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Abstract
Trypanosomes are important disease agents of humans, livestock and cold-blooded species, including fish. The cellular morphology of trypanosomes is central to their motility, adaptation to the host's environments and pathogenesis. However, visualizing the behaviour of trypanosomes resident in a live vertebrate host has remained unexplored. In this study, we describe an infection model of zebrafish (Danio rerio) with Trypanosoma carassii. By combining high spatio-temporal resolution microscopy with the transparency of live zebrafish, we describe in detail the swimming behaviour of trypanosomes in blood and tissues of a vertebrate host. Besides the conventional tumbling and directional swimming, T. carassii can change direction through a 'whip-like' motion or by swimming backward. Further, the posterior end can act as an anchoring site in vivo. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a vertebrate infection model that allows detailed imaging of trypanosome swimming behaviour in vivo in a natural host environment.
Highlights
Trypanosoma is a genus of flagellated protozoa, and most species proliferate in the blood and tissue fluids of their host
The best-known and most commonly studied trypanosomes are those that cause human diseases: Human African Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei and American Trypanosomiasis caused by T. cruzi
By combining T. carassii infection of transparent zebrafish with high-speed microscopy, we provide the first description of trypanosome swimming behaviour in vivo in a vertebrate host
Summary
Trypanosoma is a genus of flagellated protozoa, and most species proliferate in the blood and tissue fluids of their host. Until now it has only been possible to observe trypanosomes in plastic dishes or in blood drawn from infected patients Neither of these settings mimic the conditions of the bloodstream, and it is currently impossible to look inside human hosts to watch how trypanosomes move. It was discovered that Trypanosoma carassii could rapidly attach to blood vessel walls using one end of its cell body, even when blood flow was strong This behaviour may help the parasites escape from the bloodstream into the surrounding tissues, making the infection more dangerous. By combining T. carassii infection of transparent zebrafish with high-speed microscopy, we provide the first description of trypanosome swimming behaviour in vivo in a vertebrate host. These observations greatly expand our knowledge on trypanosome swimming behaviour and show that trypanosomes can rapidly adapt to match the host environment
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