Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-tn8tq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-20T09:07:56.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Onchocerca fasciata: histochemical demonstration of succinate and NADH dehydrogenase

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

M.S. Omar  and
A.M.S. Raoof
M.S. Omar
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology and ParasitologyCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 641, Abha, Saudi Arabia
A.M.S. Raoof
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 641, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The activities of selected enzymes of the respiratory chain system in Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae) have been investigated histochemically. Thus, the localization and distributions of NADH dehydrogenase (EC 1.6.99.3), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) (EC 1.3.99.1) and cytochrome oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) were investigated in various tissues of the adult female worm by employing MTT, Nitro BT (dehydrogenases) and DAB (cytochrome oxidase). Different tissues varied considerably in their enzymatic activities. The hypodermis and reproductive tissues showed strong and identical localization of NADH and SDH dehydrogenase activities reflecting high metabolic rates. Little or no dehydrogenase activities were observed in the intestine and cuticle. In contrast to the two dehyrogenases, no activity was observed for cytochrome oxidase in any of the tissues in adult or embryonic stages of the worm. The significance of these results with respect to the energy metabolism of the worm is discussed. It is suggested that O. fasciata lacks a classical, mammalian-type respiratory pathway and that oxidative phosphorylation is of no importance as an energy generating pathway in this essentially anaerobic parasite.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , March 1996 , pp. 47 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrett, J. (1981) Biochemistry of parasitic helminths. 3. Catabolism and energy production. Macmillan, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, J. (1983) Biochemistry of filarial worms. Helminthological Abstracts Series A, 52, 1–18.Google Scholar
Barrett, J., Mendis, A.H.W. & Butterworth, P.E. (1986) Carbohydrate metabolism in Brugia pahangi (Nematoda: Filarioidea). International Journal for Parasitology 16, 465–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Comley, J.C.W. & Mendis, A.H.W. (1986) Advances in the biochemistry of filariae. Parasitology Today 2, 34–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, T.S., Raines, P.S., Barrett, J. & Butterworth, P.E. (1988) Carbohydrate metabolism in Onchocerca gutturosa and Onchocerca lienalis (Nematoda: Filarioidea). International Journal for Parasitology 18, 21–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Filipe, M.I. & Lake, B.D. (1990) Enzymes. pp. 459–474 in Histochemistry in pathology. New York, Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Franz, M. (1988) The morphology of adult Onchocerca vohulus based on electron microscopy. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 39 (Supplement), 359–366.Google ScholarPubMed
Mendis, A.H.W. (1985) Energy generation in filariae - a target for chemotherapy. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 36 (Supplement), 15–19.Google ScholarPubMed
Mendis, A.H.W. & Townson, S. (1985a) Evidence for the occurrence of respiratory electron transport in adult Brugia pahangi and Dipetalonema viteae. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 14, 337–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendis, A.H.W. & Townson, S. (1985b) Characterization of respiratory electron transport in adult Onchocerca gutturosa. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 36 (Supplement), 26.Google Scholar
Nachlas, M.M., Tsou, K.C., De Souza, E., Cheng, C.-S. & Seligman, A.R. (1957) Cytochemical demonstration of succinic dehydrogenase by the use of a new p-nitrophenyl substituted ditetrazole. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry 5, 420–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omar, M.S. & Raoof, A.M.S. (1994a) Histochemical distribution of hydrolytic enzymes in adult Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae). Parasitology Research 80, 216–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omar, M.S. & Raoof, A.M.S. (1994b) Histochemical localization of key glycoly tic and related enzymes in adult Onchocerca fasciata. Journal of Helminthology 68, 337–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omar, M.S., Raoof, A.M.S. & Al-Amari, O.M. (1993) Histochemical distribution of esterases in adult Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae). Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 44, 295–298.Google ScholarPubMed
Omar, M.S., Raoof, A.M.S. & Al-Amari, O.M. (1995) Onchocerca fasciata: Enzyme histochemistry and tissue distribution of various dehydrogenases in adult female worm. Parasitology Research 81, (in press).Google Scholar
Paget, T.A., Mendis, A.H.W. & Lloyd, D. (1989) Respiration in the filarial nematode Brugia pahangi. International Journal for Parasitology 19, 337–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramp, T., Bachmann, R. & Kohler, P. (1985) Respiration and energy conservation in the filarial worm Litomosoides carinii. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 15, 11–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seligman, A.M., Karnovsky, M.J., Wasserkrug, H.L. & Hanker, J.S. (1968) Nondroplet ultrastructural demonstration of cytochrome oxidase activity with a polymerizing osmiophilic reagent, diaminobenzidine (DAB). Journal of Cell Biology 38,1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, R.J., Cotter, T.P., Williams, J.F. & Guderion, R.H. (1988) Vascular perfusion of Onchocerca volvulus nodules. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 39 (Supplement), 418–421.Google ScholarPubMed
Stoward, P.J. & Van Noorden, C.J.F. (1991) Histochemical methods for dehydrogenases pp. 537–557 in Stoward, P.J. & Pearse, A.G.E. (Eds) Histochemistry, vol.3, New York, Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Wittich, R.M. & Walter, R.D. (1987) Onchocerca vohulus: Partial glucose catabolism via fumarate and succinate. Experimental Parasitology 64, 517–518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed