Martínez-Palomo A
J Parasitol. 1978 Feb;64(1):127-36.
Previous ultrastructural studies on various microfilariae have suggested the presence of a trilaminar membrane at the parasite cuticle. In the present report, the formation of the cuticle of Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae was studied at different developmental stages by transmission electron microscopy of samples obtained from subcutaneous nodules of untreated patients. The cuticle is formed by the layering of surface coat fibrillar components of the hypodermal cells. No plasma membrane is found at the cuticle of the microfilaria. The use of freeze-fracture replication confirmed the absence of a classic plasma membrane at the parasite cuticle. Our results suggest that immunogenic determinants of the microfilaria cellular elements are hidden from the exterior by the acellular cuticle. This may explain the lack of cellular reaction usually found around living O. volvulus microfilariae in the dermis of onchocerciasis patients.
以往对各种微丝蚴的超微结构研究表明，寄生虫表皮存在三层膜。在本报告中，通过对未经治疗患者皮下结节样本进行透射电子显微镜检查，研究了盘尾丝虫微丝蚴在不同发育阶段表皮的形成。表皮由皮下细胞表面 coat 纤维成分分层形成。在微丝蚴的表皮未发现质膜。冷冻断裂复型技术的应用证实了寄生虫表皮不存在经典的质膜。我们的结果表明，微丝蚴细胞成分的免疫原性决定簇被无细胞表皮隐藏于外部。这可能解释了在盘尾丝虫病患者真皮中通常在活的盘尾丝虫微丝蚴周围缺乏细胞反应的现象。
