Cortisone-sensitive, innate resistance to Hymenolepis nana infection in congenitally athymic nude rats

The innate resistance of the unnatural rat host to the mouse tapeworm Hymenolepis nana is cortisone sensitive but thymus independent. When congenitally athymic nude rats were orally given eggs, cysticercoids, or adult worms of H. nana, no lumenal adults were established except when they were treated with cortisone acetate during the expected lumenal development. The effect of cortisone to promote adult maturation in the rats was compared in nude and normal rats given eggs of H. nana. The fecundity of the worms (assessed by the fresh worm biomass and the number of infective eggs produced) was much higher in cortisone-treated nude rats than in cortisone-treated normal rats. When the nude rats reconstituted with thymocytes were given eggs and treated with cortisone, the fecundity of H. nana dropped to the same level as in cortisone-treated normal rats. It is strongly suggested that the unnatural rat host has thymus-independent cortisone sensitive resistance to an initial infection (which is the main component of the innate resistance and blocks the lumenal establishment of this parasite) and thymus-dependent resistance (which suppresses the established worms' fecundity and may be ascribed to acquired resistance to the ongoing infection).     

Hymenolepis nana: worm recovery from congenitally athymic nude and phenotypically normal rats and mice

When eggs or mouse-derived cysticercoids of Hymenolepis nana were inoculated into previously uninfected congenitally athymic nude (rnu/rnu) rats of an outbred Rowett strain, they failed to mature in the intestinal lumen. They also failed to mature in phenotypically normal (rnu/+) littermates, except when these hosts were treated with cortisone acetate from the beginning of the lumen phase. The Rowett rat, either thymus-deficient or not, was susceptible to tissue cysticercoids but resistant to luminal adults. It is therefore considered to be an unnatural host, at least for mouse-derived H. nana. There was little or no difference in susceptibility to initial tissue cysticercoids between these nude rats and phenotypically normal ones. The normal rats became completely resistant to reinfection with eggs and no secondary cysticercoids developed in their intestinal tissue, whereas the nude rats showed unaltered susceptibility to secondary tissue cysticercoids. Thus, acquired resistance to egg challenge, assessed by the failure of tissue cysticercoid recovery, was thymus-dependent. However, innate resistance to both a primary egg dose, assessed by the low recovery rates of tissue cysticercoids, and to a primary cysticercoid dose, assessed by the failure of luminal adult recovery, were thymus-independent. The effect of cortisone acetate to initiate maturation of H. nana appeared to be unrelated to thymus function. In contrast, all mice, either thymus-deficient or not, were highly susceptible to both phases. The number of worms recovered was more than 10 times greater than that of cysticercoids established in the rat's intestinal tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

In vivo development of spores of Absidia ramosa.

Approximately 10(6) spores of Absidia ramosa were inoculated intravenously into normal and cortisone pretreated mice. At subsequent time intervals the liver, lungs and kidneys were removed and examined for fungal localization and growth. In normal mice, spore germination and continued hyphal growth was restricted to the kidneys-evidence of germination not being visible until around 30h post inoculation. Cortisone therapy allowed germination of spores in the lung and kidney by 7h but subsequent hyphal growth in the lung was severely restricted compared with the kidney where extensive hyphal growth occurred. Germination of spores in the liver of cortisone treated animals was slow, not becoming apparent until about 40h after inoculation. These results suggest that host defence mechanisms in the form of phagocytosis as well as biochemical inhibitors and/or lack of suitable stimulators are important in preventing germination of introduced fungal spores. Once germination has occurred, it appears that additional as yet undetermined factors play a role in allowing continued growth of the fungus.     

Microsporidiosis in the wax moth Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) caused by Vairimorpha ephestiae (Microsporidia: Burenellidae)

