Ultrastructural Observations on Life Cycle Stages of Pneumocystis carinii |
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| Authors: | JOHN J RUFFOLO MELANIET CUSHION PETER D WALZER |
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| Institution: | Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, WI 53190;Department of internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267. |
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| Abstract: | An ultrastructural study of life cycle stages of Pneumocystis carinii in infected rat lungs in situ was undertaken utilizing 8 different modes of fixation. Three of the fixatives employed gave good fixation of cysts and intracystic bodies, but for the trophic forms fixation was only fair. Both the trophic forms and intracystic bodies have nuclear pores. The mitochondria of the organism have cristac that appear lamellar. One of the fixation modes revealed a thin, electron-dense layer on the outer surface of the cell wall, a "fuzzy coat" that had not been described previously. This material appears to mediate tight adhesion of trophic forms with other trophic forms, cysts, and with pneumocytcs of the lung alveolus. |
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