Differentiation of Trypanosoma cruzi in Culture*

Abstract

SYNOPSIS. A medium containing sodium and potassium chloride, phosphate buffer, glucose, calf serum, hemoglobin and lactalbumin hydrolysate permits some growth and differentiation of crithidiae into the metacyclic forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. The addition of ox liver infusion greatly enhances the growth promoting properties of this medium while making it very poor as far as differentiation is concerned. With dog heart infusion instead of ox liver, the medium is still good for growth but not much better for differentiation. If, however, the pH of the dog heart infusion medium is lowered from 7.2 to 6.7, it continues to be good for growth and becomes excellent for differentiation. Other factors were studied that stimulate or repress the rate of differentiation, such as preincubation at certain levels of temperature and the size and age of inocula.

Trypanosoma cruzi: Maintenance in Culture Modify Gene and Antigenic Expression of Metacyclic Trypomastigotes

“…Preparation of epimastigotes -To obtain epimastigotes, parasites in late exponentially growing phase in LIT medium (Castellani et al 1967) were harvested by centrifugation at 8,500 xg, for 20 min and then washed twice with PBS 0.15 M pH 7.2. Epimastigotes of triatomine condition were obtained from parasites kept for no more than two months in culture.…”

Molecular Typing ofTrypanosoma cruziIsolates, United States

“…Some isolates were obtained as liquid nitrogen-stored parasites from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA), the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France), and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (Athens, GA, USA) and were established in axenic liver infusion tryptose medium as described (9). Additional isolates were obtained from wild-trapped animals in axenic liver infusion tryptose medium or canine macrophage cell culture as described (10).…”

Leishmania spp: completely defined medium without serum and macromolecules (CDM/LP) for the continuous in vitro cultivation of infective promastigote forms.

“…Nondefined glucose-lactalbumin-serum-hemoglobin medium, originally developed for African trypanosomes, 10,11 liver infusion tryptose (LIT) medium, 12 Panmede medium, 13 modified NIH medium using hemolyzed rabbit blood, 14 and semi-defined HOMEN's medium 15 have been reported. Serum-enriched tissue culture media, initially formulated for the cultivation of mammalian or insect cells, have been successfully used to cultivate several Old and New World Leishmania species.…”