Summary
In an attempt to establish the exact location of calcium within the preacetabular glands of cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni, these larvae were exposed to reagents (potassium oxalate, potassium pyroantimonate, chloranilic acid, and silver nitrate) useful in the detection of calcium, and were subsequently observed with the aid of light and electron microscopes. Cercariae incubated in potassium oxalate and viewed in polarized light showed birefringence only in the preacetabular gland funduses. At the ultrastructural level, the preacetabular glands of potassium oxalate-treated cercariae had no electron-dense precipitate, but instead had translucent, irregularly shaped inclusions, similar to spaces left by volatilized calcium oxalate as described by others. Pyroantimonate treatment, on the other hand, localized the reaction in the electron-lucent areas of the light-spotted granules. The von Kossa silver nitrate procedure destroyed the secretory granules; therefore, an electron-dense precipitate was distributed throughout the gland. However, pretreatment with chloranilic acid before fixation preserved the granules, and subsequent exposure to the von Kossa silver nitrate gave a reaction identical to that obtained with the pyroantimonate alone. When viewed in polarized light, chloranilic acid-incubated cercariae showed birefringence in the fundus and duct areas.
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Supported by the Naval Medical Research and Development Command Work Unit No. MR041.05.01.0037, and Office of Naval Research Contract No. N 00014-76-C-0053. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Air Force, the Navy Department or the naval service at large
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Dorsey, C.H., Stirewalt, M.A. Schistosoma mansoni: Localization of calcium-detecting reagents in electron-lucent areas of specific preacetabular gland granules. Z. Parasitenk. 54, 165–173 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380799
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380799