[Histochemistry of the carbohydrate metabolism in cysts of Toxoplasma gondii (author's transl)]

Abstract

Mice were infected with cysts of the ALT strain Toxoplasma by intraperitoneal injection. After 2-8 weeks disseminated cysts could be demonstrated in the brain tissue. All cysts showed identical histochemical characteristics, independent of their sizes or their cell number. The encysted organisms were intensely stained after the PAS-reaction. This polysaccharide is highly diastase and acid resistant. Glycogen synthetase activity could not be demonstrated, but phosphorylase activity was very high. The energy metabolism was characterized by a high lactate dehydrogenase activity, whereas the reaction for succinate dehydrogenase activity only leads to sparse deposits of reaction products. The carbohydrate content is interpreted to be not only a store of energy substrate but also a store of biosynthetic substrate. It is assumed that a part of the liberated glucose at high activities of G-6-P-DH and 6-P-G-DH is metabolized by the hexose monophosphate shunt, the pentoses of which may contribute to nucleic acid synthesis which is necessary for the proliferation of the encysted organisms.