Effect of ionophores on survival, penetration, and development of Eimeria tenella sporozoites in vitro.

Free Eimeria tenella sporozoites were exposed to the anticoccidial ionophores monensin, lasalocid, narasin, or salinomycin for 4 hr at 40 C, whereupon the drugs were removed by dilution centrifugation and the parasites inoculated into cultures of chick kidney cells. Cultures were fixed and stained at 4 and 96 hr postinoculation to determine the effect of ionophore uptake by the extracellular sporozoites on invasion and development. Pretreatment with each of these antibiotics significantly reduced the number of intracellular sporozoites and dramatically inhibited asexual development. These effects were dose-dependent. Exposure of free (extracellular) sporozoites to monensin at 40 C caused a significant decline in the number of surviving organisms over time as compared to nontreated sporozoites. This response also appeared to be dose-dependent. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the surface of the treated sporozoites was very irregular and the organisms often exhibited a gross swelling. These results indicated that free Eimeria tenella sporozoites may incorporate a potentially lethal concentration of the polyether ionophorous antibiotics and that a coccidiocidal activity may be expressed whether or not penetration of host's cells occurs.