Authors
G Caljon3; N Van Reet1; C De Trez4; M Vermeersch2; D Perez-Morga2; J Van Den Abbeele1;
1 Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium; 2 Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; 3 University of Antwerp, Belgium; 4 Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Discussion
Metacyclic
Trypanosoma brucei parasites are
naturally transmitted by tsetse bite into the mammalian host skin. Parasite
emigration from this dermal site resulted in detectable trypanosome levels in the
draining lymph nodes within 18 hours and in the peripheral blood within 42 h. A
subset of parasites remained in the skin and actively proliferated. Scanning electron microscopy suggested that
this retention was linked to
interactions with adipocytes in the connective tissue, entanglement by
reticular fibers of the periadipocytic baskets and embedment between collagen
bundles. These skin-residing trypanosomes can be re-acquired by tsetse immediately after the initial transmission.