An experimental microsporidiosis of the wax moth caterpillars from laboratory population had been caused by oral infecting of early stages larvae and by intracavity injections of the spores of the microsporidian species Vairimorpha ephestiae. Peculiarities of microsporidiosis proceeding, manifestations of host defence reactions, and also an effect of the temperature of caterpillars cultivation and conditions of spores keeping on liability of the insects to the infection were studied. The effect of the microsporidia on the host organism was the early death or the delay of larvae development, but in several cases external manifestations of the effect of the parasite on the host were absent. The development of the parasites from the moment of infecting to the appearing of the mature spores congestions in the host organism proceeded 6 days. Microsporidia invaded insect fat body and caused its hypertrophy and disappearance of lipid granules. In the intestine and salivary glands microsporidia were not observed in the period from 6 to 16 day of the development. On the final stage of microsporidiosis the all contents of fatty tissue cells were replaced by spores of microsporidia. Under microscope only diplocaryotic spores of the Nozema type had been found in infected and died specimens, but not octospores. The spores threw out polar tubes under the change of pH in incubating solution from neutral to alkaline. The effects of microsporidiosis on the wax moth haemolymph were the increased rate of prohaemocytes, appearing of multinuclear free-circulating cells at 6 day after infection, and suppression of the reaction of haemolymph melanization with the mass sporogenesis of the parasite. The characteristic symptom of the wax moth microsporidiosis had been revealed, accumulation of black points and small spots of irregular form under cuticle ("reaction of attretization"). Increase of the temperature of insect cultivation up to 32 degrees C during 3 days after infection contributed to the full deliverance of the insects from the infection in first and second generations. It can be considered as a method of treatment of wax moth laboratory colonies from microsporidiosis. Oral infection of III and IV stage caterpillars by the spores being kept during 3-6 months under 4 degrees C in form of water suspension caused the death of 63.0-61.5 and 91% of caterpillars being cultivated under 25 and 21 degrees C respectively. Under the temperature of cultivation equal 30 degrees C the mortality did not differ from the control sample (8-10%). The spores extracted from dried bodies of caterpillars lost their vitality. It was demonstrated by the test on infectious ability in vivo and by acridine orange staining. This host-parasite system appears to be perspective in investigations of resistance mechanisms in insects and immunosuppressive features of entomopathogen microsporidia.     

Models of T cell deficiency in listeriosis: the effects of cortisone and cyclosporin A on normal and nude BALB/c mice

It is often difficult to test the role of T lymphocytes in resistance to infection because most models of T cell deficiency are associated with altered nonspecific resistance. In an attempt to address this problem, we compared the effects of cyclosporin A (CyA), cortisone (CA), and the athymic state on the course of murine listeriosis. We chose listeriosis because resistance to Listeria monocytogenes occurs in two phases. Bacterial multiplication is controlled by nonspecific defense mechanisms in the early phase and by acquired T cell-dependent immunity in the second phase. Mice treated with CA died during the early phase, probably because of inhibition of the antimicrobial activity of nonimmune macrophages. Accordingly, the immunosuppressive effect of CA was similar in athymic and normal mice. Untreated nude mice developed chronic low grade infection, probably because of heightened activity of nonimmune macrophages. In contrast, immunosuppression with CyA did not affect early resistance but induced overwhelming, fatal disease in the later phase when control mice began to acquire resistance. CyA did not change the course of listeriosis in nude mice, confirming its specificity for T cell-dependent immunity. Thus, this study shows that CyA is a potent and specific inhibitor of T cell-mediated immunity and that T cell-dependent resistance is essential for survival from listeriosis, a conclusion that could not have been established by studies of the nude mouse or immunosuppression by CA.     

Kinetics of Encephalitozoon spp. infection of human macrophages

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular, eukaryotic parasites that are known to infect a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate species and have been reported to include a broad range of host specificities for various cell types. Although it is clear that some species of microsporidia have the ability to disseminate, causing multiorgan infections, it is not understood how dissemination occurs. One hypothesis suggests that mononuclear phagocytes engulf the pathogen and migrate to various organs while the parasite persists and proliferates. This implies that microsporidia have developed methods by which to escape intracellular degradation and can, instead, use the host as a source of nourishment and a vehicle for dissemination. In our study, we investigated the infection kinetics of 2 Encephalitozoon spp. known to cause disseminated disease in humans. Using fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, it was determined that spore adherence to the host was rapid (3-6 hr), as was the uptake and organization of internal parasitophorous vacuoles (24 hr). Furthermore, replication was shown to occur within macrophages at 72 hr, as measured by the bromodeoxyuridine proliferation assay, and the production of mature spores occurred in host cells at 120 hr. Parasitic replication could be reduced by pretreatment of macrophages with interferon-gamma and bacterial lipopolysaccharide.     

