Morphological changes in trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense following inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis in vivo |
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Authors: | Antonie LW de Gee Per HB Carstens Peter P McCann John M Mansfield |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 USA;2. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 USA;3. Merrell Dow Research Institute, Cincinnati, OH 45215 USA |
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Abstract: | The effect of α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) treatment on the morphology of African trypanosomes was investigated. For this purpose inbred mice were immunosuppressed and infected with a clone of the protozoan blood parasite Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. The mice were then treated with DFMO, an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, which inhibits polyamine synthesis. DFMO treatment in the absence of host immunity resulted in arrest of cytokinesis of the trypanosomes and many binucleated cells could be seen in blood smears. If mice were infected with a highly virulent trypanosome clone (ETat 1.10), which does not normally transform from long slender (LS) to short stumpy (SS) forms, DFMO treatment caused SS transformation to occur on days 3–4. This morphological SS transformation was substantiated by the presence of diaphorase activity and nuclear and mitochondrial changes. The results suggest a possible involvement of polyamines in the transformation from LS to SS forms. |
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Keywords: | polyamine biosynthesis DFMO morphology long slender form short stumpy form |
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