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Trichomonas vaginalis virulence against epithelial cells and morphological variability: the comparison between a well-established strain and a fresh isolate

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Abstract

The FMVI strain of Trichomonas vaginalis was freshly isolated from an asymptomatic patient, and its morphological properties and virulence in vitro compared with the well-established JT strain. The morphological variability of the parasites was assessed by differential interference microscopy and both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The FMV1 strain presented nearly 20% amoeboid cells whereas the JT strain presented high percentages of ellipsoid but no amoeboid cells. The FMV1 morphotype population was unaltered after at least 1 year of subculturing. Electron microscopy revealed that this strain produced numerous pseudopod structures which mediated intimate contact and interdigitation among trophozoites. Dead FMV1 parasites were often phagocytosed by conspecific cells. We also compared the cytolytic capacity of these two populations against epithelial MDCK cells and its contact dependence. The FMV1 strain rapidly adhered to plastic or glass surfaces and to MDCK monolayers. This strain destroyed about 93% of the epithelial cells in 90 min whereas the cytolytic activity of the JT parasites was very much lower (about 41%). Parasite supernatants displayed no cytolytic activity, indicating contact-mediated lysis. The protozoan virulence in vitro did not correlate well with the clinical observations. The implications of these results are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Wanderley de Souza for use of the scanning electron microscope facilities and Dr. Marlene Benchimol for providing the JT strain of T. vaginalis. We also thank Noemia R. Gonçalves for assistance with scanning electron microscopy, and Dr. Ximena Illarramendi and Patricia Cuervo for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), PROCAD-CAPES and Programa Núcleos de Excelência (PRONEX; grant no. 0885).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    J. B. Jesus & C. Britto

  2. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, BA, Brazil

    M. A. Vannier-Santos

  3. Disciplina de Parasitologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Valença, Valença, RJ, Brazil

    P. Godefroy

  4. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    J. B. Jesus, F. C. Silva-Filho & B. Rocha-Azevedo

  5. Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, ICB, UFRJ, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    A. A. S. Pinheiro & J. R. Meyer-Fernandes

  6. Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    A. H. C. S. Lopes

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  1. J. B. Jesus
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  5. F. C. Silva-Filho
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  8. A. H. C. S. Lopes
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Correspondence to J. R. Meyer-Fernandes.

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Jesus, J.B., Vannier-Santos, M.A., Britto, C. et al. Trichomonas vaginalis virulence against epithelial cells and morphological variability: the comparison between a well-established strain and a fresh isolate. Parasitol Res 93, 369–377 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1134-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1134-4

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