner, we identified and characterized a new C. pneumoniae effector CPj0678 that recruits the host cell protein PACSIN2 to the plasma membrane. These findings indicate that C. trachomatis provides a powerful screening system to detect candidate effector proteins encoded by other pathogenic and endosymbiotic Chlamydia species. Importance Chlamydia injects numerous effector proteins into host cells to manipulate cellular functions important for bacterial survival. Based on findings in C. trachomatis, it has been proposed that between 5-10% of the C. pneumoniae genome, a related respiratory pathogen, encodes secreted effectors. However only a few C. pneumoniae effectors have been identified and experimentally validated. With the development of methods for the stable genetic transformation of C. trachomatis, it is now possible to use C. trachomatis shuttle plasmids to express and explore the function of proteins from other Chlamydia in a more relevant bacterial system. In this study, we experimentally determined that 49 C. pneumoniae-specific proteins are translocated into the host cytoplasm by Chlamydia secretion systems, and identify a novel effector required to recruit the host factor PACSIN2 to the plasma membrane during infection.


2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela H. P. Gan ◽  
Maryam Rafiqi ◽  
Adrienne R. Hardham ◽  
Peter N. Dodds

Plant pathogenic biotrophic fungi are able to grow within living plant tissue due to the action of secreted pathogen proteins known as effectors that alter the response of plant cells to pathogens. The discovery and identification of these proteins has greatly expanded with the sequencing and annotation of fungal pathogen genomes. Studies to characterise effector function have revealed that a subset of these secreted pathogen proteins interact with plant proteins within the host cytoplasm. This review focuses on the effectors of intracellular biotrophic and hemibiotrophic fungal plant pathogens and summarises advances in understanding the roles of these proteins in disease and in elucidating the mechanism of fungal effector uptake into host cells.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Duckett ◽  
Roberto Ligrone

The ventral epidermal cells of the photosynthetic, surface-living gametophytes of Lycopodium cernuum, collected from moist shaded banks in Peninsular Malaysia, contain an aseptate fungus. In some cells the hyphae are thick walled and form coils encapsulated by a thin layer of host wall material. In others the fungus is thin walled and shows limited differentiation into larger trunk hyphae and arbuscules. The adjacent host cytoplasm, separated from the fungus by a granular interfacial matrix, contains numerous chloroplasts, mitochondria, and microtubules. The hyphae contact the substratum via the ventral walls of the epidermal cells and the rhizoids are free from infection. In the protocorm and root nodules, aseptate hyphae initially colonize mucilage-filled schizogenous intercellular spaces. Subsequent invasion of the host cells is associated with the development of massive overgrowths of host wall material. The fungal associations in L. cernuum share a mixture of attributes otherwise found in different angiosperm mycorrhizae and in mycotrophic relationships in liverworts. Wall ingrowths are present in both the gametophyte and sporophyte cells in the placenta of L. cernuum. The very limited development of the placenta, compared with L. appressum, certain bryophytes and ferns, the diminutive size, and early senescence of the gametophytes of L. cernuum are all linked to the presence of the protocorm. This massive absorptive organ, homologous to a foot, in terms of its position in sporophyte ontogeny, but external to the parent gametophyte, derives its nutrition partly from photosynthesis and partly from its fungal endophyte. Key words: chloroplasts, Lycopodium, mycorrhiza, pteridophytes, root nodules, symbiosis, transfer cells.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Codemo ◽  
Sandra Muschiol ◽  
Federico Iovino ◽  
Priyanka Nannapaneni ◽  
Laura Plant ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGram-positive bacteria, including the major respiratory pathogenStreptococcus pneumoniae, were recently shown to produce extracellular vesicles (EVs) that likely originate from the plasma membrane and are released into the extracellular environment. EVs may function as cargo for many bacterial proteins, however, their involvement in cellular processes and their interactions with the innate immune system are poorly understood. Here, EVs from pneumococci were characterized and their immunomodulatory effects investigated. Pneumococcal EVs were protruding from the bacterial surface and released into the medium as 25 to 250 nm lipid stained vesicles containing a large number of cytosolic, membrane, and surface-associated proteins. The cytosolic pore-forming toxin pneumolysin was significantly enriched in EVs compared to a total bacterial lysate but was not required for EV formation. Pneumococcal EVs were internalized into A549 lung epithelial cells and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and induced proinflammatory cytokine responses irrespective of pneumolysin content. EVs from encapsulated pneumococci were recognized by serum proteins, resulting in C3b deposition and formation of C5b-9 membrane attack complexes as well as factor H recruitment, depending on the presence of the choline binding protein PspC. Addition of EVs to human serum decreased opsonophagocytic killing of encapsulated pneumococci. Our data suggest that EVs may act in an immunomodulatory manner by allowing delivery of vesicle-associated proteins and other macromolecules into host cells. In addition, EVs expose targets for complement factors in serum, promoting pneumococcal evasion of humoral host defense.IMPORTANCEStreptococcus pneumoniaeis a major contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide, being the major cause of milder respiratory tract infections such as otitis and sinusitis and of severe infections such as community-acquired pneumonia, with or without septicemia, and meningitis. More knowledge is needed on how pneumococci interact with the host, deliver virulence factors, and activate immune defenses. Here we show that pneumococci form extracellular vesicles that emanate from the plasma membrane and contain virulence properties, including enrichment of pneumolysin. We found that pneumococcal vesicles can be internalized into epithelial and dendritic cells and bind complement proteins, thereby promoting pneumococcal evasion of complement-mediated opsonophagocytosis. They also induce pneumolysin-independent proinflammatory responses. We suggest that these vesicles can function as a mechanism for delivery of pneumococcal proteins and other immunomodulatory components into host cells and help pneumococci to avoid complement deposition and phagocytosis-mediated killing, thereby possibly contributing to the symptoms found in pneumococcal infections.


