Acetylcholine (ACh, 1 microM) stimulates activity of the contractile vacuole of proteus. The effect of ACh is not mimicked by its analogs which are not hydrolyzed by acetylcholinesterase (AChE), i. e., carbacholine and 5-methylfurmethide. The effect of ACh is not sensitive to the blocking action of M-cholinolytics, atropine and mytolone, but is suppressed by N-cholinolytic, tubocurarine. The inhibitors of AChE, eserine (0.01 microM) and armine (0.1 microM), suppress the effect of ACh on amoeba contractile vacuole. ACh does not affect activation of contractile vacuole induced by arginine-vasopressin (1 microM), but it blocks such effect of opiate receptors agonist, dynorphin A1-13 (0.01 microM). This effect of ACh is also suppressed by the inhibitors of AChE. These results suggest that, in the above-described effects of ACh, AChE acts not as an antagonist, but rather as a synergist.
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Int J Mol Sci
December 2024
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, Mobile, AL 36688, USA.
An intracellular protozoan, the Apicomplexan parasite () infects nucleated cells, in which it triggers the formation of a specialized membrane-confined cytoplasmic vacuole, named the parasitophorous vacuole (PV). One of the most prominent events in the parasite's intracellular life is the congregation of the host cell mitochondria around the PV. However, the significance of this event has remained largely unsolved since the parasite itself possesses a functional mitochondrion, which is essential for its replication.
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December 2024
Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Genetic studies on the protist, provide a glimpse into the unexpectedly rich world of intracellular patterning that unfolds within the ciliate cell cortex. Ciliate pattern studies provide a useful counterpoint to animal models of pattern formation in that the unicellular model draws attention away from fields of cells (or nuclei) as the principal players in the metazoan pattern paradigm, focusing instead on fields of ciliated basal bodies serving as sources of positional information. In this study, we identify , a Polo kinase of , that serves as an important factor driving global, circumferential pattern.
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November 2024
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-006, United States of America.
is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a zoonotic infectious disease considered a leading cause of cardiomyopathy, disability, and premature death in the Americas. This parasite spends its life between a mammalian host and an arthropod vector, undergoing essential transitions among different developmental forms. How senses microenvironmental changes that trigger cellular responses necessary for parasite survival has remained largely unknown.
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November 2024
National Horizons Centre, Teesside University, Darlington DL1 1HG, United Kingdom; School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, United Kingdom.
We describe a novel sanguicolous parasitic ciliate, Metacollinia emscheri n. sp., found in the freshwater amphipods Gammarus pulex and G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFiScience
September 2024
Division of Molecular Infection Biology, Department of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.
is a professional phagocyte frequently used to study cellular processes underlying the recognition, engulfment, and infection course of microbial pathogens. Sphingolipids are abundant components of the plasma membrane that bind cholesterol, control membrane properties, participate in signal transmission, and serve as adhesion molecules in recognition processes relevant to immunity and infection. By combining lipidomics with a bioinformatics-based cloning strategy, we show here that produces phosphoinositol-containing sphingolipids with predominantly phytoceramide backbones.
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