STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PARASITOPHOROUS VACUOLE IN EIMERIA SPECIES

The intracellular life-cycle stages of Eimeria are located in the host cell within a membrane-bound parasitophorous vacuole. The invasion pr ocess and the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole are mediated by characteristic organelles within the apical complex. During invasion, the parasitophorous-vacuole membrane is manipulated by the parasite a nd functions later in the development cycle as a molecular sieve, allo wing the exchange of metabolites between parasite and host cell. Unlik e the cyst-forming coccidia, there is little evidence of parasitophoro us-vacuole membrane transformation in the later stages of the lifecycl e of Eimeria species. Compared with the human pathogens Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, rather little is known about the parasitophorous vacuole and parasitophorous-vacuole membrane of animal pathogens of the genus Eimeria. (C) 1998 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by El sevier Science Ltd.