Fasciola hepatica: Stereological analysis of effects of certain metabolic inhibitors on synthesis of secretory bodies by the tegument of tissue slices

Abstract

The influence of several well-known inhibitors on the production and distribution of Type 1 secretory bodies in the tegument of Fasciola hepatica slices has been analyzed stereologically. Cycloheximide was found to inhibit the production of these bodies by the Golgi complex of the tegumental cells, but apparently had little effect on intracellular transport and discharge. The metabolic inhibitors, DNP and iodoacetate, seemed to block all three processes. The results provide physiological evidence that the GER-Golgi system in the tegumental cells of this fluke carry out protein or glycoprotein synthesis, that a functional relationship exists between the tegumental cells and the surface syncytium in the transport and discharge of the secretory bodies, and that synthesis, transport, and discharge of the bodies are all energy-dependent processes.