Regulation of cell membrane permeability in Trypanosoma lewisi

H. G.du Buy*, C. L. Greenblatt, J. E. Hayes, D. R. Lincicome

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fluorescent properties of tetracycline (TC) were used to study permeability changes of T. lewisi in various surroundings under phase and fluorescence microscopy. Mitochondria and the mitochondrial elements of the kinetoplast fluoresced bright yellow under fluorescence microscopy when tetracycline entered the cells. Survival time of the organisms in saline was measured in hours, and in serum in days, either with or without TC. Survival time was proportionally shortened under conditions of fluorescence microscopy. This proportional shortening of the survival times was dependent on penetration of TC and the effect of the light necessary for fluorescence microscopy. The cells in saline became immediately visible and died rapidly, while those in serum became visible within an hour, followed by death. Serum serves as a protective permeability-regulating coat around the parasites. Thus, permeability changes which required hours or days under normal conditions could be measured in minutes with tetracycline. The protection afforded by different serum fractions of rabbit and rat sera was also measured. The beta globulins, and, to a lesser degree, the albumins, prevented the penetration of tetracycline. The presence of a serum barrier was also demonstrated by washing serum-coated organisms, by the use of fluorescein-labeled serum, and by leaching experiments. Anti-T. lewisi-antiserum does not prevent tetracycline penetration. The nature of the serum barrier and the probable role of the protective lipoprotein-containing serum fractions is discussed and their significance regarding chemotherapeutic studies pointed out.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)231-243
Number of pages13
JournalExperimental Parasitology
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1966
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Regulation of cell membrane permeability in Trypanosoma lewisi'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this