Alpha8-giardin (α8-giardin) is a member of the multi-gene α-giardin family in the intestinal parasitic protozoan, Giardia lamblia. This gene family shares an ancestry with the annexin super family, whose common characteristic is calcium dependent binding to membranes that contain acidic phospholipids. In the present study, the antigenicity, hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, and ...

Expression of TSA 417, the predominant cysteine-rich variable surface protein of Giardia lamblia WB clone C6 trophozoites, did not change during encystation in vitro. However, in vitro excystation of cysts derived in vitro or in vivo consistently produced TSA 417 nonexpressing trophozoite populations, suggesting that completion of the life cycle leads to antigenic switching.

Malaria detection through microscopic examination of stained blood smears is a diagnostic challenge that heavily relies on the expertise of trained microscopists. This paper presents an automated analysis method for detection and staging of red blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum at trophozoite or schizont stage. Unlike previous efforts in this area, this study us...

Trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica HM-1 were cultivated axenically in TYI-S medium. The amoebae were then transferred into this medium lacking serum (TYI) and inoculated into in vivo colon loops of adult Sprague-Dawley rats. The trophozoites were rapidly absorbed by the mucus, and few were found free in the luminal fluid by 1 h. By 4 h, the amoebae began to reappear in the lumen, aggregated ...

BACKGROUND During its intraerythrocytic asexual reproduction cycle Plasmodium falciparum consumes up to 80% of the host cell hemoglobin, in large excess over its metabolic needs. A model of the homeostasis of falciparum-infected red blood cells suggested an explanation based on the need to reduce the colloid-osmotic pressure within the host cell to prevent its premature lysis. Critical for this...

tic animals and wildlife throughout the world. The parasite is a flagellate, which was discovered by the inventor of the microscope, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. In a letter written to Hooke at the British Royal Society of Parasitology in 1681 he accurately described the motile trophozoite of G. lamblia, which he observed in a sample of his own stool as "very prettily moving animacules, some rather ...

Entamoeba dispar, a common noninvasive parasite, is indistinguishable in its cysts and trophozoite forms from Entamoeba histolytica, the cause of invasive amebiasis, by microscopy. To differentiate the two species seems to be a problem for laboratory diagnosis. Recent experimental studies showed that  E. dispar can be considered pathogenic too. We present a rare case of enteritis due to E. dispar.