Fine structure and isozymic characterization of trichomonadid protozoa

Mattos, Amilton Pelegrino de; Solé‐Cava, Antônio M.; DeCarli, Geraldo Attilio; Benchimol, Marlene

doi:10.1007/s004360050249

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Afterwards, cells were rinsed in PBS, and the parasites were allowed to adhere to poly-l-lysine-coated glass coverslips. They were postfixed in 1% OsO 4 in 0.1 M sodium cacodylate buffer (pH 7.2), dehydrated in ethanol, and then critical-point dried using CO 2 (Mattos et al 1997). The samples were coated with gold and observed in a Jeol 5800 scanning electron microscope.…”

Section: Scanning Electron Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogen peroxide induces caspase activation and programmed cell death in the amitochondrial Tritrichomonas foetus

Mariante

Guimarães

Linden

et al. 2003

Histochemistry and Cell Biology

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Tritrichomonas foetus is an amitochondrial parasite protist which lacks typical eukaryote organelles such as mitochondria and peroxisomes, but possesses the hydrogenosome, a double-membrane-bound organelle that produces ATP. The cell death of amitochondrial organisms is poorly studied. In the present work, the cytotoxic effects of hydrogen peroxide on T. foetus and its participation on cell death were analyzed. We took advantage of several microscopy techniques, including videomicroscopy, light microscopy immunocytochemistry for detection of caspase activation, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We report here that in T. foetus: (1) H(2)O(2) leads to loss of motility and induces cell death, (2) the dying cells exhibit some characteristics similar to those found during the death of other organisms, and (3) a caspase-like protein seems to be activated during the death process. Thus, we propose that, although T. foetus does not present mitochondria nor any known pathways of cell death, it is likely that it bears mechanisms of cell demise. T. foetus exhibits morphological and physiological alterations in response to H(2)O(2) treatment. The hydrogenosome, a unique organelle which is supposed to share a common ancestral origin with mitochondria and has an important role in oxidative responses in trichomonads, is a candidate for participating in this event.

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Section: Scanning Electron Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogen peroxide induces caspase activation and programmed cell death in the amitochondrial Tritrichomonas foetus

Mariante

Guimarães

Linden

et al. 2003

Histochemistry and Cell Biology

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“…Based on morphology and sequence identity of rRNA, feline T. foetus is indistinguishable from bovine venereal T. foetus and porcine enteric Tritrichomonas suis (1,2,3,8,11,13,14,18). The origin of T. foetus and the prevalence of infected cats are unknown.…”

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Prevalence of and Risk Factors for FelineTritrichomonas foetusandGiardiaInfection

Gookin¹,

Stebbins²,

et al. 2004

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Data were gathered for 117 cats from 89 catteries at an international cat show to examine prevalence and risk factors for feline Tritrichomonas foetus and Giardia infection. Prevalence of T. foetus was 31% among cats (36 out of 117) and catteries (28 out of 89) based on results of fecal smear examination (5 out of 36), fecal culture in modified Diamond's medium (9 out of 36), fecal culture in In Pouch TF medium (20 out of 36), or PCR amplification of the ribosomal RNA gene from feces with T. foetus-specific primers (34 out of 36). Catteries in which T. foetus was identified were more likely to have had a recent history of diarrhea, historical diagnosis of coccidia infection in adult cats, and a decreased number of square feet of facility per cat. Evidence did not exist for the ongoing transmission of T. foetus by water, food, or contact with other species.Tritrichomonas foetus was recently identified as a cause of large-bowel diarrhea in domestic cats (6,7,10,15,16). Based on morphology and sequence identity of rRNA, feline T. foetus is indistinguishable from bovine venereal T. foetus and porcine enteric Tritrichomonas suis (1,2,3,8,11,13,14,18). The origin of T. foetus and the prevalence of infected cats are unknown. We thus performed an epidemiological study of feline T. foetus infection. The specific aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of T. foetus infection within a geographically widespread group of suspected at-risk cats, to identify environmental risk factors for feline infection by T. foetus, and to determine the relative efficacy of direct fecal smear examination, fecal protozoal culture, and single-tube nested PCR for the diagnosis of T. foetus infection in naturally infected cats. Because of our clinical impression that T. foetus is often misidentified as Giardia and as a test of the ability of this study to disclose true risk factors for T. foetus infection if present, all cats were additionally tested for Giardia infection. MATERIALS AND METHODSSurvey distributions, fecal collection, and processing were performed at an international cat show in 2001. Catteries for which there was a completed survey and a freshly voided fecal sample from Ն1 cat present at the show were included. For each fecal sample, a single 0.9% saline smear was immediately prepared and viewed at ϫ400 magnification for motile trichomonads and Giardia trophozoites. A portion (Յ0.1 g) of feces was inoculated into In Pouch TF medium (Biomed Diagnostics; San Jose, Calif.) for the cultivation of T. foetus as described previously (4), and a portion (0.1 g) of the feces was suspended in 10 ml of sterile phosphate-buffered 0.9% saline and shipped overnight to the authors' laboratory for cultivation in modified Diamond's medium (Remel, Lenexa, Kans.) as described previously (4). Feces (2 g) were frozen, shipped same-day on dry ice to the authors' laboratory, and stored at Ϫ20°C. Feces were examined for the presence of Giardia-specific antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay according to manufacturer instructions...

