ULTRASTRUCTURE, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, WESTERN-BLOT, AND PCR ANALYSIS OF8 ISOLATES OF ENCEPHALITOZOON (SEPTATA) INTESTINALIS ESTABLISHED IN CULTURE FROM SPUTUM AND URINE SAMPLES AND DUODENAL ASPIRATES OF 5 PATIENTS WITH AIDS

Microsporidia are ancient, intracellular, eukaryotic protozoan parasit es that form spores and that lack mitochondria. Currently, as many as eight species included under six genera are known to infect humans, mo stly patients with AIDS. Among these, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, the age nt of gastrointestinal (GI) disease, is the most frequently identified microsporidian in clinical laboratories in the United States. Encepha litozoon (Septata) intestinalis, the agent that causes a disseminated infection including infection of the GI tract, is the second most freq uently identified microsporidian parasite. In spite of this, not many isolates of E. intestinalis have been established in culture. We descr ibe here the continuous cultivation of eight isolates of E. intestinal is obtained from different samples including the urine, sputum, and du odenal aspirate or biopsy specimens from five AIDS patients originatin g from California, Colorado, and Georgia. The specific identification was made on the bases of ultrastructural, antigenic, and PCR analyses.