Summary
Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the cecum of the guinea-pig is colonized by numerous spiral-shaped bacteria; these microorganisms, which adhere to mucosa at one end, were found exclusively on the brush border of the surface epithelium. The membranes of sectioned bacteria have a set of electron-dense bands girdling the tip adhered to epithelium. Freeze-fracture replicas of the bacteria revealed the prokaryote-eukaryote junction as a set of ridges on the P-face of outer membrane; the numerous particles of E-face were arranged in parallel rows; on the other hand, the apical plasma membrane and subjacent cytoplasm of epithelium occupied by the spiral-shaped bacteria did not show a structural counterpart. Observations suggest that one end of the spiral-shaped bacteria possesses specialized membrane components that permit specific attachment to the apical surface of epithelial cells.
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Mora-Galindo, J. Prokaryotic-eukaryotic cell junctions between spiral-shaped bacteria and cecal epithelium of the guinea pig. Cell Tissue Res. 250, 475–477 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219094
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219094