Hymenolepis nana: Maturation in an immunosuppressed unnatural rat host

When eggs of the dwarf tapeworm Hymenolepis nana, cycled exclusively and directly through mice for more than 10 years, were inoculated into previously uninfected inbred Fischer (F344) strain rats, they failed to mature in the rat intestinal lumen. Eggs of H. nana inoculated into the rat developed normally into cysticercoids (cysts) in the intestinal tissue, but thereafter failed to mature in the lumen except when the host was treated with cortisone acetate from the day of cyst maturation. The Fischer rat initially given eggs of H. nana became completely immune to egg challenge within 2 days of egg inoculation; no cysts derived from challenge eggs were found in the immunized rat. Immunosuppression, assessed by the success of cyst recovery in the tissue 4 days after egg challenge, had no promotive effect on the recovery of adult worms derived from eggs initially inoculated. Rats initially given eggs and immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide or antithymocyte serum did not harbor any adult worms. Cortisone acetate treatment which was sufficient for eggs inoculated to mature (a total of 75 or even 200 mg, from Day 5 of egg inoculation) had no effects of immunosuppression, whereas cortisone acetate treatment which was sufficient for immunosuppression (a total of 150 mg from Day -2, two days prior to the initial egg inoculation) induced some adult formation as well. In addition, when mouse-derived cysts were inoculated into the rat instead of eggs, they also failed completely to mature even when the rat was treated with cyclophosphamide or antithimocyte serum. However, when the rat was treated with cortisone acetate from the day of cyst inoculation, the cysts developed into adult worms. Therefore, these results indicate that the Fischer rat clearly differs in its susceptibility to the tissue phase of egg inoculation and to the lumen phase of cyst inoculation of H. nana, and strongly suggest that the failure of maturation of H. nana in the unnatural host Fischer rat is not attributed to innate and/ or acquired immunity of the rat but to other nonimmunological mechanisms.     

Should the microsporidian spores be treated as dormant stages?

Spores of bacteria, fungi, microsporidia and other protists are traditionally treated as dormant stages, intended to the long-term survival in the environment and to activation of parasitic forms during the infestation of a new host. However, in the process of examination of insect microsporidia at the molecular cellular levels and also at the level of organisms and populations, we came to a conclusion that spores are very active developmental stages with the entire potential directed to the rapid and successful infestation of new hosts during contact with the later. The work summarizes the original data demonstrating (1) the necessity of the rapid activation of microsporidian spores during host contact, (2) hopelessness of the long retaining of viability by spores of many microsporidia in the environment after leaving host organism; and (3) specific accumulation of metabolic ferments in "dormant" spores, but not in actively proliferating prespore developmental stages. On the basis of these data we conclude that microsporidian spores tend to shorten the period when they stay outside host organism to the maximal degree. The probability of host infestation within the limited time period increases due to diverse modes of transmission of pathogens, accumulation of maximally possible volume of infective spores, and the rapid mobilization of the extrusion apparatus.     

The effects of two microsporidian pathogens on the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Two-spotted lady beetles, Adalia bipunctata L. are available for biological pest control in North America. Lady beetles are known to host microsporidia and although these pathogens are able to infect more than one host under laboratory conditions, little is known regarding the effects of more than one microsporidian pathogen on host fitness. In this study, egg cannibalism was used to examine the effects of the microsporidium Tubulinosema hippodamiae from Hippodamia convergens and an undescribed microsporidium from A. bipunctata (alone and in combination) on A. bipunctata host fitness (larval development and mortality, sex ratio, adult fecundity and longevity). Development was prolonged significantly for larvae that were infected with the undescribed microsporidium but T. hippodamiae had no effect and as a result, conclusions could not be made regarding the effects of both pathogens on larval development. The two microsporidia had no effect on sex ratios (1♀:1♂) or on adult fecundity and longevity. Spores were detected in the majority of smear preparations of individuals that were fed microsporidia-infected eggs and molecular analysis confirmed the identity of both pathogens in sampled individuals. T. hippodamiae spores were smaller than spores of the undescribed microsporidium (3.76±0.03×2.32±0.02 μm and 5.43±0.06×2.75±0.03 μm, respectively) and although the former stained less intensely than did those of latter, spores of the two pathogens are difficult to differentiate when examined by light microscopy alone. The ability of some microsporidia to infect more than one lady beetle host makes it difficult to conclude with certainty as to the number of species that are present in infected Adalia when specimens are examined solely by light microscopy.     

Adherence of germ tubes of Candida albicans to tissues from immunocompromised mice

Abstract The influence of immune status of the host on binding of germ tubes of Candida albicans to murine tissue sections in an ex vivo assay was examined. Generally, germ tubes appeared randomly adhered to the tissues examined and binding was unaffected by immunodeficiency induced by treatment with cyclophosphamide and cortisone acetate. Adherence was somewhat reduced in spleen and kidney sections or increased in liver sections and unchanged in lymph node sections from treated mice compared to sections from control animals. Scanning electron micrographs showed organisms appeared to be loosely or tightly bound to the surface or partially embedded in spleen sections from both control and treated mice. These observations suggested that qualitative and quantitative difference in adhesion of germ tubes to various tissues may contribute little to the susceptibility of the immunodeficient animal to candidal infection.     

