Do Plasmodium ookinetes invade a specific cell type in the mosquito midgut?
Recent debate in Plasmodium ookinete invasion has been centered on whether the parasite chooses a specific cell type to cross the midgut epithelium in the mosquito. A few publications have described the mosquito midgut being composed of complex surface-structures, histochemically and biochemically diverse cell types, and have proposed that Plasmodium gallinaceum ookinetes prefers a specific cell type (Ross cell) in Aedes aegypti for crossing the midgut epithelium. Two recent publications reported, however, that with differential interference contrast microscopy, all midgut epithelial cells in uninfected mosquitoes appear structurally similar and argued that ookinetes do not invade a specific cell type. These observations are discussed here in the context of the 'Ross cell' hypothesis.
Shahabuddin
Mohammed
M
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. mshahabudd@niaid.nih.gov
D000330:Aedes / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D004064:Digestive System / Q000166:cytology / Q000469:parasitology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008954:Models, Biological; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure