Actin and intermediate-sized filaments of the spines and cytoskeleton of Schistosoma mansoni

Abstract

The organization of spines and filaments in whole worms and cytoskeletal fractions of adult Schistosoma mansoni was investigated. The ultrastructure of the spine revealed a closely packed filamentous organization of 3.5- to 5.6-nm elements and electron-lucent areas. Spines were surrounded at the base by electron-dense bodies and membrane invaginations, and covered at the tip by the syncytial surface membrane. Filaments, 7.5–11.1 nm in diameter, were closely associated with the base of the spines, between muscles, near mitochondria or nuclei, and in spaces of the subtegument.

Cytoskeletal fractions prepared by homogenizing adults in Tris-HCl buffer, containing 0.6 M KCl and 1.0% Triton X-100, represented 19%–25% and 32%–38% of wet weight of males and females, respectively. The fractions contained nuclei, spines, 8 to 11 nm filaments, myofibrils, and granules. Vitellaria and egg shells were abundant in fractions from females. Six polypeptides with estimated molecular weights of 130, 96, 84, 78, 74 and 43 kdaltons were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as the major components of the cytoskeleton.

Monoclonal antibody to chicken actin (MAA) was localized predominantly in surface spines and tubercles of adult schistosomes by the indirect immunofluorescence test, while immune serum from infected mice reacted less specifically with the tegument. A 43-kdalton polypeptide with electrophoretic mobility identical to that of vertebrate actin, identified in cytoskeletal and tegumental fractions of adult worms, reacted positively with MAA on immunoblotting. These observations indicate that schistosome actin has electrophoretic and antigenic properties similar to those of vertebrates and that it is detectable in the surface spines of these worms. This study also describes intermediate-sized filaments in an invertebrate and discusses the significance of the spine-filament organization.