Latent Microsporidiosis Caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi in Immunocompetent Hosts: A Murine Model Demonstrating the Ineffectiveness of the Immune System and Treatment with Albendazole

Background

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites causing severe infections with lethal outcome in immunocompromised hosts. However, these pathogens are more frequently reported as latent infections in immunocompetent individuals and raises questions about the potential risk of reactivation following induced immunosuppression.

Aims

To evaluate the possibility latent microsporidiosis, efficacy or albendazole, and reactivation, the authors monitored the course of E. cuniculi infection in immunocompetent BALB/c mice and immunodeficient SCID mice using molecular methods.

Methods

Mice were per orally infected with 10⁷ spores of E. cuniculi. Selected groups were treated with albendazole, re-infected or chemically immunosuppressed by dexamethasone. The presence of microsporidia in the host’s organs and feces were determined using PCR methods. Changes in numbers of lymphocytes in blood and in spleen after induction of immunosuppression were confirmed using flow cytometry analysis.

Results

Whereas E. cuniculi caused lethal microsporidiosis in SCID mice, the infection in BABL/c mice remained asymptomatic despite parasite dissemination into many organs during the acute infection phase. Albendazole treatment led to microsporidia elimination from organs in BALB/c mice. In SCID mice, however, only a temporary reduction in number of affected organs was observed and infection re-established post-treatment. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in a chronic microsporidia infection disseminating into most organs in BALB/c mice. Although the presence of E. cuniculi in organs of albendazole- treated mice was undetectable by PCR, it was striking that infection was reactivated by immunosuppression treatment.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that microsporidia can successfully survive in organs of immunocompetent hosts and are able to reactivate from undetectable levels and spread within these hosts after induction of immunosuppression. These findings stress the danger of latent microsporidiosis as a life-threatening risk factor especially for individuals undergoing chemotherapy and in transplant recipients of organs originating from infected donors.     

Peculiarities of metabolism of the microsporidia Nosema grylli during the intracellular development

A long adaptation of Microsporidia to intracellular development supposes the host-derived ATP dependence of merogony and sporogony stages. To prove this assumption the activities of ten carbohydrate and energy metabolism enzymes were compared in the microsporidia Nosema grylli intracellular stages and mature spores. This species infects the fat body of crickets Gryllus bimaculatus. We have demonstrated lower activities of glycolytic enzymes, phosphoglucomutase and glucose-6-PhDH in the metabolically active meronts and sporonts than in the dormant mature spores. Low glycolysis level indicates that carbohydrate catabolism is not a principal mechanism of ATP supply in the N. grylli intracellular stages. Furthermore, we have not revealed a preferable expenditure of glycogen in comparison with triglycerides in infected cricket fat bodies. The N. grylli infection causes an equal reduction of glycogen and lipid content approximately in 2-3 times. Microsporidia have not mitochondria, Krebs cycle and electron-transport chain. Therefore they are not able to utilise fat reserves for ATP production. It seems to be proposed that microsporidia consume exogenous ATP which is produced by host cell metabolic system. The N. grylli infection provokes an increase of ATP content and ratio of ATP/ADP concentrations in cricket fat bodies approximately in 4 times. These data indicates a rise of host cell energy metabolism rate during the infection.     

Life cycle,epizootiology, and horizontal transmission of Amblyospora (Microspora: Amblyosporidae) in a univoltine mosquito, Aedes stimulans

Amblyospora infections in Aedes stimulans are transovarially transmitted by females infected in the previous year. Pathogen development in progeny is dimorphic and host sex dependent. In males, the pathogen invades fat body tissue and undergoes an extensive developmental sequence which kills the host and results in the formation of eight haploid spores enclosed in an accessory membrane that are not infectious to other larvae. In females, the pathogen invades host oenocytes and undergoes a simple developmental sequence which has no detrimental affect on longevity, fecundity, oviposition, or egg hatch, and results in the formation of binucleated spores that infect the ovaries and ensure transmission to the next generation. Transovarial transmission is continuous and is the major way in which these microsporidia are maintained from year to year, but is incapable of maintaining infections in breeding populations because of low transmission rates and is not sufficient to account for the types and levels of infection observed in the field. Horizontal transmission is reported for the first time. It occurs sporadically during the early stages of larval subsequently disseminated to oenocytes of adult hosts and are transovarially transmitted by females to filial host generations. This pathway of transmission provides the necessary mechanism whereby these microsporidia can reenter the mosquito population and thus perpetuate themselves.     

