Invasive forms of Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi have a positive charge at their contact site with host cells

Akaki, Mayumi; Nakano, Yamaji; Nagayasu, Eiji; Nagakura, Kouichi; Kawai, Shinya; Aikawa, Masamichi

doi:10.1007/pl00008574

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Scale bar: 200 nm. otic and eukaryotic cells (Berdyyeva et al, 2005;Dufrêne, 2008), including protists, extended previous studies on structural organisation of pathogenic protists (Dvorak et al, 2000;Akaki et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Visualization of the flagellar surface of protists by atomic force microscopy

Rocha

Miranda

Weissmüller

et al. 2010

Micron

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Visualization of the flagellar surface of protists by atomic force microscopy

Rocha

Miranda

Weissmüller

et al. 2010

Micron

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“…Akaki et al (2001) evaluated the surface charges of infective forms of a number of parasites, including Leishmania, and observed that the parasites had positive charges in the membrane region which makes the initial contact with the host cells. Tempone et al (2004) reported that negatively charged liposomes were efficient drug delivery systems to macrophages, inducing a decrease in Leishmania growth.…”

Section: Liposomal Systems As Carriers For Bioactive Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liposomal systems as carriers for bioactive compounds

et al. 2015

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Since the revolutionary discovery that phospholipids can form closed bilayered structures in aqueous systems, the study of liposomes has become a very interesting area of research. The versatility and amazing biocompatibility of liposomes has resulted in their wide-spread use in many scientific fields, and many of their applications, especially in medicine, have yielded breakthroughs in recent decades. Specifically, their easy preparation and various structural aspects have given rise to broadly usable methodologies to internalize different compounds, with either lipophilic or hydrophilic properties. The study of compounds with potential biotechnological application(s) is generally related to evaluation and risk assessment of the possible cytotoxic or therapeutic effects of the compound under study. In most cases, undesirable sideeffects are associated with an interaction of the liposome with the cell membrane and/or its absorption and subsequent interaction with a cellular biomolecule. Liposomal carrier systems have an unprecedented potential for delivering bioactive substances to specific molecular targets due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and low toxicity. Liposomes are therefore considered to be an invaluable asset in applied biotechnology studies due to their potential for interaction with both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds.

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“…Few attempts to analyze the structural organization of pathogenic protozoa were carried out with the use of AFM (Akaki et al, 2001;Dvorak et al, 2000). Such studies focused on the localization of anionic and cationic surface sites in Plasmodium falciparum (Akaki et al, 2002), on the interaction of surface glycoconjugates in Entamoeba histolytica , on the vizualization of the microtubule cytoskeleton network in Besnoitia besnoiti (Reis et al, 2006) and on the global and panoramic view of the morphological aspects of protozoan parasites (Dvorak et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrastructure of Trypanosoma cruzi revisited by atomic force microscopy

Rocha

Miranda

Weissmüller

et al. 2007

Microscopy Res & Technique

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Most advances in atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been accomplished in recent years. Previous attempts to use AFM to analyze the organization of pathogenic protozoa did not significantly contribute with new structural information. In this work, we introduce a new perspective to the study of the ultrastructure of the epimastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi by AFM. Images were compared with those obtained using field emission scanning electron microscopy of critical point dried cells and transmission electron microscopy of negative stained detergent-extracted and air-dried cells. AFM images of epimastigote forms showed a flagellum furrow separating the axoneme from the paraflagellar rod (PFR) present from the emergence of the flagellar pocket to the tip of the flagellum. At high magnification, a row of periodically organized structures, which probably correspond to the link between the axoneme, the PFR and the flagellar membrane were seen along the furrow. In the origin of the flagellum, two basal bodies were identified. Beyond the basal bodies, small periodically arranged protrusions, positioned at 400 nm from the flagellar basis were seen. This structure was formed by nine substructures distributed around the flagellar circumference and may correspond to the flagellar necklace. Altogether, our results demonstrate the importance of the application of AFM in the structural characterization of the surface components and cytoskeleton on protozoan parasites.

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Invasive forms of Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi have a positive charge at their contact site with host cells

Cited by 13 publications

References 18 publications

Visualization of the flagellar surface of protists by atomic force microscopy

Visualization of the flagellar surface of protists by atomic force microscopy

Liposomal systems as carriers for bioactive compounds

Ultrastructure of Trypanosoma cruzi revisited by atomic force microscopy

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