Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:29:55.426Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

In vitro cultivation of Trypanosoma congolense bloodstream forms in the absence of feeder cell layers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

H. Hirumi
Affiliation:
International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
K. Hirumi
Affiliation:
International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya

Summary

Bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma congolense (2 clones: ILNat3·1 and IL3000, and 4 stocks: IL2079, IL2466, IL3266 and CP-81) were continuously cultivated in vitro at 34–36 °C in the absence of feeder cell layers, using HMI-93 medium which was modified from Iscove's modified Dulbecco's MEM (Flow Laboratories, Irvine, Scotland). The modification was done by supplementing the medium with 0·05 mM bathocuproine sulphonate, 1·5 mM L-cysteine, 0·5 mM hypoxanthine, 0·12 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 0·16 mM thymidine, 20% (v/v) heat-inactivated young goat serum and 5% (v/v) Serum Plus™ (Hazleton Biologics, Lenaxa, KS, USA). Trypanosomes obtained from two different sources were used to initiate primary cultures: (1) metacyclic forms which were produced in vitro at 27 °C, and (2) bloodstream forms obtained from Balb/c mice which had been infected with the bloodstream forms transformed in vitro from the metacyclic forms. Metacyclic forms placed in 25 cm2 T-type (T-25) flasks rapidly attached to the bottom of the flasks and transformed to bloodstream forms during the initial 24 h and continued to proliferate. The bloodstream forms isolated from the infected mouse blood by means of diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DE52) column chromatography also continued to proliferate in the flasks. Cultures were maintained by replacing the medium every 24 h. Every 4–5 days, the attached bloodstream forms were resuspended in fresh medium by gentle pipetting and then were subcultured. The method was further simplified by initiating primary cultures directly with 10 μl of the tail blood of infected mice in 24-well culture plates and then by subcultivating either in wells or in T-25 flasks. The shortest population doubling time, 9 h, was achieved by seeding subcultures with 106 bloodstream forms/ml. The bloodstream forms propagated in this system were morphologically similar to those seen in infected mouse blood, they were covered with a surface coat as examined by electron microscopy and they were infective to mice.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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

REFERENCES

Baltz, T., Baltz, D., Chiroud, CH. & Crockett, J. (1985). Cultivation in a semi-defined medium of animal infective forms of Trypanosoma brucei, T. equiperdum, T. evansi, T. rhodesiense and T. gambiense. EMBO Journal 4, 1273–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brun, R. & Jenni, L. (1987). Salivarian trypanosomes: bloodstream forms (trypomastigotes). In In Vitro Methods for Parasite Cultivation (ed. Taylor, A. E. R. & Baker, J. R.), pp. 94117. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Duszenko, M., Ferguson, M. A. J., Lamont, G. S., Rifkin, M. R. & Cross, G. A. M. (1985). Cysteine eliminates the feeder cell requirement for cultivation of Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream forms in vitro. Journal of Experimental Medicine 162, 1256–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fish, W. R., Muriuki, C. W., Muthiani, A. M., Grab, D. J. & Lonsdale-Eccles, J. D. (1989). Disulfide bond involvement in the maintenance of the cryptic nature of the cross-reacting determinant of metacyclic forms of Trypanosoma congolense. Biochemistry 28, 5415–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geigy, R. & Kauffman, M. (1973). Sleeping sickness survey in the Serengeti area (Tanzania) 1971. Part I. Examination of large mammals for trypanosomes. Acta Tropica 30, 1223.Google Scholar
Gray, M. A., Cunningham, I., Gardiner, P. R., Taylor, A. M. & Luckins, A. G. (1981). Cultivation of infective forms of Trypanosoma congolense from trypanosomes in the proboscis of Glossina morsitans. Parasitology 82, 8195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gray, M. A., Hirumi, H. & Gardiner, P. R. (1987). Salivarian trypanosomes: insect forms. In In Vitro Methods for Parasite Cultivation (ed. Taylor, A. E. R. & Baker, J. R.), pp. 118–52. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hamm, B., Schindler, A., Mecke, D. & Duszenko, M. (1990). Differentiation of Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream trypomastigotes from long slender to short stumpy-like forms in axenic culture. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 40, 1322.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayflick, L. (1973). Subculturing human diploid fibroblast cultures. In Tissue Culture Methods and Applications (ed. Kruse, P. F. Jr & Patterson, M. K. Jr), pp. 220–3. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirumi, H. & Hirumi, K. (1984). Continuous cultivation of animal-infective bloodstream forms of an East African Trypanosoma congolense stock. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 78, 327–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirumi, H. & Hirumi, K. (1989). Continuous cultivation of Trypanosoma brucei blood stream forms in a medium containing a low concentration of serum protein without feeder cell layers. Journal of Parasitology 75, 985–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirumi, H., Doyle, J. J. & Hirumi, K. (1977). African trypanosomes: cultivation of animal-infective Trypanosoma brucei in vitro. Science 196, 992–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirumi, H., Hirumi, K., Nelson, R. T. & Bwayo, J. J. (1980). Present status of in vitro cultivation of animal-infective African trypanosomes. In Tropical Diseases Research, Series 3 (WHO), pp. 165200. Basel: Schwabe & Co. AG.Google Scholar
Lanham, S. M. & Godfrey, D. G. (1970). Isolation of salivarian trypanosomes from man and other mammals using DEAE-cellulose. Experimental Parasitology 28, 521–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nantulya, V. M., Musoke, A., Rurangirwa, F. R. & Moloo, S. K. (1984). Resistance of cattle to tsetse-transmitted challenge with Trypanosoma brucei or Trypanosoma congolense after spontaneous recovery from syringe-passaged infections. Infection and Immunity 43, 735–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wellde, B., LÖtzsch, R., Deindl, G., Sadun, E., Williams, J. & Warui, G. (1974). Trypanosoma congolense. I. Clinical observations of experimentally infected cattle. Experimental Parasitology 36, 619.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yabu, Y., Takayanagi, T. & Sato, S. (1989). Long-term culture and cloning system for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense bloodstream forms in semi-defined medium in vitro. Parasitology Research 76, 93–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed