Isolation, purification and in vitro maintenance of Trichinella spiralis nurse cells and selective permeability in nurse cells

Trichinella spiralis is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects striated skeletal muscle cells of a wide variety of mammals, including man. Invasion of vertebrate striated muscle cells by the larvae of T. spiralis is accompanied by redifferentiation of the host myofiber into a novel structure called the nurse cell. The nurse cell consists of a collagenous capsule, surrounding the infected portion of the muscle cell, which houses the infective stage larvae of T. spiralis. The nurse cell protects and nurtures the enclosed parasite during its long stay in host muscle. It is anatomically autonomous: of the surrounding uninfected muscle cells and can be isolated from host tissue by mechanical or enzymatic means.; This host-parasite unit is generally considered to be one of the most intimate and complex of any host-parasite interaction, although very little is known about the biochemistry or nutrition of the nurse cell. Therefore, in the present study, a method and apparatus have been developed for recovery of large numbers of purified Trichinella spiralis nurse cells that remain viable for up to 35 days in vitro. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...