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“…7,26 Tritrichomonas foetus and Tritrichomonas suis are considered to be strains of the same species on the basis of morphology, ultrastructural analysis, random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, enzyme homogeneity, and rRNA gene sequence identity. [3][4][5]14,20,21,27 Studies of cross-transmission between cattle and swine with T. foetus or T. suis have indicated little host specificity. 7,17 Beginning in 1996, several reports have documented the presence of large numbers of trichomonads in fecal specimens from young, densely housed cats with chronic large-bowel diarrhea.…”

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Histologic Features Associated withTritrichomonas foetus-induced Colitis in Domestic Cats

Yaeger

Gookin

2005

Vet Pathol

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Abstract. Tritrichomonas foetus is a venereal pathogen of naturally bred cattle. In domestic cats, T. foetus colonizes the colon, resulting in chronic, large-bowel diarrhea. The infection is prevalent among young, densely housed cats, and there is no effective treatment. To the authors' knowledge, the characteristic microscopic lesions of T. foetus infection in naturally infected cats have not been described. The aim of the study reported here was to characterize the histologic changes in the colon of seven cats with T. foetus infection and chronic diarrhea. All cats were 1 year old or younger (mean, 6.7 6 1.7 months), and a diagnosis of T. foetus infection was made on the basis of direct fecal smear examination (five cats), fecal culture in InPouch TM TF medium (four cats), single-tube nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of DNA extracted from feces (two cats), or observation of trichomonads in sections of colon followed by PCR confirmation on DNA extracted from paraffinembedded tissue (two cats). The presence of colonic trichomonads was the most diagnostic histologic feature. Organisms were identified in all cats, but in only 24 of 43 (56%) sections of colon. Trichomonads were generally present in close proximity to the mucosal surface and less frequently in the lumen of colonic crypts. The presence of colonic trichomonads was consistently associated with mild-to-moderate lymphoplasmacytic and neutrophilic colitis, crypt epithelial cell hypertrophy, hyperplasia and increased mitotic activity, loss of goblet cells, crypt microabscesses, and attenuation of the superficial colonic mucosa. In two of the cats, histologic lesions were more severe and were associated with invasion of trichomonads into the lamina propria and/or deeper layers of the colon.

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Fine structure and isozymic characterization of trichomonadid protozoa

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Hydrogen peroxide induces caspase activation and programmed cell death in the amitochondrial Tritrichomonas foetus

Hydrogen peroxide induces caspase activation and programmed cell death in the amitochondrial Tritrichomonas foetus

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for FelineTritrichomonas foetusandGiardiaInfection

Histologic Features Associated withTritrichomonas foetus-induced Colitis in Domestic Cats

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