1960 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Grimley ◽  
George A. Edwards

The fine structure of desmosomes and intercalated discs in the toad heart is discussed. A definite relationship between the dense components of these structures and the dense region of the Z band is demonstrated. The dense region of the Z band characteristically widens at its approach to the plasma membrane, and often terminates beneath it in a distinct discoidal plaque. Cardiac desmosomes appear to be structures which result from the intimate apposition of plaques of Z band material. These desmosomes retain the Z band function as sites of attachment for myofilaments. The suggestion is made that rotation of a desmosome through 90° and splitting of filaments from the adjacent sarcomere could result in the formation of a simple step-like intercalated disc. Intermediate stages in this process are illustrated. Complex discs present in the toad probably represent the alignment of groups of simple discs produced by contractile forces. Possible physiologic functions of the disc and desmosome are discussed. Other morphologic features of toad cardiac cells include a distinct amorphous outer coat to the sarcolemma, a prominent N band, and a granular sarcoplasm with poorly developed reticulum.


1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-655
Author(s):  
EVA KONRAD HAWKINS

The fine structure of the Golgi apparatus during development of tetrasporangia of Calli-thamnion roseum is described. Dictyosomes and associated vesicles of 4 developmental stages of sporangia are examined. The wall of sporangia exhibits a heretofore unseen cuticle in red algae. Development of the spore wall and a new plasma membrane around spores occurs through fusion of adjacent Golgi vesicles along the periphery of cells. Observations are discussed in relation to wall formation and expansion of tetrads and in comparison with other work on growth and differentiation of the Golgi apparatus.


1965 ◽  
Vol s3-106 (73) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
JOHN R. BAKER

The exocrine cells of the mouse pancreas were fixed in potassium dichromate solution, embedded in araldite or other suitable medium, and examined by electron microscopy. Almost every part of these cells is seriously distorted or destroyed by this fixative. The ergastoplasm is generally unrecognizable, the mitochondria and zymogen granules are seldom visible, and no sign of the plasma membrane, microvilli, or Golgi apparatus is seen. The contents of the nucleus are profoundly rearranged. It is seen to contain a large, dark, irregularly shaped, finely granular object; the evidence suggests that this consists of coagulated histone. The sole constituent of the cell that is well fixed is the inner nuclear membrane. The destructive properties of potassium dichromate are much mitigated when it is mixed in suitable proportions with osmium tetroxide or formaldehyde.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ila S. Anand ◽  
Won Young Choi ◽  
Ralph R. Isberg

SummaryLegionella pneumophila requires the Dot/Icm translocation system to replicate in a vacuolar compartment within host cells. Strains lacking the translocated substrate SdhA form a permeable vacuole during residence in the host cell, exposing bacteria to the host cytoplasm. In primary macrophages, mutants are defective for intracellular growth, with a pyroptotic cell death response mounted due to bacterial exposure to the cytosol. To understand how SdhA maintains vacuole integrity during intracellular growth, we performed high-throughput RNAi screens against host membrane trafficking genes to identify factors that antagonize vacuole integrity in the absence of SdhA. Depletion of host proteins involved in endocytic uptake and recycling resulted in enhanced intracellular growth and lower levels of permeable vacuoles surrounding the ΔsdhA mutant. Of interest were three different Rab GTPases involved in these processes: Rab11b, Rab8b and Rab5 isoforms, that when depleted resulted in enhanced vacuole integrity surrounding the sdhA mutant. Proteins regulated by these Rabs are responsible for interfering with proper vacuole membrane maintenance, as depletion of the downstream effectors EEA1, Rab11FIP1, or VAMP3 rescued vacuole integrity and intracellular growth of the sdhA mutant. To test the model that specific vesicular components associated with these effectors could act to destabilize the replication vacuole, EEA1 and Rab11FIP1 showed enhanced colocalization with the vacuole surrounding the sdhA mutant compared with the WT vacuole. Depletion of Rab5 isoforms or Rab11b reduced this aberrant colocalization. These findings are consistent with SdhA interfering with both endocytic and recycling membrane trafficking events that act to destabilize vacuole integrity during infection.


1962 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshio Nagano

The kinetic apparatus, the acrosome and associated structures, and the manchette of the spermatid of the domestic chicken have been studied with the electron microscope. The basic structural features of the two centrioles do not change during spermiogenesis, but there is a change in orientation and length. The proximal centriole is situated in a groove at the edge of the nucleus and oriented normal to the long axis of the nucleus and at right angles to the elongate distal centriole. The tail filaments appear to originate from the distal centriole. The plasma membrane is invaginated along the tail filaments. A dense structure which appears at the deep reflection of the plasma membrane is identified as the ring. The fine structure of the ring has no resemblance to that of a centriole and there is no evidence that it is derived from or related to the centrioles. The tail of the spermatid contains nine peripheral pairs and one central pair of tubular filaments. The two members of each pair of peripheral filaments differ in density and in shape: one is dense and circular, and the other is light and semilunar in cross-section. The dense filaments have processes. A manchette consisting of fine tubules appears in the cytoplasm of the older spermatid along the nucleus, neck region, and proximal segment of the tail. The acrosome is spherical in young spermatids and becomes crescentic and, finally, U-shaped as spermiogenesis proceeds. A dense granule is observed in the cytoplasm between acrosome and nucleus. This granule later becomes a dense rod which is interpreted as the perforatorium.


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