title: The Gametocytes of Leucocytozoon sabrazesi Infect Chicken Thrombocytes, Not Other Blood Cells.
abstract: Leucocytozoon parasites infect a large number of avian hosts, including domestic chicken, and cause significant economical loss to the poultry industry. Although the transmission stages of the parasites were observed in avian blood cells more than a century ago, the specific host cell type(s) that the gametocytes infect remain uncertain. Because all the avian blood cells, including red blood cells (RBCs), are nucleated, and the developing parasites dramatically change the morphology of the infected host cells, it has been difficult to identify Leucocytozoon infected host cell(s). Here we use cell-type specific antibodies to investigate the identities of the host cells infected by Leucocytozoon sabrazesi gametocytes. Anti-RBC antibodies stained RBCs membrane strongly, but not the parasite-infected cells, ruling out the possibility of RBCs being the infected host cells. Antibodies recognizing various leukocytes including heterophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages did not stain the infected cells either. Antisera raised against a peptide of the parasite cytochrome B (CYTB) stained parasite-infected cells and some leukocytes, particularly cells with a single round nucleus as well as clear/pale cytoplasm suggestive of thrombocytes. Finally, a monoclonal antibody known to specifically bind chicken thrombocytes also stained the infected cells, confirming that L. sabrazesi gametocytes develop within chicken thrombocytes. The identification of L. sabrazesi infected host cell solves a long unresolved puzzle and provides important information for studying parasite invasion of host cells and for developing reagents to interrupt parasite transmission.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wenting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jianwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ruixue
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Cui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shengfa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lingxian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaotong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China; National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yixin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, P. R. China; Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xin-Zhuan
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000469:parasitology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000469:parasitology*; D002645:Chickens / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005854:Germ Cells; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D039564:Integrin alphaV / Q000276:immunology; D039661:Integrin beta3 / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D039564:Integrin alphaV; D039661:Integrin beta3