Nematospiroides dubius: arrested development of larvae in immune mice.

When immune NIH mice were killed 10 days after a challenge infection with Nematospiroides dubius, approximately 10% of the inoculated larvae were recovered from the intestinal lumen, irrespective of the dose administered. When such mice were treated with cortisone from Day 10 for a period of 8 to 14 days and were subsequently killed for worm counts, it was found that they had significantly more worms than the immune control mice killed on Day 10. During the week following the beginning of treatment with cortisone there was little change in the low worm burdens in immune mice. However, 9 to 11 days after this treatment worm counts indicated that worms were accumulating in the intestinal lumen, and concurrently eggs were recorded in the feces of the mice. These observations indicated that a period of 9 to 11 days was required after the initiation of cortisone treatment on Day 10 for the worms in immune mice to complete their development to the adult lumen-dwelling stage. It is suggested that the larvae in the challenge infection became arrested early in their development in the intestinal wall and that growth resumed only after cortisone treatment. When treatment with cortisone was initiated later after challenge, it was still effective in reactivating arrested worms, but the lower worm recoveries in these mice indicated that the arrested larvae were being slowly rejected by the host. In subsequent experiments it was established that the arrested larvae of N. dubius were insusceptible to the activity of pyrantel embonate, an anthelmintic which is 99% effective against adult worms in the intestinal lumen. The mechanism whereby the larvae of N. dubius became arrested in immune mice and subsequently resumed their development after cortisone treatment is discussed.     

Eimeria vermiformis and E. mitis: inhibition of development in vivo by cyclosporin A

Treatment of the host (Mus musculus, Gallus domesticus) with cyclosporin A during infection with Eimeria vermiformis or E. mitis resulted in a reduction in the numbers of oocysts passed in the feces and/or a delay in patency. The general immunosuppressive effects of the treatment were confirmed in chickens by monitoring their antibody responses to human erythrocytes and lymphoproliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin. Nevertheless, mice and chickens treated with cyclosporin A during a primary infection with E. vermiformis or E. mitis, respectively, were immune to subsequent challenge with these organisms. Thus, cyclosporin A did not interfere with priming. The antiparasite effect of the drug did not allow an evaluation of its effect on established immunity to the coccidia when it was administered at the time of challenge. In an exceptional treated chicken, however, delayed patency of the challenge infection was followed by the production of a number of oocysts similar to that found in unprimed animals. This suggests that the mechanisms of immunity to challenge may be susceptible to disruption by cyclosporin A.     

Unique physiology of host–parasite interactions in microsporidia infections

Microsporidia are intracellular parasites of all major animal lineages and have a described diversity of over 1200 species and an actual diversity that is estimated to be much higher. They are important pathogens of mammals, and are now one of the most common infections among immunocompromised humans. Although related to fungi, microsporidia are atypical in genomic biology, cell structure and infection mechanism. Host cell infection involves the rapid expulsion of a polar tube from a dormant spore to pierce the host cell membrane and allow the direct transfer of the spore contents into the host cell cytoplasm. This intimate relationship between parasite and host is unique. It allows the microsporidia to be highly exploitative of the host cell environment and cause such diverse effects as the induction of hypertrophied cells to harbour prolific spore development, host sex ratio distortion and host cell organelle and microtubule reorganization. Genome sequencing has revealed that microsporidia have achieved this high level of parasite sophistication with radically reduced proteomes and with many typical eukaryotic pathways pared-down to what appear to be minimal functional units. These traits make microsporidia intriguing model systems for understanding the extremes of reductive parasite evolution and host cell manipulation.     

