Parasitology Pt 1 Flashcards
Characteristics of Protozoa
Unicellular eukaryotes
- Protists
- Bigger than bacteria (eat bacteria)
Usually motile
1. Cilia
2. Flagella
3. Pseudopodia
4. Polar filaments
Most often reproduce by asexual fission
Love wet environments
Essential decomposers
- NOT photosynthetic
Protozoa Habitats
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Terrestrial
Role of Protozoa in Food Chain
- Eat bacteria
- Food for larger species
- Maintain ecological balance in soil
- Decrease sewage solids
Protozoa Cell Structure
Membrane-bound nucleus & organelles
Specialized structures for movement
NO cell wall
- Food, water, O2 diffuse through membrane
- Pinocytosis & phagocytosis
Protozoa Reproduction
Complex life cycles
- Require more than 1 host/habitat
Polymorphic
(distinct morphological forms at different stages)
- Trophozoite = vegetative/feeding form
- Cyst = resting/infectious form (withstands)
Asexual &/or sexual reproduction
1. Binary fission
- DNA replication + division into 2 cells
- Longitudinal division = flagellates
- Transverse division = ciliates
- Multiple fissions (schizogony)
- Multiple DNA divisions
- Cell contains may single-celled infectious organisms
- Parasite released at regular intervals
Protozoa Phyla
- Phylum Sarcomastigophora
(Subphylums Mastigophora & Sarcodina) - Phylum Ciliophora
- Phylum Apicomplexa
- Phylum Microspora
Subphylum Mastigophora
Flagella
- Giardia lamblia
- Leishmania species
- Trichomonas vaginalis
- Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense
- Trypanosoma brucei gambiense
- Trypanosoma cruzi
Subphylum Sarcodina
Pseudopodia
Entamoeba histolytica (disease in humans)
Phylum Ciliphora
Cilia
Balantidium coli (ulcers in large intestine)
Phylum Apicomplexa (Sporozoa)
Flagella
- Plasmodium species (malaria)
- Toxoplasma gondii (toxoplasmosis)
- Cryptosporidium parvum (cryptosporidiosis)
Phylum Microspora
Polar filament
Microsporidium (diarrhea, immunocompromised)
Leishmaniasis
Zoonotic protozoa
Carried by: rodents, dogs, & foxes
Transmitted to humans by bite of sandfly
Promastigote
- Flagellated motile form
- Invades phagocytic cells & transforms into amastigote
Amastigote
- Nonmotile form
- Multiplies in phagocytic cells of reticuloendothelial system
(lymph node, spleen, liver, bone marrow)
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
L. tropica & L. mexicana
Skin ulcer develops at site of bite
Nodular lesions diffuse across body (inactive CMI response)
Untreated infections can last for years
(NOT normally fatal)
Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis
L. braziliensis
Initial dermal ulceration heals
Ulcers appear in mucous membranes of nose & mouth
May erode nasal septum, soft palate, & lips if left untreated
(NOT normally fatal)
Visceral Leishmaniasis
L. donovani
Common in young/malnourished children
Fever, anorexia, weight loss, & abdominal swelling (hepatomegaly & splenomegaly)
Often fatal
Leishmania:
Life Cycle
- Sandfly takes blood meal
- Injects promastigote into human skin - Macrophages phagocytose promastigotes
- Promastigotes transform into amastigotes
- Amastigotes multiply in cells of various tissues
- Sandfly takes blood meal
- Ingests macrophages infected with amastigotes - Amastigotes transform into promastigotes in midgut
- Promastigotes divide & migrate to proboscis
African Sleeping Sickness
Trypanosoma brucei
Tsetse fly bite spreads tryptomastigote via blood stream to CNS & lymph nodes
Initial painful skin ulcer heals within 2 weeks
Fever, headache, dizziness, lymph node swelling
CNS symptoms (daytime drowsiness, slurred speech, problems walking, coma, death)
West African Sleeping Sickness
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense
Slowly progressing symptoms
East African Sleeping Sickness
Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense
More severe
Death occurs within weeks