Cytological variation and pathogenicity of the bumble bee parasite Nosema bombi (Microspora, Nosematidae)

In three field seasons, 2003-2005, bumble bees were collected in southern Sweden and eastern Denmark in search of microsporidian parasites. Of the 16 bumble bee species studied, microsporidia were found in Bombus hortorum, Bombus hypnorum, Bombus lapidarius, Bombus lucorum, Bombus pascuorum, Bombus pratorum, Bombus ruderarius, Bombus subterraneus and Bombus terrestris. Only one microsporidian species, Nosema bombi, was recorded. A microsporidium found in B. pratorum differed cytologically from microsporidia of the other host species. In the most frequently infected host, B. terrestris, the prevalence was 20.6%. Totally 1049 specimens were dissected. The light microscopic and ultrastructural cytology and pathology of N. bombi is described with focus on the variation recorded. Variation was especially prominent in the shape, size and coupling of spores, and in the length and arrangement of the polar filament. In four host species microsporidian infection was restricted to peripheral fat cells.     

The elimination of mouse hepatitis virus by temporary transplantation of human tumors from infected athymic nude mice into athymic nude rats (rnuN/rnuN).

A nude mouse colony held in an isolation unit was found to harbor MHV despite the fact that all hygienic precautions were taken. The virus spread rapidly causing a high mortality rate predominantly in experimental animals. Moreover, we observed a high percentage of tumor regression in our tumor transplanted mice. Attempts to eliminate the MHV by repeated tumor transplantation into virus-free nude mice were unsuccessful. Since MHV has a limited host range, we transplanted, in parallel, four different lines of embryonic renal tumors (three triphasic nephroblastomas and one malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney) from athymic mice into athymic rats and fragments of the same tumors into "fresh" nude mice. All manipulations were performed in isolators. Detection of MHV was done twice by serological examination of six-week-old sentinels. The results showed transmission of MHV infection in the control mice under gnotobiotic conditions as previously found in the normal animal room. On the other hand, there was no evidence of infection, neither in the transplanted nude rats nor after retransplantation of tumors into nude mice. We hypothesize that the virus is harbored in the stromal cells of the murine host but not of the rat host nor in the human tumor cells. Histological comparison showed no alteration of specific tumor morphology in the different hosts.     

Chlamydospore-like cells of Candida albicans in the gastrointestinal tract of infected, immunocompromised mice

We have demonstrated in a previously described murine model of gastrointestinal (GI) and systemic candidiasis that the antifungal angent cilofungin was efficacious in clearing infection of body organs when administered subcutaneously by infusion, but permitted large numbers of Candida albicans in the GI tract to persist. Yeast and hyphae in these animals were associated primarily with the stratified squamous epithelium of the stomach. Administration of immunocompromising drugs (cyclophosphamide plus cortisone acetate) to animals with persistent GI infection resulted in relapse of systemic candidiasis. Histological examination of the gastric mucosa revealed invasive hyphal elements and yeast as well as multiple chlamydospore-like cells. Comparative histochemical and electron-microscopic examinations of these latter cells produced in host tissue and chlamydospores formed in vitro were conducted. The results suggested that similarities in wall and cytoplasmic composition and ultrastructure exist between these in vivo and in vitro produced C. albicans cells. Exposure of C. albicans to cyclophosphamide during in vitro growth resulted in stimulation of chlamydospore production. No significant effect of cortisone acetate on C. albicans morphogenesis was detected. The murine model used in this study permits investigation of the formation of chlamydospore-like cells of C. albicans during early stages of fungal invasion of cyclophosphamide-treated mice, and of the possible influence of these cells on immunological response of the host to persistent candidiasis of the GI tract.     

Presentation by scanning electron microscopy of the life cycle of microsporidia of the genus Encephalitozoon

This paper presents, for the first time, documentation by detailed scanning electron microscopy of the life cycle of microsporidia of the genus Encephalitozoon. Phase 1 is represented by the extracellular phase with mature spores liberated by the rupture of host cells. To infect new cells the spores have to discharge their polar filament. Spores with everted tubes show that these are helically coiled. When the polar tubules have started to penetrate into a host cell they are incomplete in length. The infection of a host cell can also be initiated by a phagocytic process of the extruded polar filament into an invagination channel of the host cell membrane. After the penetration process, the tube length is completed by polar tube protein which passes through the tube in the shape of swellings. A completely discharged polar tube with its tip is also shown. The end of a polar tube is normally hidden in the cytoplasm of the host cell. After completion of the tube length the transfer of the sporoplasm occurs and phase 2 starts. Phase 2 is the proliferative phase, or merogony, with the intracellular development of the parasite that cannot be documented by scanning electron microscopy. The subsequent intracellular phase 3, or sporogony, starts when the meronts transform into sporonts, documented as chain-like structures which subdivide into sporoblasts. The sporoblasts finally transform directly into spores which can be seen in their host cell, forming bubble-like swellings in the cell surface.